April 30, 2012 — Analog semiconductor maker SiTime Corporation has shipped 100 million units of its micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), including oscillators, clock generators and resonators. More than 800 electronics companies have adopted SiTime’s silicon MEMS timing components, in more than 100 applications.

MEMS oscillators currently represent <1% of the total ($6.3 billion) timing market, but potential growth in this sector is attracting new entrants and investment, said research firm Semico. Semico reports that MEMS oscillator growth is driven by increased penetration into high-growth applications.

MEMS oscillators are an alternative to the established quartz crystal oscillator technology, offering performance and reliability improvements, smaller form factor, lower cost, and lower power usage than quartz devices, adds Semico. Silicon-based timing technology enables better performance than conventional quartz-based components, as well as more flexibility and higher reliability, said Rajesh Vashist, CEO of SiTime. “SiTime’s MEMS timing products are up to 500 times more reliable than quartz oscillators.”

The company’s MEMS components today offer 250x better stability and jitter than its first product in 2007, Vashist added. SiTime’s initial research and technology came from Bosch labs and Stanford University.

Also read: MEMS resonators vs. crystal oscillators for IC timing circuits

SiTime Corporation, an analog semiconductor company, offers MEMS-based silicon timing solutions that replace legacy quartz. SiTime uses standard semiconductor processes and high volume plastic packaging. Internet: http://www.sitime.com.

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