ON Semiconductor has released a fully-integrated phase-lock loop (PLL) IC, the NB4N507A, that is designed to replace expensive crystal oscillators for clock generation in a wide variety of consumer and networking applications. The latest family of PLL ICs offers performance compatible to the most widely used crystal oscillators at a fraction of the cost.

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For applications ranging from VGA graphics cards to fiber channel clock generation, the traditional method for generating the master clock signal has been to implement a single crystal oscillator. Historically, crystal oscillators have offered better jitter performance than silicon-based devices. These canned oscillators are complex to manufacture, and so are relatively expensive and require long lead times – sometimes up to 20 weeks. The NB4N507A is a high-performance silicon PLL that delivers jitter performance comparable to crystal oscillators but offers more design flexibility, a lower overall cost and reduced lead times. With accuracy of 100 parts per million (ppm), the NB4N507A is a preferable alternative to crystal oscillators with similar stability.

The NB4N507A generates a clock signal ranging from 50 MHz to 200 MHz via an inexpensive reference crystal. With a maximum root mean square (RMS) period jitter of less than 10 picoseconds (ps), it delivers half the jitter (or noise) of competitive silicon PLL products. Because the NB4N507A is fully configurable, it provides true design flexibility. For example, a single device can be used to generate different frequencies within a system and can be reused on future designs regardless of changes in timing requirements. In addition, silicon-based ICs like the NB4N507A are inherently much simpler to manufacture, which leads to lower costs and vastly lower lead times.

The NB4N507A is available in a 16-pin SOIC package and priced at $1.50 per unit in 1000-unit quantities.