Here's a pretty good description of MEMS Oscillators in an interview of a former MEMSCAP employee.


MEMS has been identified as a strong candidate to replace traditional quartz oscillators. Companies like SiTime have been gaining market share over the past 5-10 years. This article tells us why MEMS are ideal to replace the antiquated quartz version.

A few years ago at a workshop at IMEC in Leuven, Belgium, I met a dude who owned a quartz oscillator company and he bought me a beer to pick my brain about what it would take to realize a MEMS-based device. After my explanation of MEMS development, he ran out of there as fast as possible! Obviously, MEMS has picked up quite a bit of steam since then.

As is typical with high volume MEMS, you need a good ASIC to go along with this device. It's preferable to have an off-the-shelf ASIC however that's not usually the case with MEMS which requires a custom solution.

Enjoy the article and let me know your comments and feedback.

 

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