In the market, you’ll find that some oscillators are MEMS type and some are not. Is there any difference between them?
Traditional oscillators rely on quartz crystals to provide a stable frequency reference. MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) oscillators have a complex structure consisting of a MEMS resonator to replace quartz crystals as the oscillating source. Through its internal PLL circuit, a MEMS oscillator can provide a desired frequency.
Comparing a traditional oscillator, MEMS oscillator offers much more stable frequency, smaller size, higher reliability (including AEC-Q100 certification for automotive use), faster startup and high integration, as below.
| Traditional Crysatal Oscillator | MEMS Oscillator | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency stability over Temperature |  |
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| Size Reduction | |
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| Reliability | |
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| Jitter Close-In Phase Noise | |
|
| Fast Start-Up | |
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| Integration | |