State-of-the-Art Timing References Using MEMS Resonator

For decades, quartz crystal resonators have been used as precision timing

references in elecÂtronic devices. Tear apart any phone, digital camera, tablet, or laptop,

and you will find several quartz-based timing devices. In fact, several billion timing

devices are sold worldwide each year! However, quartz crystals are now being replaced

by silicon micro-electromechanical (MEMS) resonators. These tiny machines, smaller

than a human hair, are the building blocks for timing references accurate to better than

100 parts-per-billion, or the equivalent of 2 seconds per year. SiTime Corporation,

headquartered in Silicon Valley, is leading the silicon timing revolution with its game-
changing MEMS-based solutions. To date, SiTime has shipped over 250 million devices

to over 1000 different customers worldwide.

This talk will provide an overview of the existing quartz technology and introduce

SiTime's innovative MEMS-based timing technology. Much of the talk will be focused on

the technological innovations behind SiTime's newest product: the world's smallest and
best-in-class 32-kHz MEMS-based TCXO for mobile and wearable applications.
Dr. Carl Arft has been active in the MEMS field for over 15 years, both in academia

and at several Silicon Valley start-up companies. He is currently the Director of Systems

Engineering at SiTime Corporation, the world's leading producer of MEMS-based timing

devices. From 2004"“2006, he served as Faculty Fellow at the University of California,

Davis. Previously, he was involved with several optical MEMS start-up companies,

including C Speed Corporation and Newport Opticom.

Carl received the BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Tech University,

and the MS and PhD degrees in ElectriÂcal Engineering from University of California,

Davis.