SiTime shrinks a chip for 5G and defense work with new tech

SiTime

19/09/2023 14:05

By Stephen Nellis
       Sept 19 (Reuters) - SiTime  SITM.O  on Tuesday said it
has shrunk a new chip for use in 5G networks and military
electronics to about nine times smaller than existing products
on the market.
    SiTime makes what are known as timing devices, one of the
oldest and most ubiquitous parts of all computing systems.
Timing devices work a bit like a drummer in a band, providing a
steady beat that keeps all the other elements of the system,
such as networking and memory chips, working in sync.
    For decades, timing devices have worked the straightforward
principle of pumping electricity through a quartz crystal,
causing it to vibrate at predictable frequency that provides a
steady beat, similar to a quartz wristwatch. 
    SiTime takes a different approach, using a technology called
a micro-electromechanical system that is manufactured more like
a computer chip. That has helped it shrink the size of timing
devices, prompting customers such as  TSLA.O  to use SiTime
chips in its Dojo supercomputer system.
    SiTime's new chips, which it calls its Epoch Platform, are
made to be faster and more resistant to big swings in
temperature up to 95 degrees Celsius (203 degrees Fahrenheit)
and vibrations than quartz devices, which the company believes
will make them useful for 5G equipment that sits outdoors or in
defense electronics that have to pass ruggedness tests.
    "The environmental conditions are everything" in such
markets, Rajesh Vashist, chief executive of SiTime, told Reuters
in an interview.
    SiTime said the chips will enter mass production next year.

 (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by
Leslie Adler)
 ((Stephen.Nellis@thomsonreuters.com;))