News & Events
Xicor® Announces Temperature-Compensated Real Time Clock Reference Design
--Precision Timing Solutions for Embedded Control Systems in Industrial and Enterprise Network Applications; Complete Design and Evaluation Board Using a Low Cost Crystal
MILPITAS, California August 21, 2002 Xicor, Inc. (Nasdaq: XICO), a leading supplier of programmable mixed-signal integrated circuits, today announced the availability of a Precision Timing Real Time Clock Reference Design. This reference design is a complete timing solution targeted at Industrial, Enterprise Network Applications and Embedded Control Systems.
The Reference Platform Features:
- Hardware Evaluation Platform that implements a microcontroller, low cost
temperature sensor, a
standard low-cost crystal oscillator, and Xicors Real-Time-Clock with Integrated EEPROM. - Complete Circuit Design Schematics.
- Board Design Layout Files.
- Software Drivers for Windows Interface and Example Files for C-code development.
The evaluation platform is available upon request for key customers by contacting your local Xicor
sales representative.
The reference design demonstrates that precision timing can be achieved at low cost by using a temperature sensor, microcontroller, and Xicor's Integrated Real Time Clock with EEPROM and standard crystal oscillators. Moreover, the reference design provides solutions to some of the key design challenges in precision timing for both localized and distributed-network clocking systems. These challenges range from synchronization with an accurate timing source at the network level to compensating for electronic component variation due to different environmental effects.
"This reference design is an excellent tool for designers aiming to provide precision timing solutions on a mass scale," stated Tony Ochoa, marketing manager of Standard Linear Products. "The reference design has demonstrated that a 15-fold timing accuracy improvement can be achieved at low cost. This can be translated to a difference of timing accuracies of half an hour per year to less than 2 minutes per year."
Technical Background:
The Xicor Precision Real Time Clock Reference Design emphasizes the implementation of Xicor's Real Time Clock Devices, which contain both analog and digital timing adjustments that can compensate for crystal oscillator drift over temperature and aging. Initially, temperature values versus oscillator compensation adjustments are mapped into a lookup table. Hence, the Xicor Real Time Products can be used to make automatic oscillator compensation adjustments via 2-wire bus over temperature variation. The temperature value profile is stored in the Xicor device. The reference design allows for timing synchronization to atomic clock networks that are readily available on the Internet. The software included with the reference design includes a data analyzer that records timing deviation and temperature history. This allows a designer to characterize the crystal oscillator and realize a complete timing solution during prototyping.
"Xicor's Real Time Clock Products provide an excellent solution for Embedded Control Applications because of their high integration of timing functions, system management functions, and the non-volatile memory," stated owner of NEXUS Controls, David Snodgrass. "We have been able to achieve +/-5 PPM timing accuracies using a low cost crystal with Xicor's Real Time Clock products. Xicor's RTC products provided a one-chip solution that simplified our software and microcontroller solution while requiring very little additional PCB real-estate."
About NEXUS Controls
NEXUS designs, develops, and markets custom and production video switches for the surveillance and machine vision markets. The Company's products are designed to be highly programmable allowing them to operate as stand alone devices but may also be networked for real-time control to meet the needs of modern PC based surveillance systems.
About Xicor
Xicor designs, develops, and markets a wide variety of programmable mixed-signal integrated circuits and nonvolatile memory products used in networking, computing, communication and industrial applications. The Company's products include digitally controlled potentiometers and system management IC's that allow system designers to digitally control analog functions in signal processing, microprocessor monitoring and power management. Xicor product, corporate and financial information is readily available on the World Wide Web at http://www.xicor.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks may include the impact of competing products and pricing, timely design acceptance by our customers, timely ability to ramp new products into volume production, industry wide shifts in supply and demand for semiconductor products, and other risks detailed from time to time in Xicor's SEC filings.
"Xicor" is a registered trademark and "XDCP" is a trademark belonging to Xicor Inc.All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.
