This section provides an overview for clock generators as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 18 clock generator manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked clock generator companies as of November, 2024: 1.Optellent, 2.Analog Devices, Inc., 3.Skyworks Solutions, Inc..
Table of Contents
A clock generator is a circuit that generates clocks of multiple frequencies from a single source clock signal. Generally, the frequency range generated is from a few KHz to several GHz.
Clock generators are mainly used in the following applications:
Clock generators are most commonly used in CPUs, which form the core of computers, where many registers and other memory elements are located and to each of them a clock signal generated by a Clock Generator is connected.
Depending on the increment of the clock signal, the output from each storage element passes through various logic and arithmetic circuits and is input to the next stage of storage elements. This circuit structure is called a synchronous circuit, and the Clock Generator is responsible for triggering and synchronizing the operation of the synchronous circuit.
Clock generators are used not only in CPUs but also in digital devices such as TVs, smartphones, and DVDs, as well as in general home appliances and industrial equipment controlled by microcontrollers.
The clock is responsible for transmitting timing to each electronic device, and each device operates as a whole by performing its own operations at that timing. Clock generators, which can accurately oscillate signals in a wide range of frequencies, are indispensable devices for the operation of a variety of electronic equipment.
In recent years, the demand for high-quality video and music has increased, and high-quality, expensive clock generators have been commercialized to meet such needs. In particular, when data is exchanged between devices with different sampling frequencies, it is necessary to synchronize the devices with a clock generator to prevent noise contamination due to missing data.
Clock generators basically consist of a resonance circuit and an amplification circuit.
A crystal oscillator is often used as the resonance circuit. Quartz oscillators are also used in quartz clocks and make use of the piezoelectric effect, in which a quartz crystal produces an oscillating output with a natural frequency when a voltage is applied. The natural frequency varies depending on the physical characteristics of the crystal, such as its shape and which crystal cross section it is cut from, but an oscillator with the required natural frequency can be obtained using high-purity synthetic quartz crystals.
Since this oscillation waveform is a sine wave, the clock generator shapes it into a square wave so that it can be used in digital circuits. In the generator, a frequency divider circuit and a multiplier circuit generate a clock signal with a frequency M/N times the original frequency (M and N are natural numbers), which is amplified by an amplifier circuit for output.
Clock generators differ not only in the frequency range to be generated but also in the supply voltage and the rise/fall time of the square wave, and should be selected according to the intended use.
One such point is clock jitter. Clock jitter is the fluctuation of each square wave along the time axis and is an indicator of how well the clock continues to transmit an orderly frequency, so it must have a low jitter.
There are two types of jitter: jitter seen between rising edges and jitter seen between falling edges, etc. By carefully examining the jitter according to the application, a higher quality system can be pursued.
Clock generators using MEMS oscillators are an emerging technology. MEMS oscillators are used for oscillators.
Unlike quartz crystals, which have their own frequency, MEMS oscillators can be programmed with a frequency at the final stage of the manufacturing process, which has the advantage of reducing costs and lead time. In addition, MEMS oscillators are said to be superior to quartz oscillators in terms of quality and reliability, such as the ability to suppress changes in temperature characteristics by incorporating an internal temperature sensor compared to quartz crystals.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Lattice Semiconductor, is a software and development kit manufacturer, founded in 1983 and headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA. The company provides various electronic components such as development boards, FPGA (field-programmable gate arrays) semiconductors, evaluation boards, integrated circuits, and converters. These components are applicable to communication, data center systems, client computing, wireless technology, and automotive applications. The company is into solving customer challenges in communication, computing, industrial, automotive, and consumer markets across the network, from the Edge to the Cloud.
Incorporated in 1965, Analog Devices, Inc. designs, manufactures, tests, and markets integrated circuits (ICs), software, and subsystems that leverage analog, mixed-signal, and digital signal processing technologies. The company provides data converter products, power management and reference products for power conversion, driver monitoring, sequencing, and energy management applications in the automotive, communications, industrial, and high-end consumer markets. In addition, the company provides digital signal processing and system products for high-speed numeric calculations. It serves clients in the industrial, automotive, consumer, instrumentation, aerospace, and communications markets.
Optellent, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Silicon Valley, San Jose, USA, is a manufacturer of broadband test and measurement solutions. The company specializes in providing electrical, optoelectronic test, and measurement solutions for product development, manufacturing, and field installation. Its product portfolio includes OptoBERT bit-error-ratio testers, data or pattern generators, clock, data, and trigger recovery systems designed to offer simplicity, ease of use, and low cost of ownership. OptoBERTfindsd application in bit-error-ratio testing of RF, wireless, and fiber optic components, subsystems, and systems.
Founded in Irvine, CA in 1962, Skyworks Solutions, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary semiconductor products. Its product portfolio includes amplifiers, antenna tuners, attenuators, automotive tuners and digital radios, clocks and timings, circulators/isolators, DC/DC converters, demodulators, detectors, diodes, wireless analog system on chip products, directional couplers, diversity receive modules, filters, front-end modules, hybrids, LED drivers, low noise amplifiers, mixers, modulators, switches, synthesizers, timing devices, technical ceramics, voltage controlled oscillators/synthesizers, and voltage regulators. The company provides its products for the usage in aerospace, automotive, broadband, cellular infrastructure, connected home, entertainment and gaming, industrial, medical, military, smartphone, tablet, and wearable markets.
Microchip Technology Incorporated was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Chandler, Arizona. The company is a developer and manufacturer of control solutions for global markets including the automotive, industrial, communications, human-machine interface, and connectivity industries. The company’s products include microcontrollers, field-programmable gate array products, MOSFET and radio frequency products, and both wired and wireless communications products. The company’s services include wafer foundry and assembly services, test subcontracting manufacturing services, development tools for enabling system designers to program microcontrollers and processors, and timing system products.
Diodes Incorporated is a supplier for the consumer electronics, computing, communications, industrial, and automotive markets. Diodes Incorporated designs, manufactures, and supplies application-specific standard products in the discrete, logic, analog, and mixed-signal semiconductor markets worldwide. It focuses on low pin count semiconductor devices. Diodes specializes in semiconductor products, such as MOSFET, TVS, and performance Schottky rectifiers, transient voltage suppressors and other devices. It also provides analog products, such as power management devices comprising AC-DC and DC-DC converters, signaling devices, CMOS devices, and analog switches. Diodes Incorporated was incorporated in 1959 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.
SiTime Corp., founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a manufacturer of precision timing solutions like oscillators, clocks, and resonators. The company stocks products like clock generators, network synchronizers, and programmable OCXOs, serving several industries, including automotive, medical, and aerospace. It has shipped over 3 billion devices with failure rates that are less than 1 DPPM and is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market. The company is ISO 9001 certified, and in 2023, it was included for the second time in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 with a growth rate of 237% from 2019 to 2022.
Cirrus Logic Inc., established in 1984 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States, is a designer and manufacturer of high-precision analog and digital signal processing components. The company offers products such as audio amplifiers, haptic drivers, and volume controls. These products find use in audio system manufacturing and are utilized in sensing and power-related applications. A significant number of its components are integrated into smartphones, laptops, and digital wearables. It also offers services such as assisting with implementing combined hardware and software audio solutions, tuning services, and mechanical and acoustic product design.
Avnet, Inc. is an American distributor of electronic components and IT software originally founded in 1921 before its incorporation in 1961. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the company offers various electronic components including analog switches, microcontrollers, and circuit protectors, as well as IT solutions such as cloud computing and data analytics software. These are used by their clients in the automotive, transportation, security, and communication sectors. Avnet, Inc. operates in over 140 countries across North America, Asia, and Europe, and has several subsidiaries including Hackster.io, Dragon Innovation, and EBV Elektronik.
Seiko NPC Corporation was founded in 1975 is a semiconductor manufacturer based in Japan. Their main product line is crystal oscillator ICs and they have the majority market share in the globe for the product. The Oscillator IC’s are used in electronic equipment including home appliances and communication devices. Recently the company has focused on developing digital sensor products which has been added to their product portfolio. One of the major strength of Seiko NPC is that they have their own plant where all the planning, designing and manufacturing takes place.
Renesas Electronics Corporation was established in 2002 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Renesas is a global research, design, and manufacturer of semiconductors used in industries spanning automotive, consumer electronics, the internet of things, power & energy, and industrial sectors. Renesas manufactures both analog and digital products. Analog products include amplifiers, audio & video devices, data converters, PLC, and switches & multiplexers. Digital products include microcontrollers, memory components, sensors, wireless connectivity products, and others. Renesas also offers design resources such as kits, development tools, partner programs, and design tools.
Cissoid, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Walloon Region, is a manufacturer of high temperature semiconductors. They deliver standard products and custom solutions for power management, power conversion and signal conditioning in extreme temperature and harsh environments. Their solutions range from system-on-chip to complete SiC and GaN based inverter platforms to support an ever-growing range of e-mobility and high-power applications. The company has been supplying products to leaders in the Oil & Gas, aeronautic, Industrial and automotive markets.
Stanford Research Systems, located in Sunnyvale, California, has been a designer and manufacturer of test equipment for engineers and scientists since the early 1980s. Its products find applications in various research fields. Its lock-in amplifiers are utilized for recovering nanovolt signals from noisy backgrounds. Additionally, its mass spectrometers can measure residual vacuums down to 10-14 Torr. Its RF signal generators, digital delay generators, and clock synthesizers provide accurate and stable frequency and timing signals. Operating from a 75,000-square-foot facility, the company has collaborated with NASA to adapt its RGA100 quadrupole mass spectrometer for operation in space vacuum conditions.
Texas Instruments Incorporated was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Texas Instruments is a producer of high tech equipment for industrial, automotive, personal electronics, communications equipment industries. Texas Instruments designs, manufactures, and sells semiconductors to electronics designers and manufacturers in the United States and internationally. Texas Instruments operates in two segments: analog and embedded processing. The Analog segment offers power products, including battery-management solutions, DC/DC switching regulators, power switches, linear regulators, voltage references, and lighting products. The Embedded Processing segment offers microcontrollers that are used in fields such as electronic equipment and digital signal processors for mathematical computations.
Trex Semiconductor is a developer and manufacturer of integrated circuit (IC) products that was established in Tokyo, Japan, in 1995. The company offers voltage regulator ICs for providing stable voltage output from variable input voltage, DC/DC converter ICs for power management applications, and hall ICs for detecting magnetic fields and outputting digital signals. It also offers design and production services for custom orders or unique projects. The company mainly serves client OEMs in the automotive, consumer electronics, and power distribution industries.
ROHM Semiconductor was incorporated in 1940 and is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. ROHM manufactures and sells electronic components worldwide. ROHM operates through the segments ICs, discrete semiconductor devices, and modules. ROHM provides ICs comprising memory, amplifiers and linear, power management, clocks and timers, switches and multiplexers, logic, data converters, sensors and MEMS, display drivers, motor/actuator drivers, interfaces, communication and speech synthesis LSI, audio and video, and microcontrollers. ROHM also offers discrete semiconductor products include MOSFETs, bipolar transistors, and diodes; power devices, including power transistors and diodes, SiC power devices, IGBT, and IPM; passive devices, such as resistors, and conductive polymer and tantalum capacitors; and various modules among others.
Shenzhen Shengyu Electronics Technology Ltd., founded in 2008 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, is an electric component distributor that is ISO 9001 certified. The company stocks several components, including switches, capacitors, and resistors, which it sources from multiple manufacturers like Seiko Instruments, Inc., Renesas Electronics America, and Nuvoton Technology Corporation America. Depending on the size and configuration of the customer’s components, the company provides a full range of packaging services. It accepts single or multiple-part quotations, and its website allows customers to search hundreds of products ranging from ICs to computer accessories.
Hybrid Electronics is a global distribution specialist of electronic components, with access to over 50 million unique components. Among the markets HE serves are the aerospace, automotive, communications, defense, industrial, medical, national security, and test & measurement industries. In addition to components, HE also provides quality and compliance testing, counterfeit detection, upscreening, and other forms of quality control. Examples of component subtypes that HE offers include ICs, batteries, capacitors, semiconductor products, sensors, circuit protection, interconnectors, filters, optoelectronics, relays, switches, power supplies, and cables and cable assemblies.
Ranking as of November 2024
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | Optellent |
15.4%
|
2 | Analog Devices, Inc. |
12.1%
|
3 | Texas Instruments |
8.8%
|
4 | Skyworks Solutions, Inc. |
8.8%
|
5 | Diodes Incorporated |
7.7%
|
6 | Hybrid Electronics Corporation |
6.6%
|
7 | ROHM Co., Ltd. |
6.6%
|
8 | Avnet, Inc. |
6.6%
|
9 | Microchip Technology Inc. |
5.5%
|
10 | Cissoid |
5.5%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the clock generator page as of November 2024. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
Newly Established Company
Company with a History
*Including some distributors, etc.
*Including some distributors, etc.
Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
---|---|---|
United States of America | 9 | 64.3% |
Japan | 4 | 28.6% |
Belgium | 1 | 7.1% |
1 product is listed.
Cons Technology Co., Ltd.
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CG635, SRS's clock generator, can generate digital clock signals in a wide frequency range. Because it is high accurate and low jitter, it is ideal...