Microchip Technology Inc. has released the SA65 chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC) for precise timing accuracy and stability in extreme environments. The product is designed primarily for advanced military platforms, ocean-bottom survey systems and remote sensing applications. CSACs ensure stable and accurate timing even when GNSS time signals are unavailable.
The SA65 CSAC is an embedded timing solution with improved environmental ruggedness, delivering higher performance than the company’s previous SA.45s CSAC, including double the frequency stability over a wider temperature range and faster warm-up at cold temperatures. The SA65 has an operating temperature range of –40 to 80 degrees Celsius (oC) and a storage temperature range of –55 to 105 oC. The warm-up time of two minutes at –40 oC is 33% faster than that of the SA.45s.
Together, these SA65 CSAC performance improvements benefit designers of highly-portable solutions for military applications such as assured position, navigation and timing (A-PNT) and command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) requiring precise frequencies generated by a low size, weight and power (SWaP) atomic clock. Improvements such as fast warm-up to frequency after cold start, temperature stability over a wide operating range, and frequency accuracy and stability enabling extended operation while GNSS is denied help to ensure mission success in conflict environments.
The SA65 CSAC provides precise timing for portable and battery-powered applications requiring continuous operation and holdover in GNSS-denied environments. It is form-, fit- and function-compatible with the SA.45s, which minimizes risk and redesign costs for the system developer while improving performance and environmental insensitivity.
Microchip has delivered more than 275,000 rubidium clocks, 138,000 CSACs, 12,500 Cesium clocks and 200 active hydrogen masers to customers worldwide.
