Epson Toyocom Achieves High Stability in Ultra-Compact SPXO

– TOKYO, Japan, September 18, 2007 –

Epson Toyocom Corporation ("Epson Toyocom") today announced the commercial development of a new series of SPXO (simple packaged crystal oscillators) for high-stability reference clock applications in wireless LAN, WiMAX, and other wireless telecommunications technologies. The new SG-211S*C series of oscillators boasts a frequency tolerance of ±15 x 10^-6 within a temperature range of -40°C to +85°C, providing high stability in a package measuring just 2.5 x 2.0 mm. Volume production will begin in October 2007.

Wireless LAN, WiMAX and other wireless applications require a reference clock with a maximum frequency tolerance on the order of ±20 x 10^-6, but obtaining this level of stability over a wide temperature range of -40°C to +85°C was difficult with conventional SPXOs.

With the SG-211S*C series, Epson Toyocom applied TCXO (temperature-compensated crystal oscillator) technology to SPXOs to achieve high stability for an SPXO: frequency tolerance is set at ±15 x 10^-6 after accounting for power supply fluctuations, load fluctuations and ageing.

Until now, achieving the ±20 x 10^-6 frequency tolerance required for wireless communications meant either using a TCXO or combining the crystal unit with a complicated crystal oscillation circuit. In contrast, the new series of SPXOs will streamline circuit designs and shorten the time required for circuit evaluations, contributing to greater overall design efficiency.

Moreover, in addition to the 2.5 x 2.0 mm planar dimensions, the package is ultra-thin, the maximum thickness reaching a mere 0.8 mm. The compactness of this SPXO will help enable manufacturers of modules and mobile gear such as cell phones to give their products slimmer, more compact form factors.

The SG-211S*C series line-up includes a pair of models, the SG-211SDC and the SG-211SCC. The models support different supply voltages for different product specifications.
With these two models, Epson Toyocom offers customers a choice between an SPXO that provides a ±20 x 10^-6 frequency tolerance and an ±15 x 10^-6 SPXO that comes with even higher stability and a larger design margin.

The SG-211S*C series and other crystal devices will be on display at the Epson Toyocom booth (No. 6E116) at CEATEC JAPAN 2007, to be held at Makuhari Messe from October 2 to 6.

Based on technology defined by the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards, WiMAX is the popular name of a wireless telecommunications technology. The WiMAX Forum, an industry group, is promoting the normalization of the high-level network layer and seeks to certify and promote the compatibility and interoperability of wireless products based on a harmonized standard. In Japan WiMAX is a candidate as a broad-band mobile wireless access system using the 2.5 GHz band.