Discera Powers High Reliability Telemetry Transmitters
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Provider of Telemetry Transmitters Looks to Discera for Reliability and Accuracy for Frequency Source Market
SAN JOSE, CA -- April 09, 2007 -- Discera, Inc., a world leader in CMOS MEMS oscillators, resonators, and provider of next-generation timing solutions, today announced that Tyco Electronics' M/A-COM, a leading provider of wireless radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave components and systems, has qualified Discera's MEMS-based oscillator series, MOS1, for use in their telemetry transmitters. M/A-COM qualified Discera's device after a series of tests as an alternative to quartz crystal in building timing components.
The durability of consumer electronics products is tested daily. Devices such as phones, PDAs and MP3 players are always being dropped, bumped or jostled and are expected to continue working in this rugged environment. When M/A-COM tested the reliability of the new Discera component for electronics devices, they tested it for military grade uses. The testing, designed to prove the reliability and durability of silicon-based resonators for timing devices, included shooting the component out of an air gun. Test results indicated that silicon-based MEMS resonators are ready for deployment in electronics products, including those designed for military use.
The result of years of concentrated research and development, Discera's MOS1 family of oscillators is poised to enable electronics companies to overcome the challenges posed by quartz crystal technology, which is pushing the limits of its scalability, costs and processing technology. The promise of reduced costs and the smaller product footprint offered by MEMS has, until now, been offset by concerns about silicon resonators and reliability. These concerns included frequency stability over temperature cycling, aging, vibration operation and shock resistance. The MOS1 oscillator product family overcomes these concerns.
Discera and M/A-COM conducted the durability tests during the past year. Throughout the testing, Discera's MEMS resonator oscillators performed reliably in all tests, including shock resistance. Shock simulations show Discera's MOS1 product being able to achieve up to 100,000g of shock. Testing shows the resonators survived 14,000g of shock with no degradation in performance and have the ability to be even more robust with industry standard packaging techniques.
Discera's technology consists of a silicon MEMS resonator and an ASIC embedded within a conventional QFN package or ceramic package. The MOS1 oscillator family generates frequencies between 1 and 125 MHz with excellent stability over temperature and is enclosed in a tiny industry standard IC package providing a significant cost advantage. The MOS1 family of oscillators has passed industry standard qualification tests, as well as extreme reliability tests mentioned above, demonstrating superior mechanical reliability compared to standard Bulk Acoustic Wave quartz solutions. The MOS1 family is ready to begin shipping its first products for direct replacement of quartz crystal oscillators for timing components in electronics devices.
Discera announced the completion of a $17.5 million Series C round of funding led by Scale Venture Partners in March and will use the funding to support increased production, distribution and marketing.
About Discera
Discera is a fabless analog semiconductor company that offers tiny, high performance silicon resonators for the frequency and timing control markets. These resonators act as the heartbeat or pulse for a variety of devices from consumer products such as cameras and MP3 players to specialized equipment for the military. The company's PureSilicon(TM) resonator technology is a fundamental building block that offers, according to Semico Research, "a better mousetrap" for creating fully integrated, low cost, small form factor wireline and wireless products, such as oscillators, filters, and RF components. Unlike crystal based oscillators, Discera's PureSilicon(TM) based CMOS oscillators can be integrated into other CMOS based circuits. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in San Jose, California, Discera is a privately held company with investments from Ardesta, Partech, 3i, Qualcomm Ventures, Horizon Ventures, and Scale Ventures. More information is available at www.discera.com.
About Tyco Electronics' M/A-COM business
Tyco Electronics' M/A-COM business is a recognized leader in the design and manufacture of radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave solutions for the commercial wireless telecommunications, aerospace and defense industries. Tyco Electronics is a leading global provider of engineered electronic components, network solutions and wireless systems, with 2006 sales of $12.7 billion to customers in 150 countries. Tyco Electronics designs, manufactures and markets products for customers in industries from automotive, appliances and aerospace and defense to telecommunications, computers and consumer electronics.
Media Contacts:
Venkat Bahl
Discera, Inc.
408-432-8600 x228
venkat@discera.com
