Precision timing TCXO enables more efficient AI datacenters

Enabling system architects to maximise performance of AI datacenters, the differential-ended SiT5977 Super-TCXO® from SiTime Corporation is a single-chip timing device that delivers resilient performance for AI compute-nodes with high bandwidth and network synchronization.

The latest member of the SiTime Elite RF™ family, the SiT5977 TCXO is ideal for applications such as smart network interface cards (Smart NICs), acceleration cards, switches and compute nodes in the $200 billion datacenter infrastructure market.

In a report discussing the growth of energy consumption in AI datacenters, the “IDC expects the surging demand for AI workloads will lead to a significant increase in datacenter capacity, energy consumption and carbon emissions, with AI datacenter capacity projected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.5% through 2027.”

“Improving AI workload efficiency to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions is an industry-wide challenge. Precision timing is one of the approaches to help solve this problem,” said Dave Altavilla, president and principal analyst at HotTech Vision & Analysis. “SiTime is the only semiconductor company fully dedicated to developing innovative timing solutions required for the complex scaling of today’s AI datacenters.”

An AI cluster’s efficiency results in lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and energy consumption. Efficient clusters require high-bandwidth interconnects and tightly synchronized orchestration to minimize AI accelerator idle time. Tighter synchronization also provides precise network telemetry for AI operations. This network telemetry improves performance and reliability by identifying and mitigating underperforming hardware before it fails.

The SiT5977 replaces multiple timing components. It optimizes the efficiency of AI compute clusters with 3X tighter synchronization for data transmission and communications in real-world environments. In addition, its 4X smaller size, compared to competing architectures, enables larger processors in compact systems. This allows system architects to fully leverage high-speed 800G bandwidth network connectivity and maximize utilization of the AI cluster.

“AI training and inference are fundamentally distributed computing applications, which require accurate timing to synchronize activities,” said Piyush Sevalia, executive vice president of marketing at SiTime. “By enabling a new, more efficient architecture, the Elite RF timing products uniquely supports more efficient AI workload processing, which may lead to higher revenue and lower TCO for datacenters.”   The SiT5977 Super-TCXO streamlines AI system architecture. This new timing chip is an ultra-stable, low-jitter TCXO with the industry’s highest frequency differential output. This chip further integrates digital control to provide additional system-level programmability.   The SiT5977 TCXO is environmentally robust with ±1 ppb/°C frequency slope (dF/dT) for optimum performance under airflow, thermal shock. It is capable of driving 800G and higher links via 80 fs phase jitter and LVDS outputs.

The TCXO enables embedded control loops with precise digital tuning of output frequency (DCTCXO), ±400 ppm pull range and 0.05 ppt (5e-14) resolution via I2C/SPI. It eliminates link flaps from quartz timing activity dips or micro jumps; is resistant to shock, vibration and board bending; eliminates external LDOs via on-chip voltage regulators; and provides a 156.25 MHz output frequency enabling high-speed SerDes and 800G links.

The SiT5977 Super-TCXO is in production and samples are available now.