SiTime

Last updated
SiTime Corporation
Company type Public
Industry Semiconductor
Founded2005;19 years ago (2005)
Founders
  • Marcus Lutz
  • Aaron Partridge [1]
Headquarters Santa Clara, California, U.S.
Key people
Rajesh Vashist (chairman, president & CEO) [2]
Products Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)
RevenueIncrease2.svg US$283.61 million (2022) [3]
Increase2.svg US$16.14 million (2022) [3]
Increase2.svg US$23.34 million (2022) [3]
Total assets Increase2.svg US$750.62 million (2022) [3]
Total equity Increase2.svg US$708.48 million (2022) [3]
OwnerMegachips (24%) [4]
Number of employees
377 (December 31, 2022) [3]
Website sitime.com

SiTime Corporation is a publicly traded fabless chipmaker based in Santa Clara, California that develops micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), used for timing devices in electronics.

Contents

History

SiTime was founded in Santa Clara, California in 2005 by researchers Marcus Lutz and Aaron Partridge. [5] [1]

In 2014, the company was acquired for $200 million by Japanese fabless semiconductor company MegaChips. [6]

In 2016, the company launched its Elite platform of Super-TCXOs (temperature compensated crystal oscillators). [7]

In November, the company announced its Emerald line of MEMS timers designed for 5G equipment. [8]

In November 2019, SiTime was spun off and went public. [5] MegaChips is a shareholder that owns 25%. [6]

In August 2020, the company announced its Cascade family of system on a chip (SoC), its first clock chip product. [9] In October, the company introduced ApexMEMS resonators, designed for high volume, space constrained applications. [10]

In January 2021, based on SiTime's 2020 stock gain, Investors Business Daily included the company on its list of the 100 best stocks of 2020. [11]

In January 2022, CEO Vashist credited its relationship with its foundry partners and the small size of its chips for helping it avoid the chip shortages faced by other chip companies at the time, due to 2021–22 supply chain issues. [12] In February, the company introduced its XCalibur line of active resonators. [13]

In July 2023, SiTime released the SiT5543, part of its Endura family of MEMS ruggedized Super-TCXOs and in September the Epoch Platform MEMS OCXOs, the holdover oscillator to deliver this accuracy in real world environments. [14]

Products

SiTime manufacturers silicon-based MEMS timing devices, used as an alternative to quartz timers in precision timing applications such as controlling the timing of electronic systems, managing electronic transfer of data, setting radio frequencies or measuring time. [15] It provides MEMS resonators, oscillators and clocks. [9]

The company's XCalibur line of MEMs-based active resonators are designed to replace quartz resonators. [13]

The company's Elite Platform of Super-TCXOs (temperature compensated crystal oscillators) includes the Elite and Elite X. [7] [16] The devices are designed for harsh environments, such as with extreme temperatures, thermal shock and vibration. [16]

The company's Cascade family is a MEMS clock system-on-chip (SoC), with an integrated MEMS resonator, oscillator and clock integrated circuit (IC). [9]

The company also develops MEMs oscillators by integrating MEMS resonators with oscillator circuits and a phase-locked loop. [17]

The company's Emerald platform is an oven-controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO), which includes an on-chip heater, for extreme temperature environments. [18] The platform is designed for 5G networks and edge computing, where the equipment sits closer to customers, and must maintain precise timing in the face of environmental stressors such as airflow, temperature perturbation, vibration, shock, and electromagnetic interference (EMI). [8]

In July 2023, SiTime released the SiT5543, part of its Endura family of MEMS ruggedized Super-TCXOs and in September the Epoch Platform that delivers a stable clock to datacenter and network infrastructure equipment. [19]

Applications

SiTime products and services focus on three main market segments—automotive, [20] aerospace and defense [21] and enterprise. [22]

Operations

SiTime is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. In its 2021 annual report, the company reported 279 full time employees in the United States, France, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Japan and Ukraine. It also reported its top customers as Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung, Google, Microsoft, Dell, HiKVision and Huami. [23]

The company has three customer segments: The Mobile, IoT and Consumer segment develops high-volume, lower-cost devices for products like smartphones and fitness trackers. The Communications and Enterprise segment develops products for networking, telecom and data center products. Its Industrial, Automotive and Aerospace segment includes chips for electric vehicles, satellites and missiles. [24]

German industrial company Robert Bosch and Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMC are the company's foundry partners. [8]

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References

[25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

  1. 1 2 "Japan's MegaChips to buy MEMS maker SiTime". EENews Europe. October 30, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Rajesh Vashist". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "SiTime 2022 Annual Report". SiTime. October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  4. ↑ "SiTime Corporation 2022 Proxy Statement (Form DEF 14A)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. April 20, 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Timing Is Everything For Hot Fabless Chipmaker SiTime". Investors Business Daily. December 30, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Silicon Valley Business Journal". Silicon Valley Business Journal. October 24, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "MEMS-based TCXOs improve telecom and networking equipment". Electronic Products. January 1, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "SiTime Rolls Programmable MEMS for 5G Timing". EETimes. November 15, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 "SiTime Enters MEMS Clock ICs for Resilient Timing in 5G and Outdoors". EETimes. August 27, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Silicon MEMS resonators". Electronics Weekly. October 28, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Best Companies Of 2020: See Who Joins Tesla, Moderna, Zoom Video". Investors Business Daily. January 1, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  12. ↑ "How SiTime is conquering competition to meet chip demand". Fox Business. January 11, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  13. 1 2 "Active resonators can replace quartz crystal devices". Electronic Products. February 2, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Timekeeping is Timeless". Electronic Design. September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Silicon Valley's SiTime Expands to Michigan, Opens Center in Dexter to Target Autonomous Vehicles". dBusiness. May 17, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  16. 1 2 "SiTime unveils new Super-TCXO platform for edge networks". Electronic Products. March 17, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  17. ↑ "MEMS resonator integrates with oscillator circuits". 5G Technology World. November 3, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  18. ↑ "It's Getting Hot in Here SiTime Launches OCXOs". eeJournal. December 27, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  19. ↑ "SiTime shrinks a chip for 5G and defense work with new tech". Reuters. September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Four Ways MEMS Precision Timing Fuels Automotive Innovation". designelectronics. September 1, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Where 5G Communications is Heading for Military and Government Communications". militaryaerospaceelectronics. May 23, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  22. ↑ "It's Time to Learn More About Timing". eejournal. October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Apple's role revealed as lossy SiTime files for IPO". eeNews Analog. October 24, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  24. ↑ "IBD 50 Chipmaker SiTime Delivers Accelerating Sales, Earnings Growth". Investor's Business Daily. August 24, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  25. ↑ "MEMS Oscillators Address Precision Timing Problems". EE Journal. July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Demand For Timing Innovation Grows". Semiconductor Engineering. July 19, 2023.
  27. ↑ "SiTime shrinks a chip for 5G and defense work with new tech". Reuters. September 19, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ↑ "SiTime introduces chip aimed at saving power in AI data centers". Reuters. April 17, 2024.
  29. ↑ "New Highly Integrated Timing Tech To Drive Pace Of AI Data Centers". Forbes. April 24, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ↑ "The role of precision timing in AI data centers and HPC". Electronic Products. August 7, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ↑ "Young People Are Taking Over the Workplace, and That's a Problem for Bosses". Wall Street Journal. September 2, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

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