Skyworks Si5332 Timing Solutions Meet Next-Gen PCIe 6.0 Requirements

Skyworks Solutions, Inc. announced the evolution of its Si5332 family of performance clock generators, supporting the industry transition to PCIe 6.0.

According to PCI-SIG, new applications including AI, ML and edge computing are driving the need for higher performance and increased bandwidth interconnects for compute, switching and storage platforms in data centers ⁽¹⁾. The Si5332 product family supports PCIe 6.0 while maintaining backwards compatibility with older PCIe standards.

“PCIe 6.0 is the future of the data center, and Skyworks is helping IC suppliers design with confidence when they make the transition to the latest PCIe standard,” said James Wilson, VP and GM, timing products. “Drawing from our decades of expertise in providing high-performance, low-jitter timing solutions for high-speed serial interconnect applications, we have qualified our Si5332 family to provide reference timing for the newest PCIe 6.0 applications.”

PCIe 6.0 increases data rates to 64GT/s and enables bandwidths of 256Gb/s, effectively doubling the performance of PCIe 5.0. This latest upgrade to the PCIe standard ensures the high-speed interconnects used in data center applications do not become a bottleneck and complements the industry’s transition to 400 and 800GbE. Unlike prior generations of the PCIe standard that used NRZ signalling, PCIe 6.0 uses PAM4 modulation to combine 2 bits into a single symbol with four amplitude levels. This approach doubles the transfer speed but degrades the eye diagram by replacing a single, large data eye with three smaller data eyes. Using a low jitter PCIe reference clock maximizes the PAM4 data eye opening and minimizes bit-error rate, which is necessary for faster transfer speeds.

The Si5332’s any-frequency clock synthesis, low jitter operation and support for PCIe 6.0 makes it to replace fixed function oscillators, clocks and buffers with a single IC. The device features the company’s proprietary MultiSynth fractional divider technology, which provides any-frequency synthesis and jitter performance. The Si5332 is available in 6, 8 and 12 output options, with support for integrated format/level translation, LVPECL, LVDS, HCSL and LVCMOS, and 1.8-3.3V VDDO operation. When combined with support for PCIe 6.0, the Si5332 is suited to operate as a data center clock-tree-on-a-chip, replacing multiple timing components with a highly integrated, high-performance solution. Device samples are available.

In addition to this Si5332 product announcement, the company announced PCIe 6.0 support in its PCIe Jitter Tool. Long regarded as the industry standard for measuring PCIe clocks and evaluating compliance to PCIe jitter specs, the PCIe Jitter Tool now allows users to take accurate jitter measurements on PCIe 6.0 reference clocks.

The company will be exhibiting at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) taking place in Las Vegas, NV, from January 5-8, 2023.

⁽¹⁾ PCIe 6.0 Spec: The Interconnect for I/O Needs of the Future, June 4, 2020

About Skyworks
It is empowering the wireless networking revolution. Its analog and mixed signal semiconductors are connecting people, places and things spanning a number of new and previously unimagined applications within the aerospace, automotive, broadband, cellular infrastructure, connected home, defense, entertainment and gaming, industrial, military, smartphone, tablet and wearable markets. The firm has engineering, marketing, operations, sales and support facilities located throughout Asia, Europe and North America and is a member of the S&P 500 (Nasdaq: SWKS).