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Technology Hotspot Observation
Recently, DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, achieved performance comparable to or even exceeding ChatGPT at a very low cost with its series of open source models such as DeepSeek-R1 and V3. This news caused an uproar in the industry and challenged the traditional concepts of "computing power is king" and "scaling law".
At the same time, Musk's Grok 3 large model is about to be released. He claims that this is the smartest artificial intelligence on the earth with extremely strong reasoning ability. And Musk's "arch-rival", OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is not to be outdone, announcing that the intelligence level of GPT 4o will be greatly improved.
The competition among these AI giants has not only promoted the rapid development of AI technology, but also accelerated the construction of global data centers, because low-cost AI models will expand application scenarios and require more data centers to support them. With the continuous advancement of AI technology and the expansion of application scenarios, the demand for data transmission between data centers is also increasing sharply. As a key component of data center interconnection, the demand for optical transceiver modules has also surged.
TrendForce pointed out that in the future, data transmission between AI servers will rely on a large number of high-speed optical transceiver modules, which are responsible for converting electrical signals into optical signals for transmission and then converting optical signals back into electrical signals for reception. According to statistics, the global shipments of optical transceiver modules above 400Gbps have reached 6.4 million in 2023, and are expected to exceed 31.9 million by 2025, with an annual growth rate of 56.5%.
01 Application of crystal oscillators in optical modules
Crystal oscillators, also known as quartz crystal oscillators, are components used in electronic devices to generate stable oscillation signals. In optical modules, the main function of crystal oscillators is to provide high-precision clock signals and frequency control to ensure that optical modules maintain stability and reliability during high-speed transmission. The performance of crystal oscillators directly affects the key parameters of optical modules, such as transmission rate, transmission distance, power consumption and volume.
In order to meet the increasingly stringent timing signal requirements of high-speed data transmission and processing scenarios, YXC has launched a series of low-jitter, high-precision, high-frequency, miniaturized, and high-temperature resistant differential crystal oscillator products to provide highly reliable clock solutions for related application scenarios.
High rate and low jitter
With the popularity of 5G and the Internet of Things, the requirements for the transmission rate of optical modules are getting higher and higher. To meet this demand, the crystal oscillator used in the optical module must have the characteristics of high rate and low jitter. For example, the 156.25MHz differential crystal oscillator is widely used in high-speed optical modules due to its low jitter and high stability to ensure the stable operation of the digital signal processor (DSP).
Small package and integration
With the trend of miniaturization of electronic products, the package types of optical modules are getting smaller and smaller, and the design is getting more and more sophisticated. In order to save PCB space, small-size packages such as 3225/2520 are preferred in crystal oscillator selection, which not only meets the requirements of high rate and low jitter, but also provides a variety of package sizes to meet the design requirements of different optical modules.
Industrial-grade temperature stability
The working environment of the optical module is complex and changeable, which puts higher requirements on the temperature stability of the crystal oscillator. Industrial-grade crystal oscillators can usually work stably in the temperature range of -40℃ to +85℃ or even higher, ensuring that the optical module can operate normally in various extreme environments. For example, the YXC differential active crystal oscillator not only has low phase jitter, but also meets industrial-grade temperature requirements and is widely used in high-speed optical modules.
02 Recommended selection—YXC differential crystal oscillator
High frequency | High stability | Low jitter | Low power consumption | Small size
Recommended YXC crystal oscillator models
YSO210PR, YSO230LR, YSO231LJ
Common frequency points for optical module applications
156.25MHz/155.52MHz
Features of differential crystal oscillator products
Ø High frequency range: 10 MHz ~2100 MHz
Ø Excellent phase jitter: up to 50 fs (@12 KHz to 20 MHz, 156.25MHz)
Ø Multiple output modes: LVDS, LVPECL, HCSL
Ø High precision, high stability: Provide ultra-high precision differential crystal oscillator with FS±25ppm
Ø Wide operating temperature range: -40℃ ~ 85℃, 105℃ or 125℃
Ø Complete package size: Provide from 7.0 * 5.0mm to 2.5 * The package size between 2.0mm meets the flexibility and miniaturization requirements of PCB design
Specifications of three products
