Microchip puts LX-820 quartz oscillator for orbital applications into production

Microchip Technology announced the LX-820 on Oct. 22 as a new quartz oscillator for low-Earth-orbit and other space applications, expanding its L-Series timing portfolio. The company says the oscillator is available in production quantities. Microchip positions the series between commercial off-the-shelf components and traditional high-reliability space products, aiming to offer satellite developers another balance among performance, availability, cost and qualification requirements.

The LX-820 is specified in a 3.2-by-2.5-millimeter surface-mount package and an operating temperature range from minus 55°C to 125°C. Microchip lists ±100 parts-per-million performance, CMOS outputs from 1.25 to 135 megahertz, and low-voltage differential signaling outputs from 100 to 250 megahertz. These are company-published specifications; the release does not provide independent test results or name customer designs using the part. Its compact package and two output families give system designers options to assess against differing satellite timing needs.

The company places the product within a portfolio intended for missions with different frequency stability, phase-noise, power and size constraints. L-Series includes crystal oscillators, temperature-compensated crystal oscillators, oven-controlled crystal oscillators and a pulse-per-second disciplined oscillator. Microchip says compact crystal oscillators suit applications that prioritize size and broad frequency coverage; temperature-compensated parts address stability over temperature and power; oven-controlled devices serve tighter stability or phase-noise requirements; and disciplined devices support synchronization and holdover. Those descriptions apply across the family, not necessarily as features of the LX-820 itself.

Microchip says the L-Series has been tested for total ionizing dose and single-event latchup as complete, functioning devices, with radiation tolerance up to 50 kilorads and latchup testing to 40 megaelectron-volts square centimeters per milligram. The release says most L-Series products use swept quartz to reduce radiation-related frequency drift. It also describes rugged construction and four-point crystal mounts for the oven-controlled models. The announcement does not say every portfolio-level feature applies to LX-820, so those technical details should be treated as family context unless the company specifies otherwise for this model.

The series is meant to address procurement constraints as well as radiation performance. Microchip says many L-Series configurations are available from stock or have lead times under 20 weeks, contrasting them with traditional space-qualified timing products that can entail longer waits and higher procurement costs. The company also says its approach can reduce documentation and inspection overhead associated with some high-reliability components. These are general portfolio claims and not a guarantee of the delivery date, qualification requirements or cost for a particular LX-820 order.

Satellite timing references support functions such as communications, navigation, Earth observation, mapping and lunar missions, according to the company. Different missions can call for different combinations of precision, size, power draw, phase noise and radiation tolerance. Microchip’s announcement offers the LX-820’s electrical and environmental specifications for engineering evaluation and says production quantities are available. It does not report deployments, flight heritage, radiation-test documentation specific to each customer configuration, pricing or order volume. The announcement is therefore a product-availability milestone, while adoption and in-orbit performance remain unreported.