Package: All devices with the QFN packages use NiPdAu plating.

Thickness: Following table gives details about the thickness of different materials:

Devices: All the devices from the Si534x (Si5340/41/42/44/45/46/47/48) family, the external crystal devices from the Si539x (Si5391/92/94/95/96/97) family and the Si5381/82/86 devices have the above terminal finish.

Package: All devices with the LGA packages use the Electroplated Ni/Au plating.

Thickness: Following table gives details about the thickness of different materials:

Devices: The integrated crystal devices from the Si539x (Si5392/94/95/95/97) and the Si5383/83/88/89 devices have the above terminal finish.

If more details are required regarding device composition, please refer our RFI portal. Following are the steps to access the same:

1. Go to https://www.silabs.com
2. Under the Community Support tab, click on Quality & Environmental Information
3. Scroll to bottom of the page and click on Search
4. You might need to create a login or enter your credentials if you already have one
5. Then you will enter the RFI portal. There you can enter the part number and find all the information about it

Now if the information you need is not present there, then you have to create a support request using the following link:

https://www.silabs.com/support

See attached Rev 0.3 PDF for articles:

FAQ #       Question

1                 Adjusting the PPS out

2                 Are PTP Unicast packets visible to Wireshark through a switch?

3                 Are there any important parameters that should be considered when choosing a network switch chip to connect to the M88?

4                 Can the module be synchronized to an input 1PPS without having a ToD input from the GPS?

5                 Difference Between Engine Asymmetry and Port Asymmetry settings?

6                 Do the modules support IGMP?

7                 Does the AccuTime module have an SNTP server available?

8                 Energy Efficient Ethernet

9                 Ethernet LED meaning

10              How can 1PPS be enabled for syntonization from GPS when ToD is not available?

11              How can files be transferred to/from a AccuTime module file system from a host PC/laptop?

12              How can I tell that the slave is Synchronized to the master?

13              How can Clock Class during Holdover be set by CLI Commands?

14              How do I get firmware updates?

15              How do AccuTime modules communicate with external PHY?

16              How is checksum handled for IPv4 and IPv6?

17              How many clients does your master support?

18              How many other slaves can your slave handle?

19              How much does the modules weigh?

20              How much time does it take to synchronize?

21              How to interpret the sync status

22              How to transfer files using kermit on a Linux machine

23              Is a '00' Master Clock ID valid for an AccuTime module slave to sync to?

24              Is defining a fixed PPSOUT/FREQOUT relationship that is the same every time the M64 is restarted possible?

25              M88 CLK_REF specification

26              Running PTP over Ethernet (layer 2) on enet1

27              Setting DSCP for PTP

28              The two interfaces of M64 and M68

29              There is a 3 µs offset between master and slave's 1PPS. What do I do?

30              There is a leap second announced. What do I do?

31              What are some guidelines for the "ptp2 config" parameters for servo control?

32              What are the set up conditions required to get TOD outputs to activate on the module?

33              What are the Synchronization Requirements for Different Types of LTE?

34              What does the console output data represent when the module is run in Mode 4 (Debug)?

35              What is a guideline for setting the GPS Antenna cable delay value?

36              What is the command procedure to upload an module file to a PC using Kermit?

37              What is the difference between congruent and non-congruent mode when operating the M88 module?

38              What is the Ether type for Layer 2 and Layer 3 communication protocol?

39              What is the maximum overlap/delay that is acceptable for a AccuTime timing module between the TOD and the 1PPS input?

40              What is the module ToD interface and format?

41              What is the normal boot process for the modules?

42              What is the recommended power sequencing for M88?

43              What is the Re-flow profile required for M6x module?

44              What NMEA messages are used for TOD input and output?

45              What PTP switches can be used with the AccuTime module IEEE 1588-2008 equipment?

46              What the preferred PTP Engine Mode for a module Clock with multiple PTP ports and configured as a Boundary Clock or Gateway Clock when the Primary Timing Source is GPS?

47              What time scale is used by PTP and what is the relationship to other time scales?

48              What's the difference between a one-step master and a two-step master?

49              What's the maximum operating temperature for M64/M68?

50              What's the MTBF for M88

51              Why are there 4 bytes after the PTP message?

52              What happened to support for the M50 and the Software Development kit.

53              Ports to communicate with the command shell

54              Choosing Between the M64, M68 and M88 Modules

55              What is Silicon Labs’ Software Support Policy for the Modules?

56              What is the difference between HMI and CLI commands?

57              Polarity of MRESET and PLL_RST signals

58              Using Clock Builder Pro to Configure your Module

59              Using startup.ini to set the default configuration of your module

60              The timesource TLV

61              Using P60 with USB 3.0 Interfaces

62              How to recover a bricked module

63              Are the modules (M64, M68, and M88) Compatible with IEEE 1588 2019?

64              Using an alternative PHY

65              Configuring the M68 and M88 for Pass Through

66              Where can I find the 3D model and IBIS models for the modules

67              What is the difference between a network that is “Partial Timing Support” and “Full Timing Support”?

68              How to configure for IP V6

69              What causes “Unable to add unicast node”

70              User Interface and Control Characters

71              IPC-A-610 Class

How to route out Si539x/8x/4x LOS or OOF alarm?

This article aims at how to route out LOS or OOF alarm to the INTRb pin for Si539x/8x/4x.
Take Si5395 LOS0 for example: Fpfd=Fin=2MHz; LOS assert max threshold is 4; route LOS0 to INTRb

Monitor Input and INTRb with oscilloscope as below captured waveforms.

Note:
1. Check or uncheck the boxes won’t change the chip state machine, INTRb will only indicate the checked detections.
2. INTRb is the NOR of flags and those flags need to be cleared manually by writing 0x0 to the corresponded _FLGs.
3. The last input rise edge to INTRb negative edge is 2.15us but not exact 4 Fpfd cycles (Fpfd = 2MHz that is T = 500ns period) due to internal delay.

Typically, /CS pin of Si534x/8x/9x SPI should be pulled up to be High (logic 1) between each two bytes transfer for reliability. In case of rare alignment issues, setting /CS high will help the SPI logic to recover by reinitializing its state machine. An example timing diagram of issuing the pulse of /CS is shown as below:

An example brief timing diagram of /CS pulse sequences is shown in the below figure. The left sequence is recommended for Si534x/8x/9x SPI; the right one may work to achieve several transfers of more than two bytes while /CS is kept as low. However, it is the responsibility of the user to test sufficiently to ensure SPI communication reliability.

Si5348 have 3 output enable pins, i.e. OE0b, OE1b and OE2b. Those output enable pins can be mapped to control any of the outputs (OUTx) through the configuration steps below:

Step 1: Set 0x0022h[0] = 0 to enable using OExb pins to control the outputs. 

Step 2: Set the mask registers below to map the outputs to OExb pins.

OExb mask registers (above) are used to configure the outputs to be under control by OExb pins (logic 1) or not (logic 0), respectively. Note that the same bit of three OExb mask registers should not be set as 0 at the same time otherwise the corresponding output will be disabled no matter OExb pins inputs.

This is following the example mappings from the table above:

Example Out 0, Out 1, Out 2 controlled by OE0b pin.

Write 0x0023h = 0x38h

Write 0x0024h = 0x00h

Example Out3, Out4 and Out5 controlled by OE1b pin.

Write 0x0025h = 0x80h

Write 0x0026h = 0x03h

Example Out 6 controlled by OE2b pin.

Write 0x0027h = 0x00h

Write 0x0028h = 0x08h

The clock generator devices like Si5340/41/91 as well as the jitter attenuator devices like Si5345/95 are both designed to provide low jitter output clocks. But a major difference is that the jitter attenuators, as the name suggests, will attenuate the noise/jitter at the input while for the clock generators, the noise at the input passes through to the output and contributes to the output jitter value.

Therefore, in case of the clock generator devices, the total RMS jitter at the output will tremendously depend on the jitter of the input source and also on the input frequency. In order to get the best jitter performance, it is recommended to use an input frequency between 48MHz to 54MHz at the XAXB pins of these devices and also to avoid using low frequencies like 20MHz or 25MHz at the input. Lower input frequencies cause an increase in noise at the clock output which is seen as increased RMS jitter.

The above applies to both the XAXB pins and the clock inputs pins for the clock generators.

Also, the signal generator or the oscillator used at the input should have minimum possible jitter. The Rohde & Schwarz SMA 100 signal generator is one of the very low jitter signal generators available

Now in case of the jitter attenuating clocks, any allowed input frequency and any signal generator can be used to produce the input signal and it will not have any effect on the output clock jitter.

Frequency accuracy is an important parameter when selecting a reference clock for any application. In general frequency accuracy is the difference in the measured value of the crystal/XO/TCXO/OCXO frequencies from the ideal expected value.

Following factors contribute to the accuracy measurement:

1. Initial accuracy: It is the deviation of the clock frequency from the ideal value when measured at room temperature. Any crystal/XO/TCXO/OCXO datasheets specify this value as Initial Tolerance.

2. Accuracy over temperature: This is the deviation of the clock frequency from the reference frequency (Ref Freq).

Frequency of a crystal/XO/TCXO/OCXO is measured after placing the device in a temperature-controlled chamber and then varying the temperature from -40°C to 85°C. Then the frequency accuracy at a particular temperature is calculated in ppm as follows:

Facc = Frequency accuracy at particular temperature

Ft = Frequency at particular temperature

Fref = Frequency at 25°C

This Ref freq can be calculated using any of the following two techniques (this is usually specified in the datasheet for the device):

1. The frequency measured at 25°C (room temperature) is taken as reference
2. Reference frequency is the average of frequency measured at the extreme temperatures. For example:

DCO mode allows the user to dynamically change an output clock frequency in any existing device or OPN if required. The output frequency can be modifying by changing the N divider value which is assigned to the particular clock output. However manually writing to the N dividers is not a recommended way to use the DCO mode. There are certain factors which need to be considered.

The N divider which is associated with the DCO enabled output should be in fractional mode. If the N divider is integer in the original project file, then it needs to be changed to operate in the fractional mode. The register PIBYP[4:0] enables to change the N divider mode. Each bit in this register is assigned to one N divider. If N0 needs to be in fractional mode, write 0 to PIBYP[0]. Note that a soft reset should be performed after changing the above mentioned register.

The next step involves calculating the frequency step word and then also the corresponding values for either the N divider numerator or the N divider denominator. All these calculations are explained in detail in the following application note:

https://www.silabs.com/documents/public/application-notes/AN959.pdf

In order to avoid all these complications, the best and easiest way to implement DCO mode is using Clock Builder Pro DCO mode tool. It will perform all the calculations and determine the required register values.

Many applications require output frequencies that are not integers and are represented using very specific decimal values. Clock generators and Jitter attenuators (Si534x/9x) devices are capable of generating all types of frequency outputs. When a required input-output configuration file is generated, Clock Builder Pro calculates the values of the M, N and P dividers according to the input-output frequencies.

The M and N dividers are in the form of a multiplication ratio. Calculating these values is very tricky when the output frequencies are not integers. In order to get the correct multiplication ratio, it is important to express the frequency values in an exact manner. This means that the decimal frequencies should not be rounded. They should be expressed in terms of fractions. Many times, the output frequency is in terms of repeating decimals. If these are rounded, then there is possibility of getting incorrect divider values.

For example, if a 33.3333… MHz output is required, it should be expressed as 100/3 MHz and not rounded to 33.333 MHz. The following table will show the difference in the M and N divider register values between 33.333 MHz and 100/3 MHz output frequency.

The left side shows register values when the output frequency is 33.333 MHz and the right side shows when it’s 100/3 MHz. As seen the M divider and N divider values are different and in order to get a perfect multiplication ratio, decimal frequencies should be expressed as fractions.

With limitation of Keysight E5052B, it can't measure phase noise when the carrier frequency less than 250MHz. 

If one application need to see the phase noise at 100MHz while the carrier frequency is less than 250MHz, then they may need below two methods:

1. Test the frequency directly, and simply use the phase noise number at 40MHz or 20MHz, usually the far end to 100MHz phase noise trace is the extensions.

2. Double or quadruple the carrier frequency to make sure the carrier frequency larger than 250MHz and now you can the span of E5052B to 100MHz,  and then plus 6 and 12 to get the actual carrier frequency phase noise. (Note: phase noise decreased by 6db every twice, it comes from a simplified function 20lg(f2/f1) ).