Contact Information: Media Contacts: Venkat Bahl Discera, Inc. 408-432-8600 x228 venkat@discera.com Emilie Harris Lois Paul & Partners 512-638-5321 emilie_harris@lpp.com
Discera Powers High Reliability Telemetry Transmitters
Provider of Telemetry Transmitters Looks to Discera for Reliability and Accuracy for Frequency Source Market
| Source: Discera
SAN JOSE, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 9, 2007 -- Discera, Inc., a world leader in CMOS MEMS
oscillators, resonators, and provider of next-generation timing solutions,
today announced that Tyco Electronics' M/A-COM, a leading provider of
wireless radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave components and
systems, has qualified Discera's MEMS-based oscillator series, MOS1, for
use in their telemetry transmitters. M/A-COM qualified Discera's device
after a series of tests as an alternative to quartz crystal in building
timing components.
The durability of consumer electronics products is tested daily. Devices
such as phones, PDAs and MP3 players are always being dropped, bumped or
jostled and are expected to continue working in this rugged environment.
When M/A-COM tested the reliability of the new Discera component for
electronics devices, they tested it for military grade uses. The testing,
designed to prove the reliability and durability of silicon-based
resonators for timing devices, included shooting the component out of an
air gun. Test results indicated that silicon-based MEMS resonators are
ready for deployment in electronics products, including those designed for
military use.
The result of years of concentrated research and development, Discera's
MOS1 family of oscillators is poised to enable electronics companies to
overcome the challenges posed by quartz crystal technology, which is
pushing the limits of its scalability, costs and processing technology. The
promise of reduced costs and the smaller product footprint offered by MEMS
has, until now, been offset by concerns about silicon resonators and
reliability. These concerns included frequency stability over temperature
cycling, aging, vibration operation and shock resistance. The MOS1
oscillator product family overcomes these concerns.
Discera and M/A-COM conducted the durability tests during the past year.
Throughout the testing, Discera's MEMS resonator oscillators performed
reliably in all tests, including shock resistance. Shock simulations show
Discera's MOS1 product being able to achieve up to 100,000g of shock.
Testing shows the resonators survived 14,000g of shock with no degradation
in performance and have the ability to be even more robust with industry
standard packaging techniques.
Discera's technology consists of a silicon MEMS resonator and an ASIC
embedded within a conventional QFN package or ceramic package. The MOS1
oscillator family generates frequencies between 1 and 125 MHz with
excellent stability over temperature and is enclosed in a tiny industry
standard IC package providing a significant cost advantage. The MOS1 family
of oscillators has passed industry standard qualification tests, as well as
extreme reliability tests mentioned above, demonstrating superior
mechanical reliability compared to standard Bulk Acoustic Wave quartz
solutions. The MOS1 family is ready to begin shipping its first products
for direct replacement of quartz crystal oscillators for timing components
in electronics devices.
Discera announced the completion of a $17.5 million Series C round of
funding led by Scale Venture Partners in March and will use the funding to
support increased production, distribution and marketing.
About Discera
Discera is a fabless analog semiconductor company that offers tiny, high
performance silicon resonators for the frequency and timing control
markets. These resonators act as the heartbeat or pulse for a variety of
devices from consumer products such as cameras and MP3 players to
specialized equipment for the military. The company's PureSilicon™
resonator technology is a fundamental building block that offers, according
to Semico Research, "a better mousetrap" for creating fully integrated, low
cost, small form factor wireline and wireless products, such as
oscillators, filters, and RF components. Unlike crystal based oscillators,
Discera's PureSilicon™ based CMOS oscillators can be integrated into
other CMOS based circuits. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in San Jose,
California, Discera is a privately held company with investments from
Ardesta, Partech, 3i, Qualcomm Ventures, Horizon Ventures, and Scale
Ventures. More information is available at www.discera.com.
About Tyco Electronics' M/A-COM business
Tyco Electronics' M/A-COM business is a recognized leader in the design and
manufacture of radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave
solutions for the commercial wireless telecommunications, aerospace and
defense industries. Tyco Electronics is a leading global provider of
engineered electronic components, network solutions and wireless systems,
with 2006 sales of $12.7 billion to customers in 150 countries. Tyco
Electronics designs, manufactures and markets products for customers in
industries from automotive, appliances and aerospace and defense to
telecommunications, computers and consumer electronics.