Programmable Spread Spectrum Clock Chip Debuts

In the FS7xx family the industry is said to have its first programmable spread spectrum clock generator chips. Capable of operating either alone with an attached crystal or with an external clock, the 8-pin SOICs can reduce EMI emissions in products such as PCs, LCD monitors, printers, and DVDs.The FS7xx devices allow engineers to continuously program the amount of variation or modulation of a system clock frequency and thereby tune designs for minimal EMI emission. The spread spectrum devices can be programmed for a clock variation of 0.6% to 4% and come in versions with 1X, 2X and 4X clock multipliers, allowing lower cost crystals to be used.