AN-008: Ultra-Low Phase Noise OCXO Family

From -160 to -170 dBc/Hz @ 1kHz — choose the right performance grade for your application

1. Why Phase Noise Is Critical

When designing precision timing systems, phase noise is often the performance bottleneck. It measures spectral purity — how much your output signal "smears" around the carrier frequency. A perfect oscillator would be a single spike; real oscillators have a noise shoulder, measured in dBc/Hz at some offset.

Each 10 dB improvement is a factor of 10 in noise power. Going from -140 to -160 dBc/Hz is enormous engineering work.

2. Ultra-Low Phase Noise OCXO Family

We offer a full range of phase noise performance levels — from -160 dBc/Hz up to -170 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz offset — so you can choose the right performance level for your application without paying for specs you don't need.

2.1 Performance Grades

2.2 Full Phase Noise Profile (Flagship Grade)

2.3 Where It Sits in the Industry

Our flagship grade delivers phase noise performance comparable to rubidium atomic clocks — but in a DIP package, at a fraction of the cost, and with much lower power consumption. And we offer performance grades from -160 up to -170 dBc/Hz, so you can match the oscillator to your actual requirements.

2.4 Key Applications

• 5G and 6G Base Stations — Massive MIMO requires ultra-clean local oscillators to support wide bandwidths and high-order modulation.
• Test & Measurement Equipment — Spectrum analyzers and signal generators depend on reference oscillators with exceptional spectral purity.
• Radar and Defense — Electronic warfare and secure communications demand the highest timing performance.
• High-Speed ADC/DAC Systems — Ultra-high-speed data converters benefit from low-jitter clock sources.

3. Choosing the Right Performance Grade

Not every application needs the -170 dBc/Hz flagship. We offer multiple performance grades so you can match the oscillator to your actual requirements:

4. Conclusion

KCCS ultra-low phase noise OCXO family covers the full range from -160 to -170 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz offset. Our flagship grade delivers performance comparable to rubidium atomic clocks — but in a DIP package, at a fraction of the cost, and with much lower power consumption.

Whether you're building a 5G massive MIMO base station, a high-end spectrum analyzer, or a precision radar system, there's a KCCS OCXO grade that matches your requirements without overpaying for specs you don't need.