SOC-E (System-on-Chip engineering, S.L.) has launched SUB-NANO SYNC IP: Sub-nanosecond precision synchronization technology applicable to communication nodes, an industrial research project selected under the ICV/ME program (Boosting the Value Chain of Microelectronics and Semiconductors), promoted by Spain’s Ministry of Industry and Tourism through the Secretariat of State for Industry, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
What is the project about?
The communication networks of the future will need to combine classical and quantum links to deliver greater security and efficiency in critical industrial environments. One of the major challenges of this hybridization is having a shared time base with sub-nanosecond precision across distant nodes—far beyond the sub-microsecond precision offered today by deterministic communication systems such as TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking).
Drawing on recent work by CERN on quantum network synchronization, SOC-E is researching how to bring the precision level of White Rabbit technology to a new proprietary electronic IP—SNS-IP—capable of being integrated into next-generation semiconductor devices and of working together with the TSN switches the company already develops.
Project objectives
The project aims to design an innovative microelectronic architecture and validate it through experimental prototypes, with the following technical milestones:
- Design and development of an experimental HDL IP (SNS-IP) capable of delivering sub-nanosecond synchronization.
- Delivery of a TSN-IP End-point use case demonstrating the practical application of this synchronization to industrial communications.
- Development of a System-on-Chip (SoC SNS-TSN) in reconfigurable logic to validate the architecture in the lab.
- Manufacturing of an electronic prototype (SNS-TSN Platform) with the communication and measurement interfaces needed to assess the technology’s feasibility.
This is an industrial research project with a target Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of TRL 4, i.e., technology validated in a laboratory environment.
Project funded by Spain’s Ministry of Industry and Tourism within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
