OSS + ELC EU 2026

Reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) is often a key requirement for embedded products seeking EMC certification. Spread Spectrum Clocking (SSC) is a common hardware technique used to lower peak emissions by slightly modulating clock frequencies.

This talk describes the journey of bringing SSC support to the Linux Clock Subsystem on platforms such as TI Sitara, STM32 and i.MX8M. The work started from customer requirements and platform-specific solutions, then evolved into a more generic approach integrated with the Linux clock framework and Device Tree.

After a brief introduction to SSC and the real-world use cases behind this work, the talk explores the challenges of exposing SSC configuration through Linux abstractions. We will cover the design of new Device Tree bindings, the implementation of SSC support within the Linux clock framework, and the upstream review process that helped shape a reusable solution across different SoCs, highlighting how Linux can turn existing silicon capabilities into practical product solutions.