Quartz Crystals | Quartz Dielectric Resonator | Radio-Electronics.

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Quartz Crystals & Quartz Crystal Resonator Tutorial

- quartz crystals are resonators that are widely used within the electronic industry as a
cheap technology providing highly effective performance for use within filters to
oscillators.

QUARTZ CRYSTAL TUTORIAL INCLUDES

Quartz crystals (quartz-crystals-resonator.php) Theory & operation (quartz-crystals-theory-operation.php)

Crystal cuts (quartz-crystal-cuts-at-sc-ct.php) Quartz crystal ageing (quartz-crystal-ageing.php)
Manufacture (quartz-crystal-manufacture-manufacturing-process.php)
Quartz crystal specifications (quartz-crystal-specifications.php) VCXO (vcxo.php) TCXO (tcxo.php)
OCXO (ocxo.php) Crystal bandpass filters (crystal_filter.php)
Monolithic crystal filter (monolithic_crystal_filter.php)

Quartz crystals are widely used in today's electronics circuits as high quality tuned circuits or resonators.

Despite their high performance, quartz crystals are cheap to produce and they find many uses in applications from
oscillator clock circuits in microprocessor boards, the timing element in digital watches as well as their more
traditional applications in radio frequency applications where they may be used as the resonators in highly stable
Latest news
quartz crystal oscillators of high performance crystal filters.
Premier Farnell and IDT announce new
As the name implies quartz crystal resonators are made from quartz, a naturally occurring form of silicon, although
global franchise (/news/distribution-
most of that used for electronics applications is manufactured synthetically these days.
supply/premier-farnell-and-idt-announce-
Today quartz crystal resonators are available in many sizes and formats to suit the requirements of most new-9132)
applications. From small surface mount devices right through to larger through hole mounted crystals as well as First profile 35b bonding CPE released
those for sockets, there are many sizes and formats available. (/news/telecoms-networks/first-profile-
35b-bonding-cpe-released-9131)
26 GHz 5G mmW reconfigurable 256-
element active antenna array
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Nokia, Deutsche Telekom & Hamburg Port
Authority collaborate in 5G research
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Quartz crystal basics Compact step-down µModule meets PCB

area constraints (/news/power-
Quartz crystal resonator technology relies on the remarkable properties of quartz for its operation. When placed management/compact-step-down-
into an electronic circuit a quartz crystal acts as a tuned circuit. However it has an exceptionally high Q. Ordinary LC module-meets-pcb-area-9128)
tuned circuits may exhibit values of a few hundred if carefully designed and constructed, but quartz crystals exhibit
. . . . More News (http://www.radio-
values of up to 100 000.
electronics.com/news.php)
Apart from their Q, crystal technology also has a number of other advantages. They are very stable with respect to
temperature and time. In fact most crystals will have these figures specified and they might typically be ±5 ppm
FOCUS ON WIRELESS (/TECH-
(parts per million) per year for the ageing and ±30 ppm over a temperature range of 0 to 60 degrees Celsius.
ZONE/DIGIKEY/)

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Quartz Crystals | Quartz Dielectric Resonator | Radio-Electronics.com 06/02/2018, 01)38

https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/techzone/2017/dec/
and-apply-the-right-low-power-
microcontroller-for-the-iot)
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micropython)
Wireless Modules Operating in the Sub-
GHz Bands Offer a Simpler Route to
A crystal of naturally occurring quartz
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Quartz crystal applications modules-operating-in-the-sub-ghz-bands)
Selecting the Right FCC/CE Compliant
Quartz crystals are used in two main forms of applications, namely as the resonant element in oscillators, and they Wireless Module
are also used in filters. In both applications the very high Q of the resonator enables very high performance levels (https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/clk/411424308;21221031
to be achieved. https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/techzone/2017/nov/
the-right-fcc-ce-compliant-wireless-
Oscillators: The high Q of the quartz crystal means that oscillators using them as the resonant element are
module)
able to offer very high levels of stability. There are several options for the ways in which quartz resonators
can be used depending upon the performance requirements and the cost restraints. More Focus on Wireless (/tech-
zone/digikey/)
Basic quartz crystal oscillator: Quartz resonators can be used very simply within a straightforward
oscillator circuit. As basic quartz resonators are relatively inexpensive, they are often be used as the
resonator for applications where they are the resonator within a clock oscillator for a microprocessor, FOCUS ON TEST (/TECH-
for example. Generally the requirements for accuracy these oscillators are not excessively high and ZONE/FOCUS_ON_TEST/)
therefore costs can be kept to a minimum by using a quartz crystal. When used in these applications, Pre-5G-NR Signal Generation and Analysis
quartz crystals are cheaper than many other solutions that would not perform as well. Obviously (https://www.rohde-
straightforward crystal oscillators are used in many other areas as well. schwarz.com/applications/pre-5g-nr-
VCXO: For some applications a small degree of change of the oscillator frequency may be needed. A signal-generation-and-analysis-
variable frequency crystal oscillator is relatively easy to construct. The circuits are straightforward and application-note_56280-493057.html?
WT.mc_id=site_com_mc_141_re_17-
generally involve using a variable voltage to drive a varactor diode in the crystal circuit. The change in
18__1ma308_ros_text-link___)
reactance of the varactor changes the overall resonant frequency of the crystal and its associated
circuitry. However in view of the high Q of the crystal resonator, only relatively small changes in Characterization of SIGFOX Devices
frequency are possible. These circuits can be built, or they are available as commercial modules. Read (https://www.rohde-
more about the VCXO (vcxo.php) schwarz.com/applications/characterization-
of-sigfox-devices-from-lab-to-production-
TCXO: One of the main causes of frequency change of a crystal oscillator is temperature change. line-application-note_56280-
Where more frequency stability is required than can be supplied by a standard oscillator, then a TCXO, 502083.html?
temperature compensated crystal oscillator is an option. As the name implies, this form of oscillator WT.mc_id=site_com_mc_143_re_17-
applies temperature compensation. Read more about the TCXO (tcxo.php) 18__1ma294_ros_text-link___)
OCXO: Where the very highest levels of frequency stability are required, the best option is an oven Increase the IP connection security of
controlled crystal oscillator. This form of crystal oscillator keeps the crystal and its associated circuitry your IoT device (https://www.rohde-
in a temperature controlled 'oven'. This runs at a temperature above the ambient and is maintained at schwarz.com/applications/increase-the-
a constant temperature while there oscillator is running. In this way any changes resulting from ip-connection-security-of-your-iot-device-
temperatures changes are minimised. Read more about the OCXO (ocxo.php) application-card_56279-391458.html?
WT.mc_id=site_com_mc_143_re_17-18__ip-
Filters : The other main application for quartz crystal resonators is within filters. Here the resonator is used connection-security-appcard_ros_text-
in a circuit which is used to accept wanted signals and reject unwanted ones. The very high Q levels link___)
attainable using quartz mean that these filters are very high performance.
Characterization of LoRa Devices
(https://www.rohde-
The quartz crystal filters may consist of a single crystal, but more sophisticated filters offering a much higher schwarz.com/applications/characterization-
level of performance may be made using six or even eight crystals. In view of the fact that these filters involve of-lora-devices-application-note_56280-
experience and advanced design, they are often obtained as filter modules, although many are manufactured 507458.html?
by the final manufacturers / designers themselves. Read more about the Crystal filter (crystal_filter.php) WT.mc_id=site_com_mc_143_re_17-
18__1ma295_ros_text-link___)

More Focus on Test (/tech-

Quartz crystal advantages & disadvantages zone/focus_on_test/)

Quartz crystal technology offers very many advantages, but against this there are also some other points to be
placed into the equation when considering their use: INDUSTRY CURRENTS BLOG (/INDUSTRY-
CURRENTS/)
Advantages:

Very high Q resonator: The Q of a quartz crystal is very high. This in turn reflects in terms of several
advantages:

Very stable signal when used in an oscillator.

Low levels of phase noise when used in an oscillator.

When used in a filter it is possible to achieve very high levels of selectivity.

Low cost: Basic crystals are available at very reasonable costs. Their use can often result in a cheaper Mike Logan | AndersDX

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Quartz Crystals | Quartz Dielectric Resonator | Radio-Electronics.com 06/02/2018, 01)38

clock or other source when used as the resonator. Semicustom TFT displays: size (and
shape) is everything (/industry-
Disadvantages:
currents/posts/semicustom-tft-displays-
size-and-shape-everything)
Size: A crystal relies on mechanical vibrations for its resonant behaviour. As a result size cannot be
Display designers should seek out solutions
reduced easily and they may be large when compared to other SMYT components. That said, new
like this letterbox type display rather than
surface mount technology crystals are available in very small packages now.
be constrained by the standard display
Soldering: In view of their performance soldering needs to be undertaken with care observing form factors
maximum temperatures and soldering times.

Fixed frequency: Although this can be an advantage as well, a crystal has its own natural resonant
TRAINING COURSES (/LEARNING-TRAINING-
frequencies. Once chosen and manufactured these cannot be altered, although it is possible to 'pull'
COURSES/)
the frequency of an oscillator by a small amount.
Online - Effective
Vector Network
Analyzer
How quartz crystal resonators are made Measurements
The individual quartz crystal resonators are manufactured from large man-made crystals that are generally several (/learning-training-
inches long. They are around two inches in diameter and have a hexagonal cross section. The individual quartz courses/courses_item.php?
crystals are cut from the large crystal using diamond wheels. These are required in view of the hardness of the id=radio-
material. The angle of the cut to the axes of the original crystal is determined very accurately to ensure the final engineering/online---
crystal has the right properties. The blanks that are created from the cutting process are in the form of discs, often effective-vector-
about the size of a small coin, although this varies according to their final frequency of operation. Once the blanks network-analyzer-169)
How to make effective VNA
have been cut they are lapped using a very fine paste to bring them to nearly the right size. The lapping paste
measurements at RF and
normally consists of very fine silicon carbide or aluminium oxide. The final stage of preparation usually involves
microwave frequencies
chemical etching, because this process enables the required very fine finish to be obtained.
More training courses
The next stage in manufacture involves mounting the quartz crystal. Silver or gold contacts are chemically (/learning-training-
courses/)
deposited onto both sides of the blank. The amount of metal that is used in this process can be used to trim the
operating frequency of the crystal to its final value. Finally the crystal is mounted into its can or glass envelope. This
is either evacuated or filled with an inert gas to minimise ageing.

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Specifying quartz crystal resonators world-congress-8)
When choosing a quartz crystal resonator there are many parameters that need to be selected. Many are fairly Embedded World (/event/embedded-
simple like the tolerance figures. However a few of the others need a little extra explanation. One is the type of world-65)
resonance. Like any tuned circuit a crystal can have a parallel or series form of resonance as shown. This will have ElectroTestExpo (/event/electrotestexpo-
to be specified. If the crystal is to have a parallel resonance then a load capacitance will have to be chosen. This is 81)
required because any capacitance across the crystal will alter its resonance slightly. Typically this might be 30 pF,
NIWeek (/event/niweek-60)
but it will be dependent upon the circuit to be used. Also the tolerance required must be specified. The closer the
electronica (/event/electronica-6)
tolerance, the more expensive the crystal will be, so it is wise not to over-specify the item.
. . . . More Events (http://www.radio-
Quartz crystal resonators are widely used within the electronics industry. They can be used in quartz crystal
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oscillators and crystal filters where they provide exceptionally high levels of performance. In addition to this, low
trade-shows/)
cost elements with lower tolerance specifications are widely used in crystal oscillators for microprocessor board
clocks where they are used as cheap resonator elements. Whatever its use a quartz crystal resonator provides an
exceptionally high level of performance for the cost of its production.
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