Category ""
ADVERTISING
A crystal oscillator relies on the slight change in shape of a quartz crystal under an electric field, a property known as inverse piezoelectricity. A voltage applied to the electrodes on the crystal causes it to change shape; when the voltage is removed, the crystal generates a small voltage as it elastically returns to its original shape.
Crystal oscillators operate on the principle of the inverse piezoelectric effect. When an alternating voltage is applied to the crystal, it vibrates at its natural frequency. These vibrations are then converted into oscillations. These oscillators are usually made of Quartz crystal.
In this article, we’ll try to develop a deeper insight into the operation of a quartz crystal oscillator. In the first part of this series, we looked at some of the important metrics that are used to characterize the frequency deviations of quartz crystals .
This article focuses on quartz crystal oscillators to introduce engineers to the equivalent model of the quartz crystal, quartz crystal impedance against frequency, crystal reactance against frequency, series and parallel resonant frequency, quartz crystal calculations, and available types of quartz oscillators configurations.
Quartz crystal oscillator is an oscillator circuit that utilizes quartz crystal as the resonator to stabilize or control its frequency. These are often used for generating the clock of analog circuits and digital systems.
Quartz crystal oscillators come in two types: a plain quartz crystal and a complete oscillator package containing all necessary circuit components to output periodic waveforms directly. The differences are outlined below:
Quartz Crystal and its Equivalent Circuit. This is the symbol of Crystal Oscillator. The quartz crystal is made from thin piece of quartz wafer tightly fitted and controlled between two parallel metalized surfaces.
Quartz crystal oscillators are fundamental components in modern electronics, leveraging the unique piezoelectric properties of quartz crystals to generate highly stable and precise frequencies.
Discover the differences between high-performance quartz crystal oscillators including OCXO oscillators, TCXO oscillators, VCXO oscillators, and clocks.
The quartz resonator, together with a circuit that excites and sustains its oscillations, is called a quartz oscillator. At the oscillator startup, the crystal is set in vibration by electrical signal - this can be compared to the striking of a tuning fork.