If you're looking for an oven controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO), my guess is you're interested in the best possible quartz crystal oscillator for your application. Who wouldn't be?
The 2 Most Important Qualities of an Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO)
Topics: crystal oscillators
4 Key Questions to Ask to Find the Perfect Crystal Oscillator for Your Design
The harsh truth is, selecting the wrong quartz crystal oscillator can quickly kill any design. With the wide variety of options and specs available on the market today, selecting the perfect crystal oscillator for your design can be a difficult and time-consuming task.
Topics: crystal oscillators
OCXO 101: Anatomy of an Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator
The oven controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO) is near the top of the food chain when it comes to quartz-based frequency control devices, superseded only by the mighty double oven crystal oscillator (DOCXO).
In this blog, we'll review the basics of how an OCXO works, the terms you need to know, how to determine the turning point, and the differences between AT and SC crystal cuts.
Topics: engineering, crystal oscillators, Clocks & Crystals
Your Guide to Electronic Frequency Control Methods for Crystal Oscillators
What's better than a crystal oscillator? A crystal oscillator combined with electronic frequency control (EFC)!
Of course, determining if EFC would be a good addition to your crystal oscillator circuit design (and if so, which method is best for you) comes down to your specific application and its requirements.
There are four options to choose from when selecting an electronic frequency control method for your crystal oscillator:
- Pulse width modulation (PWM) & low-pass filter (LPF)
- Reference RF signal & phase locked loop (PLL)
- Voltage divide
- Digital-to-analog converter (DAC)
In this post, we'll take a closer look at each option and their best applications.
Topics: crystal oscillators, RF Technology
Crystal Cut Types: AT vs. SC Cut Performance Comparison
Inside every quartz oscillator is something called a crystal blank. The crystal blank is the resonating element of the oscillator that, when subjected to a voltage potential, will begin to vibrate and oscillate at its fundamental frequency.
The way the crystal blank is manufactured can have a significant impact on the oscillator's performance. In this blog, we'll be discussing how the orientation of the quartz when the crystal blank is cut can affect how your oscillator performs.
Topics: crystal oscillators, Clocks & Crystals
Which Crystal Oscillator Output Signal Is Best for Your Application?
Why is it important to choose the right crystal oscillator output signal?
The output signal types of crystal oscillators can provide different benefits and drawbacks depending on what you're trying to accomplish with your product. With that said, it's important to understand signal types to avoid as much attenuating and distorting of your clock signal as possible. You'll also want to be sure you're receiving more benefits than drawbacks from the signal to meet your specific design needs.
Topics: crystal oscillators
Phase Noise Measurement: How to Measure Phase Noise with a Crystal Oscillator
In a perfect world, a crystal oscillator would generate a signal that remains steady, consistent, and clear with no deviations, for as long as that signal needs to be transmitted.
But in the real world, no crystal oscillator produces a 100% perfect signal. Even if the signal is very strong and clear, there will still be tiny, random fluctuations in its waveform. This phenomenon can be represented visually in the frequency domain as sidebands on either side of the carrier. These unwanted fluctuations are referred to as phase noise.
In the blog, we'll explain why you need to measure phase noise, what the methods are for measuring it, and
Topics: crystal oscillators
AT vs. SC-Cut Quartz Crystals: Is EFC Over-Specification Costing You?
What if we told you that specifying more electronic frequency control (EFC) than you need could actually be hurting your company's wallet? Well, it very well may be!
Paying attention to whether your supplier is using AT-cut or SC-cut crystals will help you save money in the long run when it comes to oscillators. In this article, we'll review the difference between these two types of cuts and the impacts of EFC pull.
Topics: crystal oscillators, Clocks & Crystals, RF Technology
How to Prevent Frequency Perturbations in Crystal Oscillators
Frequency perturbations, also referred to as activity dips, can be difficult to spot in crystal oscillators. But a single perturbation can cause major problems in an application’s signal, including within GPS or missile systems.
Imagine launching a missile and then losing control of its navigation. Or getting a very inaccurate GPS velocity reading of an aircraft. These (and many other problems) can be caused by a failure to spot activity dips in crystals.
In this article, we'll help you understand what frequency perturbations are and how to prevent them from occurring in crystal oscillators.
Topics: crystal oscillators
The Secret to Low Phase Noise in Crystal Oscillator Circuits
Quartz crystal oscillators are the high and mighty option for low phase noise and added frequency stability in circuit design. Yes, simple oscillators like those made with resistor-capacitor (RC) or inductor-capacitor (IC) resonators are fine for some circuits.
But if you're dealing with higher performance applications in the aerospace, military, and space industries, you're going to want a higher performance crystal oscillator that can maintain low phase noise and strong stability. Otherwise, you'll risk deviating from the very specific (and usually critical) center frequency selected for your design.
In this blog, we'll discuss how to measure low phase noise and how to maintain it in your applications.
Topics: crystal oscillators, RF Technology, Integrated RF