Why Oscillators Excel in High-Performance Applications
Why Oscillators Excel in High-Performance Applications
Selecting Components For Critical Industries May Require a Complete Drop-In Solution
When you start designing a project that requires clocking for key functionalities, a question arises about component selection: should you choose a crystal or a crystal oscillator for this particular application?
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The answer depends on several factors specific to your project. In certain cases, crystal blanks are the preferred choice. Many engineers select crystals over oscillators in scenarios where performance specifications aren&#;t particularly strict, or when designing an oscillator is not prohibitive, either due to the simplicity of the project or the end-user&#;s expectations.
However, in cases requiring extremely tight stability over a wide temperature range, and it is critical that a clock delivers a high-quality, clean signal (e.g., quartz oscillators for medical technology), seek out a quartz crystal oscillator.
Comparing the Stability Of Crystals and Quartz Oscillators
Crystals experience performance degradation due to temperature shifts. When these temperature changes occur, the frequency of the crystal will start to drift. Enhancing the tolerance and stability of a crystal requires additional design optimizations, including the use of a chip with control functionality that improves the crystal&#;s signal.
However, oscillators aren&#;t characterized by tolerance and stability, but by stability alone. The stability specification for a quartz crystal oscillator expresses that within a given temperature range (e.g., -40 °C ~ 85 °C) frequency stability will be no worse than a certain number of parts per million (e.g., ±20ppm).
When ordering quartz oscillators for medical technology, automotive, Internet of Things, transportation, industrial or any other relevant industry, you get a drop-in solution with a clear understanding of its performance specifications.
Choosing a Crystal Instead Of a Quartz Oscillator
It is true that some applications that don&#;t require tight stability over temperature can use crystals as opposed to crystal oscillators. However, there are limitations to this approach:
- Conversion of an analog signal to digital: A crystal creates a sinusoidal wave when it emits its intended frequency. It requires additional design work to move it to the digital realm to meet the demands of today&#;s high-tech products. For industries that depend on digitization, including networking and communications, IoT and medical devices, quartz oscillators are already converted to a square wave signal and communicate by binary digits.
- Frequency range: Crystals limit frequency, which prevents their use in certain projects that require certain high frequency specifications.
- Introducing risk: In cases where an engineer chooses to design a discrete oscillator, risk is introduced, including cold solder joints, board capacitance issues affecting signal noise and accuracy, the need for tolerance stacking and more.
Crystal oscillators are the superior choice for many applications, when specifications and requirements demand a highly effective component. Additional benefits include:
- Lower current draw.
- Reassurance that it will function as intended every time.
- A pre-packaged solution, ready for a board.
Use Case: What Oscillators Achieve For MedTech Applications
The medtech industry is a strong example of an industry where quartz crystal oscillators are the ideal drop-in solution for projects that require frequency control.
Quartz oscillators used in medical devices provide several key functions, such as equipment control, monitoring patients, automating certain actions to free up medical personnel and communication between equipment.
Devices such as CAT scanners, MRI machines and other imaging technology cannot afford anything less than clean, stable, low-jitter, low-phase noise clocks. These are essential for acquiring a perfect, clear image that can be stored in a computer&#;s memory and recreated for a radiologist&#;s assessment.
An engineer in the design community will likely require quartz oscillators for medical technology that provide quality during each use in the field.
Choose Quartz Oscillators For Strong Performance Specifications
Although crystals have an exceptional role to play for frequency solutions across the industries that require them, crystal oscillators provide a convenient and high-quality solution for certain designs.
To determine the best clock for a project, work with a quartz oscillator manufacturer. These manufacturers can serve as an engineering resource throughout your project&#;s development, providing guidance, prototyping, tests, board placement suggestions, optimizations, recommendations and more.
Get started on an effective design now with these articles:
The following resources will help with component selections and key parameter determinations:
Crystal Oscillator Frequency Ranges and Applications
Key Takeaways
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Crystal oscillators are available in a wide frequency range, from as low as 0. MHz to over MHz, catering to diverse applications like timekeeping, communication, and advanced electronic systems.
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The resonant frequency of crystal oscillators is highly stable, attributed to physical dimensions of the crystal. Special types like TCXOs and OCXOs offer enhanced stability across temperature variations.
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Crystal oscillator datasheets often indicate a range like "10-50 MHz," signifying the variety of distinct frequencies available within a product family. Each crystal also comes with a specified frequency tolerance, indicating the performance range of each unit.
Quartz crystals come in a large variety of frequencies within the crystal oscillator frequency range.
The concept of crystal oscillator frequency range can encompass several aspects. Firstly, manufacturers produce crystal oscillators within specific frequency ranges, offering a variety of similar functioning crystals each with a different nominal frequency. Secondly, the collective frequency range of all manufactured crystal oscillators spans an extensive spectrum, starting as low as 0. MHz and reaching upwards of MHz and beyond. Read on as we&#;ll be discussing crystal oscillator frequency ranges.
Common Applications Within the Crystal Oscillator Frequency Range
Frequency Range
Specific Frequencies
Common Applications
Low (32 kHz to 1 MHz)
32.768 kHz
Quartz wristwatches, Real-time clock modules
100 kHz to 1 MHz
RFID systems, Consumer electronics
Intermediate (1 to 10 MHz)
4 to 8 MHz
Microcontrollers, TV remote controls
10 MHz
Digital circuits, Communication devices
High (10 to 100 MHz)
20 to 40 MHz
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Microprocessors, Wireless devices
100 MHz
Fast digital circuits, High-speed ADCs
Very High (Above 100 MHz)
125 to 200 MHz
Advanced communication systems, Ethernet
Above 200 MHz
Radar systems, Satellite communication
Discussion of Crystal Oscillator Frequency
A crystal oscillator's nominal frequency is its designed resonating frequency &#;the frequency it's intended to operate at. For example, an oscillator marked for 10 MHz operates at this nominal frequency. However, oscillators in practical scenarios exhibit some frequency deviations. These deviations are measured by the frequency stability, typically noted in the product's datasheet.
The resonant frequency of a crystal oscillator is remarkably stable, largely due to its dependence on the crystal's physical dimensions. This stability, typically measured in parts per million (ppm), far surpasses the less stable resonant frequencies of RC or LC oscillators. Standard resonant frequencies for crystals are available across a wide spectrum, catering to various application requirements we discuss below.
Factors Affecting Crystal Oscillator Frequencies
The frequency of a crystal can vary with its temperature, as the crystal's size is dependent on temperature. To mitigate this, temperature-compensated crystal oscillators (TCXOs) and oven-controlled crystal oscillators (OCXOs) are used in applications requiring high-frequency stability across a range of temperatures. Nonetheless, in crystals that are oriented in specific ways, known as cuts, these variations can be minimized so that they are virtually insignificant for most applications, except those that require extremely precise measurements.
By employing frequency dividers, frequency multipliers, and phase-locked loop circuits, it becomes feasible to generate a broad spectrum of frequencies from a single reference frequency.
Frequency Range vs. Tolerance
Examining a datasheet of a crystal oscillator may show the crystal oscillator frequency range as "10-50 MHz." It is important to note that this doesn&#;t indicate the frequency range of a single crystal product but rather the production of various crystals within the family, each with distinct frequencies in the spectrum. So, a crystal operating at 20 MHz is an entirely separate product from one operating at 25 MHz.
Additionally, these crystals come with a specified frequency tolerance, denoting the performance range of each unit. Therefore, purchasing multiple 25 MHz crystals with a tolerance of 20 ppm guarantees that their frequencies will lie between 24. MHz and 25. MHz.
Crystal Oscillator Frequency Trends
Lower-frequency crystals are commonly used in applications, including real-time clocks, quartz watches, and various clock devices. On the other hand, higher frequency crystals are predominantly used for electronic communication, such as cellular devices, remote controls, GPS systems, radios, and modems. There are, of course, exceptions where some high-frequency crystals are also utilized in clock mechanisms, while low-frequency crystals find their use in electronic communication technologies.
In certain specialized uses, crystal oscillators are tailored for specific frequencies. For instance, a 4. MHz oscillator is perfect for timers because dividing this frequency by 222 yields a precise 1 Hz signal, thanks to a 22-stage binary divider. Below, we&#;ve summarized a variety of trends within the vast crystal oscillator frequency range.
Crystal Oscillator Frequency Trends
Application Category
Frequencies
Purpose/Significance
Timekeeping and Real-time Clock (RTC)
0. MHz, 0. MHz
Used for real-time clocks and quartz watches, typically in lower frequency ranges.
Data Communication and UART
1. MHz, 3. MHz
Used in UART applications for serial communication, facilitating standard baud rates.
Audio/Video (A/V)
2. MHz, 3. MHz
Employed in CD-DA systems and NTSC color subcarriers, aligning with specific signal frequencies.
Radio and Intermediate Frequency (IF) Filters
4.5 MHz, 10.7 MHz
Common in radio applications, such as IF filters in FM broadcasting.
Binary Division
Variable
Frequencies allowing binary division to 1 Hz or 32.768 kHz, crucial for digital systems and microcontrollers.
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