The MultiVolt crystal oscillators provide greater noise, jitter, and power consumption performance over MEMS or SAW oscillators at a lower cost.

Listen in as David Meaney discusses what thermistor crystals are and when to use them! Thermistor crystals can compensate the effects that temperature has on quartz crystal and can offer tight frequency stabilities; this makes thermistors a suitable replacement for TCXOs. If you need a thermistor and would like to minimize part count, there are packages that include crystals and thermistors together.

Modern Business, hosted by Mike Ditka will share the story of ECS Inc. and highlight our goals for the future. This segment will focuses on applications, trends and issues related to "Key Electronic Components Meeting Today''s Industry Standards".

The real development of Quartz Crystals as clocks for electronics came during World War II. Prior to the war, we had wired Telegraph and Telephones and the performance of radio crystals was largely inconsistent, but the need for wireless devices just hadn't arisen yet. The performance of tiny quartz Crystals in the allied Radio transceivers & RADAR Systems was the difference between victory and defeat. The heavy reliance on these crystals really pushed the technological advances in the manufacturing of dependable Quartz clocks. In today's high tech world you can hardly escape Quartz Crystal technology, In your clocks, TV's, Refrigerators, microwave ovens, Radio's, Computers, etc. As you get in your car you are surrounded by more than 100 clocks that monitor your cars performance, keeping you safe and allowing you to enjoy some comforts as you travel.

Quartz crystal has an internal structure that allows it to be used at very specific frequencies. When quartz crystal''s temperature changes, the frequency will change as well. When you operate quartz outside of the manufacturers'' specifications, the crystal will continue to resonate however it could become unstable among many other prominent issues that could cause the crystal to fail.

In episode six of our Oscillator Design Principles multipart series, David Meaney will discuss oscillator transconductance, resonance modes, and design considerations. Transconductance is vital in understanding if an oscillator will start consistently. There are a variety of metrics that should be reviewed to judge oscillator transconductance. The crystal frequency is limited by the physical dimensions of the unit - length, width, and AT cut. Overtone frequencies require the crystal to operate at the desired frequency and overtone. Crystals designed to operate at their fundamental frequencies should never be used at an overtone frequency. David covers two ways to suppress the fundamental frequency and modify the oscillator circuit. When you are designing your board, there are a variety of design considerations that should be taken under advisement.

In episode five of our Oscillator Design Principles multipart series, Davide Meaney covers drive level and negative resistance. The drive level is the power dissipated by the crystal when it is operational; if the highest drive level is exceeded, the crystal may become unstable and may have many side effects as bad as complete crystal failure. Negative resistance is accomplished by temporarily installing a variable resistor in series with the crystal unit and tested until the negative resistance has been calculated.

In episode four of our Oscillator Design Principles multipart series, David Meaney discusses frequency pulling methods and circuit load capacitance. A parallel frequency is when there is an external load capacitance forcing a crystal to oscillate in a frequency range slightly above its series resonant frequency. The amount of change in the frequency depends on the crystal Q and stray capacitance of the circuit. Pulling can also be done electrically to change the value of the capacitance like in VCOs, VCXOs, and VCTCXOs. To learn more about oscillators design basics, visit our channel for our next video on oscillator start-up time and reactance in an oscillator circuit!

In episode three of our Oscillator Design Principles multi part series, David Meaney discusses the differences between series and parallel oscillator circuits. In a series circuit, the resonant frequency is the only the resistive value whereas a parallel circuit uses a crystal to operate with a specific load capacitance. To learn more about oscillators design basics, visit our channel for the next videos in the series!

In episode two of our Oscillator Design Principles multipart series, David Meaney reviews oscillator start-up time and reactance in an oscillator circuit. Start-up time is the period when an oscillator is first turned on when it is unstable before it stabilizes. The magnitude of the closed loop gain will influence the start-up time with additional issues occurring if there is too high or too low of gain. When a crystal is used in the feedback loop on an oscillator, the frequency of the crystal unit will regulate itself so that it presents a reactance that satisfies the loop phase gain. To learn more about oscillators design basics, visit our channel for our next video on oscillator start-up time and reactance in an oscillator circuit!

In episode one of this multipart series, David Meaney covers the basics of oscillators and oscillator principles. During the video, you will learn what an oscillator is, discover a variety of oscillator applications, and what resonators are associated with them to build a functioning oscillator. To learn more about oscillators design basics, visit our channel for our next video on oscillator start-up time and reactance in an oscillator circuit!

Eric Slatten, VP of Global Sales, and Brad Slatten, President and CEO of ECS Inc. International discussing Power Inductors.

David Meaney explains what resonant frequency is and how it works in this short video.

To understand Tolerance and Stability we must first look at the quartz itself because the density and structure of Quartz varies with temperature. You will see Frequency deviations as the temperature changes. By cutting the quartz at different angles you can optimize the Quartz blank to perform better in a specific application. For some of today's most stringent applications that require high stability and wide temp ranges we would use an AT cut Crystal blank. The Frequency Tolerance of a crystal is defined as the allowable deviation from the specified Frequency when measured at 25 degrees Celsius or room temperature. The Frequency Stability is defined as the allowable deviation over the rated temperature range. Typically minus 40 degrees to 85 degrees Celsius. Something to remember is that Tolerance & Stability are cumulative when managing your accuracy budget. They are typically expressed in parts per million or sometimes as a percentage of the frequency.

All quartz crystal resonators have a Series & Parallel resonant frequency. This is the Frequency that offers the least amount of impedance to resonation. At this resonant frequency, the crystal appears completely resistive in the circuit. Let's discuss the Series Resonance Mode In a series L-C circuit the frequency at which the reactance of the inductance and the capacitance cancel each other out, is the resonant frequency. In a parallel circuit having resistance, inductance and capacitance a parallel resonance (also referred to as anti-resonance) will be achieved. When the resultant current through this parallel combination is in phase with the supply voltage, the parallel resonant circuit will store energy in the magnetic field of the inductor and the electric field of the capacitor. This energy is constantly being transferred back and forth between the inductor and the capacitor which results in a zero current or energy being drawn from the supply.

ECS, Inc. International is the leader in the development and miniaturization of 32.768 KHz technology. We offer the smallest form factor tuning fork in the industry. We are the first and only supplier to offer both the 2 pad and 4 pad versions in a 1.2 x 1.0 package. This product is ideal for the wearable, IoT, drug delivery device, hearing aid and other medical industries where minimizing the size of electronic components is critical. To find out more about our Form Factor Crystal Tuning Forks contact ECS, Inc. today!

One part that serves multiple platforms for your design. Multiple sizes with voltage outputs from 1.8V ~ 3.6V. The quartz technology offers better jitter, and overall better performance that MEMS at a lower cost point. Buy Smarter.

After a period of inactivity (hours to weeks), a crystal's series resistance can rise well above its maximum specified value, becoming a function of the ac electrical drive level. This effect is known as drive-level dependency or "sleepy crystals." DLD is thought to be caused by additional mechanical losses from contamination within the crystal package. The contamination can be solid particulate or moisture, or water that freezes on the crystal. Once vibration removes the contamination, normal series resistance returns. Irreversible DLD can occur when a particle becomes: permanently stuck to the crystal, the electrode plating cracks or the crystal is scratched. No crystal is completely free of DLD, however higher quality products tend to exhibit much lower DLD. To reduce problems associated with DLD, you could operate with a larger negative resistance than the manufacturer suggests.

If you're asking "What is Quartz?" exactly? Quartz is a naturally occurring crystalline rock with a molecular structure of silicon and oxygen atoms in a continuous framework (SiO4 silicon-oxygen). This structure gives Quartz very unique piezoelectric properties, these properties allow it to generate a very clean mechanical resonance or specific Frequency with exceedingly high levels of Q or Quality when a voltage is applied to it. Q is an electromechanical rating of energy loss. So having a Higher Q indicates good efficiency. Quartz provides the resonant element for many of today's crystals, oscillators & filters with unmatched performance. Quartz crystals can be cut into an infinite number of shapes and sizes depending on the required specifications and applications. But it does have its limitations. Quartz needs to retain a certain physical size in order to have structural integrity and still meet circuit electrical requirements.

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