Difference between ceramic resonator and crystal | Xtalong
There are essential technical differences between quartz crystal oscillators and ceramic crystal oscillators, and the technical differences lead to some differences in use. To put it simply, quartz crystal oscillators are more advanced than ceramic crystal oscillators. Quartz crystal oscillators are a general term for quartz crystal resonators and quartz crystal oscillators. Their core components are artificial quartz crystals. Quartz crystals are an important piezoelectric material.
Ceramic crystal oscillator
Another name is Tao Zhen. The ceramic crystal oscillator is named after the "piezoelectric ceramic chip material" used in its internal chip. The package generally adopts a plastic package with a dimension of 7.5*9*3.5 (unit: mm), representative products: 455KHZ series; There is also a mixture of epoxy resin and phenolic formaldehyde as the encapsulation material, which is cured at high temperature to form a hard ceramic shell, generally brown and blue, and the representative product: ZTT4.0MHZ.
Quartz crystal oscillator
Quartz crystal oscillator is a quartz crystal resonator made of quartz material, commonly known as crystal oscillator. It plays the role of frequency generation, has stability and good anti-interference performance, and is widely used in various electronic digital products, such as Bluetooth modules, WIFI modules, smart wearables, automotive electronics, security monitoring, smart phones, etc.
The difference between ceramic crystal oscillator and quartz crystal oscillator
1. Different materials
Quartz crystal oscillators are manufactured using the principle of piezoelectric effect of quartz crystals, while ceramic crystal oscillators are processed by manual technology to give the fine powder a piezoelectric effect, burn and form it, and make it into the size of the required product. The frequency of the quartz crystal oscillator is affected by the cutting axis and thickness to produce different frequencies. The thinner the chip, the higher the frequency, which tends to meet the high integration and high density surface mount circuit design. The ceramic crystal oscillator is made of piezoelectric ceramic material formula, which can only meet the design of highly integrated circuits, and the ceramic frequency is determined by the thickness of the piezoelectric material, and the frequency is proportional to the thickness. The greater the thickness, the higher the frequency.
2. The frequency accuracy is different
The accuracy of the quartz crystal oscillator can reach up to 10ppm, and the temperature-compensated crystal oscillator can reach 0.2ppm, which can be applied to high-precision instruments and equipment, such as 5G network base stations, aerospace vehicles, satellite equipment and other applications. The precision of ceramic crystal oscillator is relatively low.
3. The start-up time is different
The start-up time of the ceramic crystal oscillator is relatively short, and it will start to vibrate immediately after power-on, and the time is generally in the nanosecond level. The response of ceramic crystal oscillators is several orders of magnitude faster than that of quartz crystal oscillators, which is a major advantage of ceramic crystal oscillators.
4. The internal structure is different
Quartz crystal oscillator structure: composed of piezoelectric body, no built-in capacitor. Ceramic crystal oscillator: It is composed of a piezoelectric body and a built-in capacitor. According to customer requirements, there is no built-in capacitor and only a piezoelectric body.
5. There is a big difference in price
The cost of ceramic crystal oscillators is also relatively low, and they are mainly used in electronic products that do not require high frequency accuracy.