A crystal needs a driver you have to design and an oscillator does not. What each source costs in engineering, and the five questions that pick between them.
Crystal, oscillator or MEMS: how to pick a clock source Read More »
The CL printed on a crystal is a property of the circuit, not the part. What one picofarad costs, where the strays hide, and when to trim instead of re-specify.
Load capacitance: matching the crystal to the circuit Read More »
A crystal that starts on the bench and not at −40 °C has a margin problem, not a bad part. How to measure negative resistance and read ESR properly.
ESR and negative resistance: the start-up margin no datasheet prints Read More »
Tolerance, stability, ageing and phase noise are four different promises. How to read them, how to add them up, and why the 25 °C number flatters every part.
ppm, ppb and ageing: how to read a stability datasheet Read More »
Most RTC drift complaints come down to a couple of picofarads. The pulling equation, where stray capacitance hides, and how to trim the error out without a trimmer.
Why a 32.768 kHz crystal makes your RTC run slow Read More »
A crystal part number is six decisions in one string. How to decode frequency, load capacitance, tolerance and temperature grade before the wrong reel reaches the line.
How to read a quartz crystal part number Read More »
