Crystal Blank

Cutting and Measuring cutting angle - A synthetically grown quartz bar is lumbered into thin quartz wafers according to the specified cutting angle, which has direct relationship to the frequency vs. temperature characteristic.

Dimensioning the blank - Depending on the oscillator package, the blank is rounded or cut into rectangular shape.

Lapping - Lapping machine grind the wafer surfaces using abrasives while maintaining flatness. The thinner the blank, the higher the frequency.

Beveling - To cause vibrations to occur at the center, the crystal piece is shaped into the form of lens.

Etching and Cleaning - The quartz blanks are etched in a solution to improve the surfaces finish and reduce the spread in frequency of the production batch.

Crystal Oscillator

Base Plating - The electrode, used for applying an electric field to the crystal blank, is formed by vacuum metal deposition using silver on the top of the crystal blank.

Mounting crystal blank into substrate - The crystal blank is mounted on supporting springs with silver paste making electrical contact to the electrodes on each side of the blank.

Precise Plating - The frequency of each oscillator is measured while silver is evaporated onto one side of an exposed electrode until the target frequency is reached.

Sealing by Resistance Welding - The inside of a oscillator is evacuated and filled with the inert Nitrogen gas to prevent electrodes from being oxidized or influenced by ambient temperature.

Aging and Electrical test - After aging at an elevated temperature for a period of time, the electrical specifications are tested.