AVX announces free Kyocera crystal matching facility at Fleet Design Centre, UK

Crystal matching is the process of fine-tuning an oscillator circuit to obtain optimal performance under operative conditions. Oscillator circuits contain both a quartz crystal and an IC which requires a very precise signal generated by the crystal to perform its function accurately. Capacitors and resistors are usually necessary to fine-tune the circuit, as six key parameters need to be satisfied: negative resistance, third overtone negative resistance, initial frequency deviation, load capacitance, drive level and start-up time. As end applications such as automotive electronics or medical equipment become increasingly sophisticated, only extremely accurate measuring and manipulation of these variables ensures a match between the operating frequency of the quartz crystal and IC device.

Samir Stephan, FDC’s Manager, comments: “We work with many leading European customers and semiconductor companies, especially those in the automotive industry, and have a dedicated laboratory staffed by specialist engineers who can evaluate many boards at any one time. Additionally, semiconductor evaluations are documented and uploaded onto Kyocera’s website which has a search engine that can be used to find a particular crystal matching to a specific IC. Evaluation results can be used both by our semiconductor clients and our mutual end customers to design a recommendable oscillation circuit which saves a great deal of time and effort at the customers’ design stage – typically we receive and turnaround a full matching solution in around two to three days.

In addition to the Fleet Design Centre in the UK, AVX Corporation also offers the Kyocera crystal matching service in Chicago, USA and Korea.