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AP242401 04.99
Ceramic Resonator Oscillators of the
C500 / C166 Microcontroller Family
The table below is a rough overview about the principle technical differences between a quartz
crystal and a ceramic resonator concerning the frequency tolerance and start-up behavior. The
values in the table are given in ppm (10
-6
) and refer to the specified frequency of the component.
The included values are rough estimations! For a detailed information please refer to the
specifications of the components.
2.2
Different Types of Resonators
Quartz crystals for a frequency range from 1MHz to 40MHz are offered for fundamental mode and
for 3rd overtone mode. 3rd overtone mode is typically used for a clock frequency higher than
25 MHz because of safety factor and mechanical stability. But up to now quartz crystals are not
offered with integrated load capacitors.
Ceramic resonators for the same frequency range are typically used in 3rd overtone mode for a
clock frequency higher than 12MHz. A ceramic resonator used in 3rd overtone mode needs no tank
circuit. The ceramic resonators are also offered with integrated load capacitors. These devices are
called 3 terminal types. The ceramic resonators without integrated capacitors are called 2 terminal
types. See figure below.
The 3 terminal type is used in most low cost applications and the problem during evaluation is, that
it is not possible to vary C
X1
and C
X2
to lower values than the already integrated ones.
Murata uses for the analysis special resonators without the integrated capacitors but with the same
electrical parameters as the 3 terminal type. This is one of the main reasons why the customer is not
able to perform a complete analysis of the oscillator reliability.
Note: The typical electrical characteristic of the ceramic resonators can differ from type to type.
Therefore for each different type of ceramic resonator an analysis for start-up and oscillation
reliability has to be made.
Table 2
Principal technical Differences between Quartz Crystals and Ceramic Resonators
Ceramic Resonator
±
3000 ppm
±
2000 ... 5000 ppm
±
20 ... 50 ppm/°C
±
100 ... 350 ppm/pF
0.01 ... 0.5 msec
Quartz Crystal
±
10 ppm
±
20 ppm
±
0.5 ppm/°C
±
15 ppm/pF
1 ... 10 msec
Aging (for 10 years at room temperature)
Initial Frequency Tolerance
Temperature Characteristics
Load Capacitance Characteristics
Oscillation Rise Time
Quality Factor (Qm)
100 ... 5’000
10′000 ... 500′000