Highly stable quartz-crystal tuning fork oscillator - has arms trimmed to minimise vibrational energy transfer to base

摘要

The quartz-crystal tuning-fork oscillator consists of two vibrating arms with a common support, the whole having a U-shape. The bottom of the U is bonded to a base with terminal pins for connections, and the amount of energy transferred to the base by the arms vibrating is measured. This stray or lost energy is then reduced to a minimum by trimming the sizes of the arms as many times as necessary. The electrodes on the U's arms can be connected by an electrically-conducting adhesive to the contact pins on the base instead of using connecting wires. The oscillating element has high frequency stability over long periods of time.