Euroquartz - quartz crystals, oscillators, crystal-controlled oscillators, vcxo

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> <H1>euroquartz, quartz crystals, oscillators, crystal-controlled oscillators, vcxo, tcxo, ocxo, crystal filters, custom filters, crystal oscillators</H1> <P><FONT SIZE="+1">Euroquartz limited, manufacturer of quartz crystals, oscillators, filters. vcxo, tcxo, ocxo. The flexibility of an independant with the capability of a multi-national company.</FONT></P> <P><A HREF="distributors.htm">euroquartz</A>, <A HREF="eqzfilters.htm">quartz crystals</A>, <A HREF="factory.htm">oscillators</A>, <A HREF="group.htm">crystal-controlled oscillators</A>, <A HREF="index.html">vcxo</A>, <A HREF="index1.htm">tcxo</A>, <A HREF="index2.htm">ocxo</A>, <A HREF="newproducts.htm">crystal filters</A>, <A HREF="profile.htm">custom filters</A>, <A HREF="quickmake.htm">crystal oscillators</A></P> <P>Crystal, oscillator and filter manufacturing procedures This page explains some of the production methods used to produce crystals, oscillators and filters, together with a picture gallery of production equipment towards the end of the page. (Please note that this page is the only 'graphics-intensive' page on the Euroquartz website; if you are accessing this page through a slow connection then it may take a few minutes to load. All other pages on the Euroquartz website have minimal graphic content.) QUICK DELIVERY With 'in-house' control of manufacture most made-to-order products produced by Euroquartz are delivered within 15 days of order. When required, Euroquartz can deliver in as little as 3 working days. EUROQUARTZ MANUFACTURING Euroquartz, unlike practically all other UK-based crystal suppliers, are designers and manufacturers, not merely dealers in imported products. Indeed, the main strength of the Euroquartz operation is provided by our manufacturing unit, sited in a purpose-built manufacturing unit of some 1,208 sq. metres. (13,000 sq. ft.) The Euroquartz factory incorporates research and development, engineering, production control, manufacturing processes and quality assurance departments. CRYSTAL PRODUCTION Crystal production takes place in two stages, optical and electrical: OPTICAL Quartz crystal production begins with the selection of quartz crystal blanks of the appropriate thickness and cut orientation from a comprehensive library of quartz crystal blanks. Subsequent processes include lapping, polishing and contouring operations to produce quartz crystal blanks with precisely specified size, shape, orientation and surface finish to ensure the correct electrical properties of the finished products. ELECTRICAL The optical stages of production are followed by electrical processes including etching and cleaning, vacuum deposition of gold or silver electrodes, mounting and bonding, adjustment to final frequency, encapsulation, marking and final quality assurance inspection. OSCILLATOR PRODUCTION Oscillator units are fabricated using both thick film hybrid substrates and printed circuit board techniques.</P> <H2>euroquartz, quartz crystals, oscillators, crystal-controlled oscillators, vcxo, tcxo, ocxo, crystal filters, custom filters, crystal oscillators</H2> <P>Depending upon the application the oscillator crystal may be incorporated as an independently sealed unit or as an un-encapsulated crystal blank. In the latter case the blank is mounted directly onto the oscillator substrate and the completed assembly is adjusted to final frequency before hermetic sealing. Products produced by the Euroquartz oscillator department include standard CMOS/TTL oscillators, ECL/PECL output oscillators, VCXOs, TCXOs, and OCXOs, these latter components requiring a significant input by engineering and quality assurance departments. FILTER PRODUCTION Crystal filters consist of a number of discrete crystal or monolithic dual elements assembled on a printed circuit board with other passive components (inductors, transformers, capacitors etc.), the whole unit being hermetically sealed in a metal enclosure. The basic manufacturing steps for filter production are crystal units, printed circuit board assembly, filter alignment, encapsulation and final test. In addition to crystal filters Euroquartz also produce other custom filters; (e.g. LC filters,) for production of these parts many non-crystal components such as wound coils are produced in-house. CRYSTAL AND OSCILLATOR PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT Here are some images of machinery and equipment used in crystal product manufacture and test. PLATING UNIT - a vacuum/heat process, used to plate silver or gold electrodes onto crystal blanks BLANK MOUNTING - Prepared crystal blanks are mounted onto substrates for surface-mount products PACKAGE ASSEMBLY - Automatic tacking of package lids prior to seam welding surface-mount products FINAL ADJUST - Oscillator final adjustment equipment. Crystal units are adjusted to final frequency under computer control. RESISTANCE-WELDER - Resistance weld chamber. Crystals and oscillators are sealed under a controlled atmosphere; units are 'back-filled' with nitrogen during the hermetic sealing process SEAL & TEST - Final sealing and test procedures under controlled conditions during filter production MACROSCOPE - used during Quality Assurance inspection and testing ATE - Automated quality control equipment.</P> <H3>euroquartz, quartz crystals, oscillators, crystal-controlled oscillators, vcxo, tcxo, ocxo, crystal filters, custom filters, crystal oscillators</H3> </BODY>