Transient Crystal Structure of Oscillating Quartz

Abstract

Piezoelectric quartz oscillators are widely used to provide a stable clock signal for watches and other electric circuits. The electrically induced mechanical vibration of quartz will be caused by ionic displacements of cationic Si and anionic O sublattices against each other. However, the transient and small ionic displacements during the mechanical vibration cannot be observed by usual X-ray structure analysis. The electrically induced mechanical vibration of quartz is resonantly amplified under an alternating electric field with the resonant frequency. We have revealed the amplified lattice strain and ionic displacements in a resonantly vibrating quartz crystal under an alternating electric field by time-resolved X-ray diffraction. The details of the experiment and application of the technique to other piezoelectric oscillators are introduced in this chapter.

Scanning time-resolved measurement of transient lattice strain on quartz oscillators resonating under alternating electric field

“…Transient lattice strains during lattice vibration can be measured by time-resolved XRD (TR-XRD). [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] We developed a TR-XRD technique to measure transient lattice strains and atomic displacements in piezoelectric oscillators which were extremely enhanced by their resonant vibrations under an alternating electric field. [27][28][29][30] The TR-XRD technique is applied to the scanning measurement of the transient and local lattice strain on resonating quartz crystals in this study.…”

“…[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] We developed a TR-XRD technique to measure transient lattice strains and atomic displacements in piezoelectric oscillators which were extremely enhanced by their resonant vibrations under an alternating electric field. [27][28][29][30] The TR-XRD technique is applied to the scanning measurement of the transient and local lattice strain on resonating quartz crystals in this study. The effects of the crystal shape and electrode thickness on the transient lattice strain distributions during piezoelectric vibrations are revealed by the method.…”