A novel PC-add on system for the measurement of amplitude spectra of quartz and ceramic resonators

A simple, cost-effective, computer-controlled measurement system designed and developed for the characterization of the electrical properties of piezoelectric crystal and ceramic resonators is presented. A resonator, as a passive element, is connected in a standard transmission-π network. The peak amplitude at the output of the π-network is scanned at successive frequencies controlled by an algorithm that uses small frequency steps to find the resonances and other coupled modes of the resonator. The evaluation of the data to determine few of the equivalent electric circuit parameters of a resonator is done using the standard equations. The amplitude-frequency plots (amplitude spectrums) of various resonators, obtained on the developed system, are presented in the paper. The results are found to be in close conformity with the manufacturer´s data for the resonator. The measurement system presented could be used to understand the general behavior of any resonator in the frequency domain. The system is found to be stable over a frequency range from 50 Hz to 32 MHz.