Frequency control devices

Frequency control devices are essential to all electronic systems, providing the signals and timing controls on which they depend for transmitting information at the right time and speed.

These products can be as simple as a watch crystal at a fixed frequency of 32.768kHz with a ppm accuracy or as complex as an OCXO demanding stability down to ppb performance.

We offer a comprehensive product range of frequency control products for all your application needs. Our precision timing devices are Stratum compliant suitable for telecommunication and networking applications; such as 5G, small-cell and base stations, and high shock and vibration products for harsh environment applications; such as down-hole drilling, oil and gas, and outdoor wireless communications that endure severe conditions.

Advanced support from the experts

This extensive range of timing device solutions is from leading global suppliers – including ACT, Taitien and TaiSaw who have over 50 years of frequency control design, manufacturing and distribution experience.

Our in-house ACT engineering team can help you choose the right frequency product, provide technical assistance on crystal optimisation with MCU, and provide quick sample support to meet your project deadlines.

Crystal and micro-controller matching service
In-house technical laboratory – with oscillator test machine
First fault and failure analysis service
Engineering-led technical support
Custom designs / non-standard performance
Flexibility – quick turn, low MOQs
Sample stock of standard frequencies
ISO9001 and TS16949 approvals

Our technologies

Discover our range of technologies

Quartz crystals

Quartz crystals are manufactured for frequencies in the kilohertz and megahertz range with standard and custom specification options.

Quartz crystals are generally more accurate and temperature stable than ceramic resonators. This tight stability makes them suitable for a vast array of markets and applications such as consumable goods, RF and wireless communications, IoT and telemetry devices, as well as medical and industrial applications.

Our leading-edge quartz crystal products from ACT & Tai-Saw offer both industry standard kHz and MHz crystals, frequency ranges, and package sizes/types, as well as custom, high-precision, low-ageing, tight frequency stability, and tolerance solutions for more demanding applications. We also have extended operating temperature ranges from -40 up to 125°C which are AEC-Q200 compliant to meet automotive industry requirements.

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Real time clocks (RTC’s)

An RTC saves power, provides superior accuracy, reduces component cost and testing, and simplifies your system design by eliminating the need to design oscillator circuits and adjust clock accuracy.

The compact package sizes and easy integration allow you to achieve a far lower power consumption than circuits implemented with microcontrollers, allowing for extended battery life and the ability to use board space more efficiently.

Real-time clocks are ideal for hand-held and stand-alone applications such as POS terminals, metering, data logging and security alarms where low power consumption is critical.

Additional RTC features such as timestamp, power switch, event counters and trickle charge make devices ideal for medical applications like drug dispensing, blood pressure meters and defibrillators.

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Oscillators

These are quartz crystals with additional circuitry and oscillator IC, in one package available with broad frequency ranges, package sizes, output types and other performance variables.

We cover a broad product offering depending on stability requirements of the applications. Oscillators do not require any external component to generate a clock signal. We also include options optimised for small size, long battery life, ultra-low noise performance, temperature stability, durability, and precision timing.

XO - vary from ±10ppm to ±100ppm over operating temperature range.
VCXO - similar performance as XO with additional functionality of controlling output frequency using a voltage control pad to control the output frequency. The typical frequency pulling range vary from ±50ppm to ±200ppm.
TCXO - device offers temperature compensation over frequency vs. temperature characteristics. The typical stability of a TCXO range from ±0.1ppm to ±5ppm.
OCXO - housed in a casing that acts like an oven – with the crystal inside is therefore not subjected to the effects of temperature change like a simple clock oscillator, maintaining its stability. More expensive than TCXO’s with longer warm up times, but have superior phase noise characteristics, aging characteristics, and temperature performance from ±0.05 ppb to ±200 ppb.
VCTCXO - is a TCXO that has a control voltage pin to adjust the output frequency around the nominal frequency. The frequency tuning range for a VCTCXO is typically ±5 ppm to ±25 ppm.

The higher in specification, the more accurate they get, however more compensation is needed to stabilise and allow for things such as ageing, temperature, voltage and other specialist internal/external factors. Bringing a trade-off for accuracy vs cost.

Offering:

higher levels of performance
better power consumption,
faster integration /start-up time
short-term stability as compared to quartz
Better signal quality sufficient for radio frequency applications

The accuracy of oscillators makes them more suitable for applications where high performance is required such as IoT – wireless systems and networks; telecommunications – base stations, small cell, 5G synchronisation; industrial/automation – instrumentation, security and surveillance.

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Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices

A Surface acoustic wave travels along the surface of piezoelectric substrates. A basic SAW filter consists of two interdigital transducers (IDTs) on a piezoelectric substrate. A SAW filter uses the piezoelectric effect to turn the input signal into vibrations that are then converted back into electrical signals in the desired frequency range.

Surface acoustic wave devices are widely used across mobile communications and telecommunications, medical, radar and satellite communications as they can operate at a higher frequency than quartz crystals and provide technical advantages in performance, cost, and size over other filter technologies.

We have established an extensive frequency control product portfolio with leading manufacturers of such as Tai-saw, as well as our own sister company ACT. We also have in house experts that can assist you in identifying the best SAW product for your application. As well as standard frequencies, we can support custom/new frequency requirements.

Our range covers SAW resonators, SAW filters, duplexers, diplexers, and triplexers.

We are able to assist you with specifying key parameters and advising on multiple design options to help meet application needs that cannot fully be met with standard SAW technology.

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Our IoT and Wireless Technology Centre will advance your ability to deliver innovative technology solutions for complex applications – from sensors to the cloud.

Creating custom solutions and navigating adding challenging connectivity to an application requires specialist expertise and capabilities. Our team of hardware design and software application engineers have extensive experience, ensuring we can bring your concept to life.

Covering proof of concept and feasibility studies for development, through to working prototype realisation and initial production management, our team delivers you complete project support.

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Our approach

When it comes to developing custom solutions for tomorrow's technologies, we trust our approach to deliver the best possible outcome.

Our engineers will skilfully guide you through each stage of your project, working with you to understand and identify a solution that meets your technical and commercial needs before designing and integrating your solution.

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