Application Note
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Tutorial on TCXOs
Note
Introduction to TCXOs
TCXOs are necessary when a level of temperature stability is required that cannot be reached by a standard
XO (crystal oscillator) or VCXO (voltage controlled crystal oscillator).
Temperature stability is a measure of how much the oscillators frequency varies over temperature and is
defined in two ways. One common approach is to use a ‘plus/minus’ specification (for example: ±0.28 ppm
vs. operating temperature range, referenced to 25°C – with the temperature range typically -40 to 85°C or -20
to 70°C). The specification is telling us that if we take the frequency at 25°C to be nominal, then the devices
frequency will deviate above or below that nominal frequency no more than 0.28ppm. This is different
to the second way of specifying temperature stability, which is to use a peak to peak value or just a plus/
minus value with no reference point. In the second case we can’t say that we know how far above or below
nominal the frequency will change – just that we know what the total range will be. Typically devices are
specified using plus minus values from a defined reference point.
TCXOs are useful to an engineer because they can be used obtain anywhere from 10x to 40x better
temperature stability than a standard VCXO with the same kind of power consumption and footprint on the
board. TCXOs bridge the gap between a standard XO or VCXO and an OCXO, which are more expensive and
require more power to run. The push for technology is towards lower power consumption and of course
lower cost, so TCXOs offer a good mid range solution to power and cost sensitive applications.
Figure 1. is an
illustration of the
typical temperature
stabilities of different
oscillator types,
ranging from 50ppm
for a standard VCXO
to 0.2ppb for a high
performance OCXO.
The axis is reversed
so that the plot
grows in the direction
of increasing
temperature stability.
The TCXO stability
range covers the
middle of the plot
between the VCXOs
and the OCXOs
(and in some cases
overlapping some
OCXO performance).
Figure1. The Temperature Stability ranges of various oscillator types
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Application Note
A TCXO level of temperature stability (from 5ppm to 50ppb) is often necessary because the oscillator is
going to be left to operate on its own, either in free run mode in a system with no external frequency
reference, or as a fixed frequency reference to a synthesizer with the TCXO operating in open loop to drive a
DDS (Direct Digital Synthesis) and where the DDS and not the TCXO is ‘locked’ to an external reference.
The latter case (TCXO is open loop and frequency is set at the DDS) is becoming more common because
designers have found they can achieve better frequency resolution with a DDS solution than they can
by steering the TCXO with a Digital to Analog Converter. Because the steering is being done in the DDS
instead of at the oscillator, designers need to be able to make certain assumptions about how the frequency
of the fixed reference will vary with temperature so that they can plan the design of the Phase Locked
Loop accordingly. As a result of the flexibility they allow TCXOs get used in a host of frequency control
applications, but one important area are small cell base stations (femto, micro and pico) where often they
are being used as fixed frequency sources to a timing distribution chip.
How TCXOs work.
In very basic terms a TCXO operates by employing a temperature compensation network that senses the
ambient temperature and pulls the crystal to its nominal value. The basic oscillator circuit and output stages
are the same as one would expect in a VCXO.
Figure 2 is a simplified TCXO functional block diagram.
Vs
Voltage
regulator
out
Compensation Output
Pulling network Oscillator
network buffer
Vc
Figure 2. TCXO functional blocks
The idea is that the compensation network drives the pulling network, which then adjusts the frequency of
the oscillator.
Figure 3 is an overview of what takes place – the uncompensated crystals frequency response to tempera-
ture (in red) is like a 3rd order polynomial curve (more like 5th if you take oscillator non-linearities into
effect), so the aim of the compensation network is to produce a voltage that is effectively the mirror image
about the temperature axis of the crystal curve in order to cancel out the effect temperature has on the
crystal. The compensating voltage is shown in blue, and the resulting frequency/temperature curve is plot-
ted in green.
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Application Note
Uncompensated
Voltage
Frequency frequency
Temperature
Compensating Compensated
voltage frequency
on varactor CL of TCXO
Figure 3. Temperature compensation
The approach to achieving this has changed over time. One of the first approaches used was a direct com-
pensation technique in which a network of thermistors, capacitors and resistors was used to directly control
the frequency of the oscillator. A change in the temperature causes the thermistors (RT1 and RT2 in Figure 4)
to vary, which causes a change in the equivalent series capacitance of the network – this in turn changes the
capacitance load on the crystal, causing a change in the frequency of the oscillator.
RT1 C4 RT2
R2
Q1
R1 C1
C3 C2
C6 C5
Figure 4. Direct Compensation
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Application Note
In a subsequent development (indirect compensation shown in Figure 5) a network of thermistors (RT1 to
RT3) and resistors (R1 to R3) is used to produce a temperature dependant voltage. The output voltage of the
network is filtered and then used to drive a varactor which varies the load across the crystal, again resulting
in a frequency change.
Compensation network Low pass filter
R1
R2 R4 R5
RT1 RT2
Vref RT3 Vout
C1 D1
R3
Figure 5 Indirect Compensation
The current approach integrates the compensation network and pulling network into an integrated circuit
(outlined in Figure 6), and the role of the compensation network is played by a set of op-amps that summed
together produce a 3rd or 5th order function over temperature. As with the indirect compensation approach
this voltage is used to drive a varactor, which in turn varies the output frequency of the oscillator. Since varia-
tions in crystal characteristics mean that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ function the solution is derived during
temperature testing of the TCXO. Two capacitor arrays are used to adjust the frequency at room temperature
to nominal, and then the settings required for the temperature compensation function are obtained during
testing and stored in on chip memory.
f (T )
Data
∑
Memory
f (T )
Vc
VDD
Figure 6 Integrated Compensation
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Application Note
This last approach is often referred to as ‘digitally controlled analog compensation’, and is commonly found
in small form factor TCXO designs because of the amount of functionality that can be made available in a
single ASIC.
Hopefully this short introduction has given you an overview of TCXOs and the various ways they can be
implemented. For more information on TCXO or other oscillator technology please take a look at our other
application notes on-line at:
[Link]
Review our TCXO offerings at:
[Link]
or contact Vectron at:
[Link]
For Additional Information, Please Contact
USA: Europe: Asia:
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267 Lowell Road Landstrasse, D-74924 1589 Century Avenue, the 19th Floor
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Tel: 1.888.328.7661 Tel: +49 (0) 7268.8010 Shanghai, China
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Disclaimer
Vectron International reserves the right to make changes to the product(s) and or information contained herein without notice. No liability is assumed as a result of their use or application.
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