The Frequency of a Piezoelectric Quartz Resonator Subject to a Lateral Temperature Gradient

Abstract

Absfmcf-The series resonance frequency of one thickness mode of a doubly rotated square quartz plate resonator was observed while the resonator was exposed to various steady lateral temperature gradients between i3 .8 X Id " C h . The gradients were generated by keeping two opposite edges of the resonator plate at unequal temperatures set anywhere between -40 and 50°C. When a temperature gradient w a s created by maintaining the ends of the resonator at different temperatures, the approximate associated frequency shift was found to be predictable by the ordinary frequency-temperature curve of the resonator applied in turn to the starting uniform temperature and to the averaged temperature.of the resonator edges. The errors in these frequency shift predictions were found to be 4.5 f 3.5 percent on the average. It was also concluded tentatively that the size of the frequency shift caused by the temperature gradient depends on the gradient direction.