The quartz crystal in an electronic oscillator, the OXCO, needs a constant operating temperature to prevent changes in its frequency due to variations in the ambient temperature.
Therefore, in order to maintain the crystal oscillator at a required temperature, it is housed in an oven with the thermostat devise that indicates the existence of the calibrated oven temperature. Such an improvised devise is called OCXO-Oven controlled crystal oscillator.
Normal operating temperature of a standard commercial OCXO is 75 °C but would vary from 30 – 80 °C depending upon the set-up and that of its industrial version is specified to -40 – +85 °C
Thus, such a design of an OCXO prevents temperature drifts and provides the highest stability that a crystal oscillator can provide. Further, frequency stability is also fine-tuned by the types of cuts on the quartz crystal-AT Cut and SC Cut.
Therefore it is quite obvious that OCXO is predominantly used in applications where the frequency control is a crucial factor like radio transmitters, cellular base stations, defense communication devices, and precision frequency measurement equipment.
OCXO is bulkier in size, expensive and power-consuming. However, the frequency and temperature stability provided by OCXOs are much better than what the TXCOs provide.
Routine service checks are recommended to assess the health of performing elements.
Full details can be found at our Oscillators and Synthesizers webpage and the Raditek website.