SMD crystals for Arduino?

Hi all, I'm making another homebrew Arduino board. I want to use a SMD xtall this time.

I have found some of these that look promising http://uk.farnell.com/txc/7a-16-000maaj-t/xtal-16-000mhz-18pf-smd-5-0x3-2/dp/1841946RL

What is the load capacitance on the standard Arduino crystal? This states 18pf so will I still have to use the same 22pf caps as a load?

Thanks

I've always used 22pF. I don't think the exact value is important, anything from 18-22pF is acceptable. I have read of people not using caps at all :roll_eyes:

Here's that thread: Arduino Forum

Older crystals tend to specify higher load capacitance and newer crystals are generally in the 6pf - 12pf range.

Unless you require super accurate timing, pay no attention to the load capacitance specification - most high speed crystals (4Mhz or over) will run without those capacitors.

Unless you need better than 0.5% frequency accuracy, you can use a 3-terminal ceramic resonator instead, such as http://uk.farnell.com/abracon/awscr-16-00mtd-t/ceramic-resonator-16mhz-smd/dp/2101362?in_merch=New%20Products. These have the caps built in.

If you do use a crystal, the 2 caps are in series as seen by the resonator. So 2x22pf gives 11pF, and when you add the stray capacitance and mcu pin capacitance you will have close to 18pF.

Always aim to provide the load capacitance specified on the crystal's datasheet. I use the formula on page 2 here, which is pretty standard.

Turning the formula around, and assuming the two load capacitors are equal gives:

C = 2(CL - CS)

Where C is the load capacitor value, CL is the load capacitance specified in the crystal's datasheet, and CS is stray capacitance.

When I do the maths, assuming CL of 18pF and CS of 5pF, I get 26pF, so I use 27pF (standard value) caps with 18pF crystals.

Many crystals will run without load capacitors, and that might be OK on a breadboard in a pinch, but anything else is just Bad Design. When something isn't working, I don't know why I'd want to have to worry about whether the oscillator is running correctly. I can create more than enough of my own problems in other areas, so I figure I might as well get the oscillator right and not have to add that to the list of possible causes :smiley:

Thanks for all the useful info guys!

The resonators sound like a good option, I don't need a great level of accuracy, and I'm using a RTC for the longer term time management anyhow :slight_smile:

Thanks for the info Jack! It's one thing answering a question for someone but telling them how to answer it themselves is great :slight_smile: one thing I'm not sure about is how you calculate the 'stray resistance'?

Thanks again

The resonators sound like a good option, I don't need a great level of accuracy,

Let me flip that coin for you. If you are OK with the (in)accuracy of a resonator, you are going to be more than OK with the (in)accuracy caused by no load capacitance or out-of-spec load capacitance. A crystal without no capacitance will beat out a resonator and provides you the option to obtain accurate timing in the future if you decide to solder in the capacitor(s).

With that, it is very difficult, in my view, to justify a resonator over a crystal, and that's why you rarely see them used in well designed products.

dhenry:

The resonators sound like a good option, I don't need a great level of accuracy,

Let me flip that coin for you. If you are OK with the (in)accuracy of a resonator, you are going to be more than OK with the (in)accuracy caused by no load capacitance or out-of-spec load capacitance. A crystal without no capacitance will beat out a resonator and provides you the option to obtain accurate timing in the future if you decide to solder in the capacitor(s).

With that, it is very difficult, in my view, to justify a resonator over a crystal, and that's why you rarely see them used in well designed products.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with a the design that uses a resonator, if the frequency tolerance and drift of the resonator are within the required parameters. You might just as well say that well-designed products don't use 1% tolerance resistors, because 0.1% tolerance resistors are available.

On the other hand, a circuit using an atmega328p and crystal with no capacitors is definitely not well-designed, because it's running the mcu outside its recommended operating conditions (C1, C2 = 12 to 22pF, see sections 9.3 - 9.4 of the datasheet).

dtokez:
Thanks for the info Jack! It's one thing answering a question for someone but telling them how to answer it themselves is great :slight_smile: one thing I'm not sure about is how you calculate the 'stray resistance capacitance'?

Sure thing! As for stray capacitance, that might take some doing to actually measure, and test equipment that I don't have, so I don't calculate it, I just assume 5pF. Note that the Fox document says

As a rule of thumb, Cstray may be assumed to equal 5.0 pF.

so I just go with that in absence of any better estimate.

For most purposes, resonators are fine too, as noted. The Uno actually uses a resonator I believe.

There is also the pin capacitance.

dhenry:
There is also the pin capacitance.

Indeed. But in the datasheet (ATmega328 et al), I can only find pin capacitance listed for the low-frequency oscillator.

I use 7pf as an estimate.

dhenry:
I use 7pf as an estimate.

Then add something on top of that for stray capacitance, or would 7pF be pin + stray?

For pin alone.

Those guys didn't just pick 6pf/12pf load capacitance for no reason.

dhenry:
For pin alone.

Those guys didn't just pick 6pf/12pf load capacitance for no reason.

Sorry, what guys are those?

I realise this is an old post now, but because it still comes up as a top Google search result regarding Arduino's, Crystals and Capacitors I figured I'd add this in hopes to help people in the future...

First off all, I am not an EE or claim to be a pro, but I have worked with my fair share of "custom" arduino projects (as in an embedded "arduino" in my project / built into the PCB) opposed to connecting a real arduino to my PCB.

The Crystal is actually a very important aspect of many projects, especially if things like timing, Serial Communications, Ethernet, etc are involved.

Also, be sure to read the full datasheet for the Crystal you purchase. There are a number of specs you need to know.

As a general rule of thumb, I try to stick with Crystals that have 30ppm accuracy OR BETTER (lower is better). Also, keep traces from the Atmel chip to the crystal as short as possible, avoid using vias, and along the same lines through hole - your SMD Crystal is a perfect choice.

Each Crystal out there, even if the same manufacturer, speed, etc will have different requirements and you must also be aware of "Cstray"... traces, vias, through holes, etc will all add Stray Capacitance (Cstray) - even the PCB itself adds some Capacitance between layers.

Check out this page from Adafruit for more info, it's a great resource!

dc42:
Unless you need better than 0.5% frequency accuracy, you can use a 3-terminal ceramic resonator instead, such as http://uk.farnell.com/abracon/awscr-16-00mtd-t/ceramic-resonator-16mhz-smd/dp/2101362?in_merch=New%20Products. These have the caps built in.

If you do use a crystal, the 2 caps are in series as seen by the resonator. So 2x22pf gives 11pF, and when you add the stray capacitance and mcu pin capacitance you will have close to 18pF.

If you don't care that much about the oscillator's tolerance, the internal oscillator is an even better option because it doesn't need any external components. It's not very often that a microcontroller project actually needs the extra performance of 16 MHz over 8 MHz.