Transient Crystal Structure of Oscillating Quartz

Abstract

Piezoelectric quartz oscillators are widely used to provide a stable clock signal for watches and other electric circuits. The electrically induced mechanical vibration of quartz will be caused by ionic displacements of cationic Si and anionic O sublattices against each other. However, the transient and small ionic displacements during the mechanical vibration cannot be observed by usual X-ray structure analysis. The electrically induced mechanical vibration of quartz is resonantly amplified under an alternating electric field with the resonant frequency. We have revealed the amplified lattice strain and ionic displacements in a resonantly vibrating quartz crystal under an alternating electric field by time-resolved X-ray diffraction. The details of the experiment and application of the technique to other piezoelectric oscillators are introduced in this chapter.