OCXO

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OCXO (short for Oven Controlled X-tal (Crystal) Oscillator) is a technique used for avoiding temperature changes that affect the resonance frequency of a piezoelectrical crystal.

The crystal is enclosed in a small insulated container along with a heating element and a temperature sensor. This arrangement is used to keep the crystal at a constant temperature, one well above the temperature of its working environment; typically the target temperature is around 70–80 degrees Celsius. In many applications this can improve the frequency stability of the crystal by a factor of ten or more.