NDK (Nihon Dempa Kogyo Co. Ltd.) announced the availability of the NX3225GB series of quartz crystals that are designed to have a high resistance to solder cracking even when applied with lead-free solder. They are able to withstand 2500 cycles of going from -30° to +120°C without cracking, making them ideal for the CPU clock in engine controls. This series exhibits stable start-up characteristics even under severe environmental conditions, as their operating temperature range is -40° to +150°C. The NX3225GB is also resistant to shock and vibration. They have a very low profile of 0.75 mm and their footprint of W=3.2xD=2.5 mm reduces board space by over 25 percent (when compared to the W=8.2xD=4.5 mm solder crack resistant predecessor). These crystals operate in a fundamental frequency range of 9.84375 to 50 MHz with a frequency tolerance at 25°C is ±50 ppm. Their maximum ESR (equivalent series resistance) is 300 W in the frequency range of 9.84375 to 12 MHz, 120 W in the frequency range of 12 to 20 MHz and 100 W in the 20 to 50 MHz frequency range. The standard load capacitance is 8 pF; however, other values can be made available. They conform to AEC-Q200 and are RoHS compliant.

"Under the hood automotive applications present one of the toughest environments for electronic components to operate," said Mike Walczak, President of NDK America Inc. "Lead-free solders are more brittle than their predecessors and the expansion and contraction can lead to solder crack between the crystal and substrate. Leaning on our 35 plus years of experience in supplying ECU components NDK was able to reduce the components size without degrading the performance characteristics."