EPSON TOYOCOM Corporation Who Needs Crystal Devices?

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The piezoelectric effect of crystals-the ability of crystals to generate electricity when subjected to mechanical stress, or the ability to generate stress in crystals subjected to an applied voltage-was discovered more than a century ago. Over the ensuing years, researchers have taken advantage of both the piezoelectric and optical properties of crystals to develop a variety of crystal-based devices. Today, such crystal devices are an indispensable component in the electronics that support our way of life.

We in the modern age have become dependent on a variety of different conveniences. We all have different needs, of course, but if asked what modern convenience they would have a hard time living without, many people would probably name some form of electronic device or system: a cell phone, PC, TV, or watch, perhaps. As home electronics and home appliances, as tools for work and play, and as means of communication, electronics are an integral, embedded part of our lives.

Though they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and perform myriad functions, the operations of these electronic devices and systems are orchestrated by a critical electronic components called "crystal devices."

If semiconductor chips are the brains of industry, then crystal devices are the heart and pulse.