SBIR-STTR Award

Next generation high performance Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance, tracking and timing systems will need to be smaller lighter and less costly. The oven controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO) is a key component in determining the performance of the GPS system. Conventional OCXO's suitable for precision GPS applications are large, require substantial amounts of power and are costly to manufacture. These limiting factors play a role in determining the overall size and cost of the GPS system. MTI has developed a very small and power efficient OCXO in our standard Model 220 which is currently manufactured in high volume. In Phase 1 we will focus on reducing the warm up time of the 220 and the amount of power required during the warm up mode. Our goal is to realize a warm-up time of <30 seconds while consuming 2 watts of power maximum. With some modification it is possible that MTI can offer a compact, power efficient, economical and specification compliant OCXO. MTI has been designing frequency control products for the commercial and military wireless industry since 1989. Our experience and engineering resources make us an excellent candidate to successfully perform the required research and development in Phase I that will allow us to fabricate and test prototypes in Phase II.

Benefits:
Phase I research will provide the initial design work needed to modify MTI's standard model 220 OCXO to meet power requirements and stability performance over an extended temperature range. If successful this OCXO will minimize power supply requirements and the amount of board space required for mounting while meeting the unit target price of $125.00 in production quantities. This OCXO can be used in commercial and industrial tracking and timing systems for public safety, marine, avionics as well as military applications.

Keywords:
OCXO, GPS, crystal, MTI,o scillator, power, stability, timing

Global Positioning System (GPS) based navigation systems have become widespread for both military and commercial applications with new uses emerging constantly. GPS navigation systems have been put to use for weapon guidance, air and maritime navigation, search and rescue operations, and tracking to name a few. The development crystal oscillators that offer faster warm-up times, utilize lower power, are capable of operating over extended temperature ranges, are lower profile and available at lower cost, is necessary for the continued advancement of GPS based applications. A directly heated crystal oscillator (DHXO) using a SC cut quartz crystal is considered to meet the design goals of the SBIR topic. A heating element plated directly on to the quartz blank in conjunction with an integrated oven control circuit, substantially reduces both the warm-up time and power consumption. The DHXO has conceptually been shown in Phase I to meet several of the most stringent design goals and criteria, representing a major advance in technology. Phase II of the project will address the need for the development of a domestic source for directly heated quartz crystals that will be utilized to develop working directly heated crystal oscillator prototypes. Phase II will also develop the manufacturing techniques necessary for large-scale, low cost production of directly heated quartz crystals as well as the oscillators. An oscillator meeting the goals outlined in this SBIR topic is a highly desirable and marketable product. In considering commercialization, there seems to be no meaningful distinctions between military and commercial/industrial applications. While military applications tend to require more ruggedized assemblies, with proper mechanical design, there does not need to be physical differences between the applications. A single product approach will provide cost advantage to both military and commercial users by increasing the available production volumes. Directly heated crystal oscillators (DHXO), offer extremely fast warm-up times and consume much less power, while having reasonable short-term stability, thermal performance and enhanced reliability. For many applications where power is limited, such as battery operated equipment, the performance achieved using this approach is an order of magnitude better than what is currently available in the market. In addition to the commercial applications for these products, a favorable response from military original equipment manufacturers of missile defense guidance systems, aircraft monitoring, encryption devices, as well as portable communications and surveillance systems has been received. Many programs such as JSOW, JDAM and GRAM-S SAAAM require oscillator solutions similar to the proposed product. The principal reason being the ability of the new DHXO technology to warm-up in the short time period now demanded by such applications.

Keywords:
Quartz Oscillator, Global Positioning System (Gps), Low Power, Ruggedized, Directly Heated Crystal Oscillator, Fast Warm-Up, Low Cost, Miniatur