2.44-GHz Surface Acoustic Wave Resonator Phase Noise Measured by Carrier Suppression Technique

The phase noise of surface acoustic wave resonators is explored by a passive measurement system based on the carrier suppression technique. The measurements are focused on 2.44-GHz quartz crystal resonators. These resonators are characterized in terms of motional parameters. The power dissipated through the resonators is around 500 mu W. The second-order frequency-temperature coefficient of the resonators has been measured to be around -0.038 ppm/degrees C-2 that corresponds to a classical ST cut. The resonator conditioning is presented. The measured noise exhibits a 1/f frequency fluctuation behavior. The short-term stability (flicker floor) is given in terms of Allan standard deviation. The order of magnitude is around 2 x 10(-10). Additional measurements are given for resonators at 433 and 915 MHz in order to compare them. The results are presented according to the intrinsic quality factor of the resonators and compared to the previous works done in the past by T. Parker. These additional data provide valuable information on the dependence of the flicker noise levels on resonator frequency.