Abstract: A piezoelectric substrate (120) and a method for preparing same. The method includes steps of (i) providing a boule of piezoelectric material, (ii) orienting the boule to Euler angles chosen to provide a boundary condition matched to a partially-metallized surface and (iii) sawing the boule into at least a first slice (120) having first and second surfaces, at least one of the first and second surfaces comprising a planar surface. The method desirably but not essentially further includes steps of (iv) polishing at least one of the first and second surfaces to provide a substantially planar polished surface, (v) disposing a layer of metal on the at least one of the first and second surfaces and (vi) patterning the layer of metal to provide at least one interdigitated pattern (105, 110) comprising an acoustic wave transducer (105, 110), the acoustic wave transducer (105, 110) providing the boundary condition matched to a partially-metallized surface.

Abstract: A substantially sealed frequency source (10) including a crystal oscillator (14) and a programmable IC (22) thermally and electrically coupled on a substrate (12). The IC (22) is accessed through an interface (26) with programming signals (42) so as to provide an analog temperature control signal (34) and a crystal oscillator frequency adjustment signal (36). The substrate (12) maintains a substantially constant temperature at a turning point (82) on a frequency-temperature response curve (80) of the crystal (64). The IC (22) allows programming of the source (10) after sealing to compensate for shifts in the crystal frequency-temperature response (80) due to sealing. The IC (22) provides electrical correction of the substrate temperature setpoint and the crystal oscillator frequency without mechanically or thermally disturbing the internal components of the source (10).