Calculation of the optimal clip dimensioning to minimize the influence of fabrication imperfections on the acceleration sensitivity of SC-cut quartz resonators with stiffened rectangular support systems

Recent work on the determination of optimal orientations and aspect ratios of SC-cut quartz resonators stiffened by rectangular quartz plates has shown that the influence of fabrication imperfections is minimized when two clips of reasonable size are used on each of the large sides. In this work existing computer programs are used in the calculation of the influence of the spacing between the two clips and the stiffnesses of the clips on the sensitivity to fabrication imperfections in order to find optimal conditions. Both contoured and flat plate trapped energy are treated. The smaller dimension of the support rectangle is determined by a criterion associated with the energy in the mode shape for each particular harmonic. A summary of recommendations based on all the calculations is presented. >