JP4645991B2 - Quartz device, tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece, and method for manufacturing tuning fork type quartz vibrating piece - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a crystal device, a tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece, and a method for manufacturing a tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece .

Quartz that contains a crystal resonator element in a small information device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), mobile computer, or IC card, or mobile communication device such as a mobile phone, a car phone, or a paging system Crystal devices such as vibrators and crystal oscillators are widely used.
FIG. 19 to FIG. 21 are schematic process diagrams showing a process of forming a quartz crystal vibrating piece used in such a quartz crystal device.

Each of FIGS. 19 to 21 shows a schematic perspective view on the left side and a cut end view showing only a cut end surface cut along the line AA in the left side diagram on the right side.
In FIG. 19A, a crystal piece 1 for forming, for example, one vibrating piece is formed from a crystal wafer. In this case, the crystal piece 1 shows a case where a rectangular crystal piece is formed.

In FIG. 19B, the electrode film 2 covered with gold is formed on the entire surface of the crystal piece 1 by, for example, a metal vapor deposition or sputtering technique on a nickel film as an underlayer.
In order to appropriately drive the crystal vibrating piece, the electrode film 2 needs to be separated into a shape that generates an electric field that appropriately vibrates the crystal vibrating piece when a driving voltage is applied.

Therefore, an electrode configuration suitable for driving the quartz crystal resonator element is formed by photoetching. That is, as shown in FIG. 19C, the resist 3 is applied to the entire surface of the crystal piece 1 provided with the electrode film 2.
Next, as shown in FIG. 20 (d), mask members divided like portions 4a, 4b, and 4c are arranged corresponding to the electrode form to be formed, and the upper and lower surfaces are indicated by arrows. The resists 3a and 3a exposed from the mask member are exposed to light.
Next, as shown in FIG. 20E, the exposed resists 3a and 3a are removed. As a result, the electrode films 2a and 2a are exposed at the portions where the resists 3a and 3a are removed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 20F, the exposed portions of the electrode films 2a and 2a are etched to expose the quartz materials 1a and 1a. Subsequently, when the resists 3, 3 and 3 are removed, as shown in FIG. 21G, the electrode film 2 is formed on the upper and lower surfaces (not shown) of the crystal piece 1 in the portions 2a, 2b and 2c. It is formed in a separated state.

  By the way, in the crystal vibrating piece 5 having such a structure, even if the divided portions 2a, 2b, and 2c of the electrode film 2 are divided into different positive and negative poles, the electrode film 2 of the crystal vibrating piece 5 is used. In the side surface portion, the above-described portions 2a, 2b, and 2c are connected to each other by the portion 2d and the portion 2e.

  That is, in the photoetching process as described above, since the side surface portion of the crystal piece 1 cannot be exposed, the electrode film 2 formed on the side surface portion of the crystal piece 1 cannot be separated. It requires a special process.

  For example, in the first process example of FIG. 22, before forming the electrode film on the crystal piece 1, the mask members 6, 6, and 6 are provided at locations where the electrode film on the side surface of the crystal piece 1 is to be separated. The electrode film is formed in this state. As a result, a portion where the electrode film is not formed in the side surface portion is provided in advance, and when the crystal vibrating piece 5 of FIG. 21 is formed, the portions 2a, 2b, 2c of the electrode film 2 can be separated from each other. .

In the second process example of FIG. 23, a crystal piece 7 having projections or projections 8, 8, 8 formed on the side surface is prepared.
Using such a crystal piece 7, an electrode film is formed by the same photoetching process as that shown in FIGS. Finally, when these protrusions or projections 8, 8, and 8 are broken along the folding lines 8a, 8b, and 8c of the protrusions or protrusions 8, 8, and 8, the crystal vibrating piece of FIG. When 5 is formed, the portions 2a, 2b, 2c of the electrode film 2 can be separated from each other.

  However, according to the first process example of FIG. 22, the mask members 6, 6, and 6 have to be arranged before the electrode film 2 is formed. When an attempt is made to form a fine electrode film in order to arrange individual mask members, it is not suitable.

  Further, according to the second process example of FIG. 23, along the folding lines 8a, 8b, and 8c of the projections or projections 8, 8, and 8, these projections or projections 8, 8, and 8 are folded. Since the work is increased and complicated, and the folding surfaces are not uniform, the characteristics of the quartz crystal vibrating piece may be adversely affected.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and can form a fine-shaped electrode without complicating the manufacturing process and without affecting the characteristics of the quartz crystal vibrating piece. It is an object of the present invention to provide a crystal device, a tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece, and a method for manufacturing a tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece .

The invention of the present application is a crystal device in which a tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece with a frame is accommodated in a package, the tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece including the frame and a base formed inside the frame. The first and second vibrating arms connected to each other via the base , the first excitation electrode formed on the side surface of the first vibrating arm and the surface of the second vibrating arm, and the first A second excitation electrode formed on a surface of the first vibrating arm and a side surface of the second vibrating arm; a notch window portion formed on at least one surface of the frame and the base; and the notch An inclined surface inclined in the thickness direction from the base end portion of the window portion toward the open end, and the first and second vibrating arms, the base portion, and the frame body are integrally formed. An electrode separation region for separating the first excitation electrode and the second excitation electrode is formed on the inclined surface. Is withdrawn from the first excitation electrode and a first lead electrode drawn to the first side of the frame, it is drawn from the second excitation electrode, and the second of said frame And a second extraction electrode drawn to the two sides .

Preferably, a direction in which a side surface of the tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece extends is defined as TDR, and the notch window portion is formed in a region where the TDR coincides with an electric axis (+ X axis) of the tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece. It is characterized by being.

Preferably, the direction in which the side surface of the tuning fork type quartz vibrating piece extends is TDR, the thickness of the region where the notch window portion of the tuning fork type quartz vibrating piece is formed is t, and the TDR is the tuning fork type quartz vibrating piece. When the angle formed with the nearest electric axis (+ X axis) in the counterclockwise direction is θ and the depth of the region where the inclined surface is provided is D1, the following relational expression
          D1 · cos θ> t / √3
  It is characterized by satisfying.

The present invention includes a frame, a base formed inside the frame, first and second vibrating arms extending from the base, side surfaces of the first vibrating arm, and the second vibrating arm. At least one of the first excitation electrode formed on the surface, the second excitation electrode formed on the surface of the first vibrating arm and the side surface of the second vibrating arm, the frame and the base A tuning-fork type crystal vibrating piece with a frame having a notch window portion formed on the surface of the notch window and an inclined surface inclined in the thickness direction from the base end portion to the open end of the notch window portion. An outer shape forming step of obtaining an outer shape of a tuning fork type vibrating piece with a frame by etching so that the vibrating arm, the base, and the frame are integrated, and then the tuning fork. Formation of the first and second excitation electrodes on the surface and side surface of the quartz crystal resonator element And the outer shape forming step is a step of etching by arranging a mask member from the front surface and the back surface of the tuning-fork type crystal vibrating piece with a frame and sandwiching each mask member. Of these, a notch window portion is provided on the side edge of one of the mask members, and the tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece with the frame body descends from the base end portion of the notch window portion toward the open end, An inclined surface inclined in the thickness direction is formed.

Preferably, the mask member is formed by photoetching a film formed by sputtering.

Preferably, the direction in which the side surface portion of the mask member extends is MDR, and the notch window portion is arranged in a region along the electric axis (+ X axis) of the tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece.

Preferably, the direction in which the side surface portion of the mask member extends is MDR, the thickness of the side surface portion of the crystal piece is t, and the MDR is the closest electrical axis (+ X axis) in the counterclockwise direction of the crystal piece. When the angle is θ and the depth of the notch window is D2, the following relational expression
          D2 · cos θ> t / √3
  It is characterized by satisfying.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a quartz crystal device capable of forming a fine-shaped electrode without complicating the manufacturing process and without affecting the characteristics of the quartz crystal vibrating piece, A manufacturing method thereof, and a mobile phone device and an electronic apparatus using a crystal device can be provided.

1 to 3 show an embodiment of a quartz crystal device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the crystal device, a part of the case is made transparent to show the inside, and FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the crystal device of FIG.
In these drawings, the crystal device 30 shows an example in which a crystal resonator is configured. The crystal device 30 includes an upper case 31, a lower case 35, and a crystal vibrating piece 40 sandwiched between the upper case 31 and the lower case 35.

The upper case 31 and the lower case 35 constitute a package for housing the crystal vibrating piece 40. The upper case 31, the lower case 35, and the crystal vibrating piece 40 have the same outer dimensions. Each of the upper case 31 and the lower case 35 is a plate-like body.
The upper case 31 and the lower case 35 have, for example, a flat plate shape formed by sintering a piezoelectric material such as an aluminum oxide ceramic green sheet as an insulating material.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the upper case 31 and the lower case 35 sandwich a crystal vibrating piece 40 between them, and a gap that can be formed by applying a sealing material described later between them. Utilizing this, an internal space S for accommodating the crystal vibrating piece 40 is formed.

The quartz crystal vibrating piece 40 is formed by a process described later. As a material for forming the upper case 31 and the lower case 35, a material having a linear expansion coefficient close to that of quartz and heat is preferable.
In this embodiment, the crystal vibrating piece 40 is, for example, etched by a crystal thin plate having a size of one piece (described later), and surrounded by a frame body 45 as shown in FIG. A crystal piece main body 48.

  The crystal piece main body 48 is formed on the inner side of a rectangular frame 45, one short side of the frame 45, a base 41 integrally connected by a constricted portion 42, and the base 41 from the right side in FIG. A pair of vibrating arms 43 and 44 extending in parallel to be divided into two forks are provided, and the whole is shaped like a tuning fork. That is, the crystal vibrating piece 40 is a tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece with a frame.

Further, the crystal piece main body 48 is formed with a first excitation electrode 46 and a second excitation electrode 47 for applying a drive voltage by a process described later. The first excitation electrode 46 and the second excitation electrode 47 are formed without being short-circuited so as to be electrically separated. As shown in FIG. 3, a first extraction electrode 46 a connected to the first excitation electrode 46 is provided on the upper surface of one short side of the frame body 45 of the crystal vibrating piece 40. A second lead electrode 47 a connected to the second excitation electrode 47 is provided on the upper surface of the other short side of 45. These electrodes are formed of, for example, a metal film in which a gold sputtered film or the like is applied on a chromium sputtered film in a process described later.
In order to ensure electrical separation between the first excitation electrode 46 and the second excitation electrode 47, inclined surfaces 61 and 62 are formed on the side surface portion of the crystal vibrating piece 40. This inclined surface will be described in detail later.

In such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, the crystal vibrating piece 40 is overlaid on the lower case 35, and the upper case 31 is overlaid on the crystal vibrating piece 40. It is sealed by being fixed inside.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, a sealing material 51 is applied between the lower case 35 and the crystal vibrating piece 40.
Further, the sealing material 52 is applied to the first extraction electrode 46a and the second extraction electrode 47a on the upper surface of the quartz crystal vibrating piece 40, respectively. An upper case 31 on which electrode terminals 53 and 53 are formed is overlaid on the crystal vibrating piece 40 and fixed in a vacuum. Further, on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the upper case 31, a conductive metal material, for example, nickel, chromium, gold, and the like are formed by sputtering or the like to form electrode terminals 53 and 53, respectively. , 53 are electrically connected to the respective outer end faces of the first extraction electrode 46a and the second extraction electrode 47a of the quartz crystal vibrating piece 40, respectively.

In FIG. 3, the electrode terminals 53 and 53 and the sealing materials 51 and 52 are not shown.
As these sealing materials 51 and 52, insulating sealing materials, such as low melting glass, can be used.
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the quartz crystal vibrating piece 40 in a direction different from that in FIG. 3 for convenience of understanding.

The crystal device 30 of the present embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the characteristics of the method for forming the crystal vibrating piece 40 used for the crystal device 30 will be described.
FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are schematic perspective views of the quartz crystal material used to form the quartz crystal vibrating piece 40 as seen from different angles. They are of the same size and shape and are called individual pieces 71 of the crystal vibrating piece 40. The pieces 71 are those before the electrode film of the crystal vibrating piece 40 is formed.

In FIG. 5, the individual piece 71 is processed into the shape described in FIGS. 1 to 3, and parts already described are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 to 3, and redundant description is omitted. . In the figure, the X direction indicates the electrical axis of the crystal, the Y direction indicates the mechanical axis of the crystal, and the Z direction indicates the optical axis (growth axis) of the crystal.
An inclined surface is provided on the side surface where the thickness of the piece 71 is exposed. As the side surface portion of the piece 71 to be provided with such an inclined surface, all the side surface portions except for the outer periphery of the frame body 45 are targeted, and the first excitation electrode 46 and the second excitation electrode 47 described above are separated. The area that needs to be selected is selected. In the case of FIG. 5, for example, an inclined surface 61 is formed on the side surface 73 that is a surface facing the crystal piece main body inside the frame body 45, and between the vibrating arm 43 and the vibrating arm 44. An inclined surface 62 is provided on the side surface portion 72.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, an example in which the inclined surface 61 is formed on the side surface portion 73 which is one surface of the frame body facing the crystal piece main body inside the frame body 45 which is a part of the piece. A method of forming an inclined surface on the side surface of the piece 71 will be described.
For example, when the shape of the piece 71 is formed by etching a thin crystal plate, a mask member having a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the piece 71 is prepared. The mask members are a first mask member 81 and a second mask member arranged as shown in FIG. 6 (a) from both sides in the thickness direction of a thin plate (indicated by reference numeral 77 in FIG. 6) of a quartz material to be processed. The mask member 82 is provided.

  And among the 1st mask member 81 and the 2nd mask member 82 of Fig.6 (a), it corresponds to the side part 73 of the piece 71 which should provide an inclined surface in the side edge of the 1st mask member 81. FIG. A cutout window 83 is provided at a position where the cutout is performed. The notch window 83 is preferably in the form of a rectangle cut vertically from the opening end face 84 of the notch.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, the first mask member 81 and the second mask member 82 are arranged in close contact with a crystal material 77, which is a thin crystal plate to be processed, and the crystal is etched. Soaking in an etching solution for the purpose, for example, hydrofluoric acid solution. Further, the first mask member 81 and the second mask member 82 used here may be formed by photoetching a gold (Au) sputtered film formed on the quartz material 77.
In this etching process, the inclined surface 61 appears due to crystal anisotropy. Therefore, when the outer shape of the individual piece 71 as shown in FIG. 5 is formed by etching, an inclined surface 61 as shown is formed on the side surface portion 73 as shown in FIG. 6C.

Subsequently, an electrode is formed on the piece 71 and the crystal vibrating piece 40 is formed by the steps of FIGS. 7 to 9. The step will be described with reference to the region of the side surface portion 73 of the piece 71. . Each of FIGS. 7 to 9 shows a schematic perspective view on the left side and a cut end view showing only a cut end surface cut along line CC in the left side on the right side.
As shown in FIG. 7A, the electrode film 21 covered with gold is formed on the entire surface of the individual piece 71 by, for example, a metal vapor deposition or sputtering technique on a nickel film as an underlayer. . Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, a photoresist 22 is further applied to the entire surface of the piece 71 covering the entire surface of the electrode film 21.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, the mask member 23 is disposed on the upper surface of the piece 71 coated with the photoresist 22. The mask member 23 has a form corresponding to the electrode shape of the crystal vibrating piece 40, and includes a notch window portion 23a as a part of the form. The cutout window portion 23a is provided on the inclined surface 61 so that the mask member does not shield this portion so that an electrode is not formed. For this reason, the notch window portion 23a of the mask member 23 is at least coincident with the notch window portion 83 of the first mask member 81 described in FIG. 6 or is formed larger than the notch window portion 83. .
Here, in the electrode where the inclined surface 61 is formed, the second extraction electrode 47a shown in FIG. 3 is formed at a position away from the end surface of the side surface portion, so that the mask is originally formed according to the electrode pattern. However, in the region where the electrode reaches the end surface of the side surface portion, a notch window portion must be formed separately from the electrode pattern.
Although not shown, a mask member not provided with a notch window portion is disposed on the lower surface of the piece 71.
In this state, as shown by an arrow on the right side of FIG. 8C, the photoresist 22 exposed from the mask member 23 is exposed by being irradiated with light and exposed. In particular, in this case, the inclined surface 61 of the individual piece 71 is an upwardly inclined surface, and this region of the side surface portion of the individual piece 71 is not vertical as in the prior art. For this reason, the photoresist 22 on the inclined surface 61 is also exposed.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8D, the mask member is removed, and the exposed resist is removed. At this time, as described above, the photoresist on the inclined surface 61 of the individual piece 71 was also exposed and thus removed. In this state, the electrode film 21 is etched.
Thereby, as shown in FIG. 9E, at least the electrode film 21 exposed on the inclined surface 61 of the piece 71 is removed by etching.
Next, as shown in FIG. 9F, by removing all the photoresist, an electrode shape is formed on the piece 71, and the crystal vibrating piece 40 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 is formed.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and the side surface portion of the crystal vibrating piece 40 corresponds to the first excitation electrode 46 and the second excitation electrode 47 as electrodes formed on the crystal vibrating piece 40. And the inclined surface 61 grade | etc., Is formed in the area | region which should be electrically isolate | separated. For this reason, when the crystal material is processed into the shape of the individual piece 71 to form the electrode shape as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the electrode film 21 is formed on the entire surface of the individual piece 71, and photolithography is used. When the electrode shape is formed by etching, light at the time of exposure can also be applied to a portion such as the inclined surface 61 of the portion that becomes the side surface portion of the crystal vibrating piece 40.

  For this reason, for example, since the photoresist on the surface of the inclined surface 61 can be exposed and removed as described above, the electrode film 21 on the inclined surface 61 can be removed by etching. Thereby, the electrode film 21 is not left in the region to be electrically separated in the etching operation in the electrode forming step, and the electrode in the region to be electrically separated simultaneously with the formation of the electrode shape. The film 21 can be removed simultaneously. For this reason, since a special process is not required, the process does not become complicated, and it is not necessary to arrange a partial mask member or the like in the region, so that it has the same accuracy as the electrode shape is formed. If necessary, a fine separation region can be formed.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the piece 71, and the case where the inclined surfaces 61, 63, 64, 65, 66 and 67 are formed on the piece 71 and the side surfaces 73, 74, 75 and 76, respectively. Show. That is, the side surface portion of the piece 71 to be provided with such an inclined surface is an area where it is necessary to separate the first excitation electrode 46 and the second excitation electrode 47 described above. All side surfaces except for the outer periphery of 45 are targeted. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the location shown in FIG.
However, since each side surface portion of FIG. 10 has a different inclination angle with respect to the crystal axis orientation shown in the drawing, the shape of the inclined surface formed by the etching process is different. Next, this point will be described.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a process of etching the peripheral shape of the side surface portion 73 of the individual piece 71 described in FIG.
When the opening is viewed from the back of the notch window portion 83 of the first mask member 81, the left side direction of the end face 84 is MDR, and the crystal material from the crystal material side (inside) of the crystal material 77 for making the piece 71 is crystal. When one end surface is viewed, the left side direction of the side surface portion 73 is defined as TDR. In this case, since the first mask member 81 has the opening end surface 84 along the side surface portion 73 of the crystal material 77, MDR and TDR are parallel to each other.
When θ is the angle between the TDR and the electrical axis (+ X axis) of the crystal resonator piece that is closest in the counterclockwise direction, θ is the crystal that is closest to the MDR in the counterclockwise direction. This coincides with the angle formed by the electric axis (+ X axis) of the resonator element.

Here, as described with reference to FIG. 10, the value of θ changes depending on which of the side surface portions 73, 74, 75, and 76 of the individual piece 71 to form the inclined surface.
Next, a change in the form of the formed inclined surface will be described based on an experiment in which the inclined surface is formed by changing the angle θ.

12 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the inclined surface 61 described with reference to FIG. 10 in an enlarged manner. In the figure, the direction TDR of the side surface portion 73 to form the inclined surface coincides with the electric axis (+ X axis) of the quartz crystal vibrating piece, and the angle θ is zero. In this case, as shown, the inclined surface 61 having a uniform inclination is formed over the entire width of the region 61a where the inclined surface is formed.
As shown in FIG. 10, the crystal has the same crystal structure rotated 120 degrees around the Z axis, and has symmetry of 120 degrees around the Z axis. For this reason, the inclined surface 64 and the inclined surface 65 described with reference to FIG. 10 also have an angle with the nearest electric axis (+ X axis) in the counterclockwise direction of the direction TDR of each side surface portion 75, 75 that should form the inclined surface. 0 degrees. In this case, it is confirmed that the inclined surface 64 and the inclined surface 65 are also formed in the same form as the inclined surface 61 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the inclined surface 63 described in FIG. 10 in an enlarged manner. In the figure, the angle θ formed by the nearest electric axis (+ X axis) with respect to the direction TDR of the side surface portion 74 to form the inclined surface and the counterclockwise direction is 30 degrees. In this case, as illustrated, an inclined surface 63 having an angle slightly inclined with respect to the width direction of the region 63a where the inclined surface is formed is formed.

  FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the inclined surface 66 or 67 described in FIG. 10 in an enlarged manner. In the drawing, the angle θ formed by the direction TDR of the side surface portion 76 to form the inclined surface and the nearest electric axis (+ X axis) with respect to the counterclockwise direction is 60 degrees. In this case, as shown in the drawing, an inclined surface 66 or 67 having a shape in which inclined surfaces having a plurality of angles are combined is formed in a region 66a where the inclined surface is formed. Also in this case, the region 66a as a whole has an inclined surface that extends outward from the top to the bottom in the drawing.

  FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of an inclined surface not shown in FIG. In this case, the side surface portion on which the inclined surface of the piece 71 is to be formed is indicated by 85, and the angle θ formed by the nearest electric axis (+ X axis) with respect to the direction TDR of the side surface portion 85 and the counterclockwise direction is It is 15 degrees. In this example, as shown in the figure, an inclined surface 86 having an angle slightly inclined with respect to the width direction of the region 86a where the inclined surface is formed is formed.

FIG. 16 is also an enlarged view of an inclined surface not shown in FIG. In this case, the side surface portion on which the inclined surface of the piece is to be formed is indicated by 88, and the angle θ formed by the nearest electric axis (+ X axis) with respect to the direction TDR of the side surface portion 88 and the counterclockwise direction is 45. Degree. In this example, as shown in the drawing, an inclined surface 87 having a form in which inclined surfaces having a plurality of angles are combined is formed in a region 87a where the inclined surface is formed. Also in this case, in the region 87a as a whole, an inclined surface is directed outward from the top to the bottom in the drawing.
Thus, the angle θ formed by the direction TDR of the side surface where the inclined surface of the piece 71 should be formed and the electric axis (+ X axis) of the quartz crystal vibrating piece can be etched at any angle. It can be easily considered from the above results that a surface is formed.

  FIG. 17 shows how the shape of the inclined surface T formed by the etching process changes depending on the depth D2 of the cutout window portion 83 of the first mask member 81. The depth D2 of the cutout window portion 83 is as follows. , Which coincides with the depth D1 of the region where the inclined surface T is formed.

In FIG. 17A, the depth D2 of the cutout window 83 is sufficiently large, and therefore the depth D1 of the region where the inclined surface T is formed is also large. In this case, the inclined surface T is appropriately formed.
On the other hand, in FIG. 17B, the depth D2 of the cutout window 83 is small, and therefore the depth D1 of the region where the inclined surface T is formed is shallow. In this case, the inclined surface T is not properly formed, and a portion Ta perpendicular to the side surface portion is formed. In this portion, since the electrode film is not etched, there is a possibility that the electrodes of the crystal vibrating piece 40 cannot be separated properly.
From the above, the form and performance of the inclined surface T formed on the individual piece 71 are the angle θ between the TDR and MDR and the nearest electric axis (+ X axis) with respect to the counterclockwise direction, and the thickness t of the side surface portion. , D1 and D2 change.

And according to the experiments by the present inventors, each of the above values is
D2 · cos θ> t / √3 (1) and
D1 · cos θ> t / √3 ················································ (2)
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the crystal vibrating piece 40 includes the crystal piece main body 48 and the frame body 45 is described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the crystal vibrating piece is the crystal piece in this case. An electrode may be formed on the main body, the frame body may not be provided, and such a crystal vibrating piece may be accommodated in a case or a package.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital mobile phone device as an example of an electronic apparatus using the crystal device according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, a microphone 308 for receiving the voice of the sender and a speaker 309 for outputting the received content as a voice output are provided, and further, an integrated circuit or the like as a control unit connected to the modulation and demodulation unit of the transmission / reception signal. A controller 301 is provided.
In addition to modulation and demodulation of transmission / reception signals, the controller 301 controls an information input / output unit 302 including an LCD as an image display unit, an operation key for inputting information, an information storage unit 303 including a RAM, a ROM, and the like. Is supposed to do. Therefore, the crystal device 30 is attached to the controller 301, and the output frequency is used as a clock signal suitable for the control content by a predetermined frequency dividing circuit (not shown) built in the controller 301. Has been. The crystal device 30 attached to the controller 301 may not be a single crystal device 30 or the like, but may be an oscillator that combines the crystal device 30 and the like with a predetermined frequency dividing circuit or the like.

  The controller 301 is further connected to a temperature compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO) 305, and the temperature compensated crystal oscillator 305 is connected to the transmission unit 307 and the reception unit 306. As a result, even if the frequency of the basic clock from the controller 301 changes and fluctuates depending on the environmental temperature, it is corrected by the temperature compensated crystal oscillator 305 and supplied to the transmission unit 307 and the reception unit 306.

  Thus, by using the crystal device 30 according to the above-described embodiment for an electronic apparatus such as the mobile phone device 300 including the control unit, the characteristics of the crystal resonator element can be obtained using a relatively simple manufacturing process. Without affecting the above, it is possible to use a crystal device with good performance using a crystal resonator element in which a fine-shaped electrode is formed, and an accurate clock signal can be generated.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Each configuration of each embodiment can be appropriately combined or omitted, and can be combined with other configurations not shown.
Further, the crystal vibrating piece to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the tuning fork type vibrating piece having the above-described frame body, but a tuning fork type vibrating piece mounted in a package, or an irregular shape other than a rectangular or tuning fork type. The present invention can be applied to all quartz crystal vibrating pieces having driving or detecting electrodes formed on the surface thereof.
Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a case in which the quartz crystal resonator element is accommodated in a case or a package, and the case or package including an integrated circuit or other configuration not described in the embodiment. It can be applied to all crystal devices regardless of names such as a child, a crystal oscillator, and a crystal (piezoelectric) gyro.

The schematic plan view which made some cases of the crystal device embodiment of the present invention transparent, and showed the inside. BB schematic sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the crystal device of FIG. 1. The schematic perspective view shown in the direction different from FIG. 3 of the crystal vibrating piece of the crystal device of FIG. It is a figure which shows the piece of the vibration piece which forms the crystal | crystallization vibration piece of the crystal device of FIG. 1, (a) is the schematic perspective view, (b) is the outline of the piece shown in the direction different from (a). Perspective view. It is the elements on larger scale which show the structure which forms an inclined surface in the side part of the piece for forming the crystal vibrating piece of the crystal device of FIG. 1, (a) is a figure which shows the structure of the mask member for that, (b) is a figure which shows a mode that a mask member is arrange | positioned to an individual piece, (c) is a figure which shows a mode that the inclined surface was formed by the etching. It is a figure which shows a part of process of forming an electrode film in a piece, (a) is a figure which formed the electrode film, (b) is a figure which shows the state which apply | coated the resist. It is a figure which shows a part of process of forming an electrode film in a piece, (c) is a figure which shows the state which has arrange | positioned the mask member, (d) is a figure which shows the state which removed the resist which exposed. It is a figure which shows a part of process of forming an electrode film in a piece, (e) is a figure of the state which removed the unnecessary electrode film by etching, (f) is a figure which shows the state which removed the resist. The schematic plan view which showed the several position as an example of the side part which can form an inclined surface about the piece for forming the crystal vibrating piece of the crystal device of FIG. Relationship between the direction TDR of the side surface portion of the individual piece and the direction MDR of the opening end face of the mask member for forming the crystal vibrating piece of the crystal device of FIG. 1 and the angle θ etc. between the electric axis (+ X axis) of the crystal vibrating piece FIG. The schematic perspective view which shows the specific form of the inclined surface 61 of FIG. The schematic perspective view which shows the specific form of the inclined surface 63 of FIG. The schematic perspective view which shows the specific form of the inclined surface 66 or the inclined surface 67 of FIG. The schematic perspective view which shows the specific form of the inclined surface 86 regarding the formation examples other than the inclined surface shown in FIG. The schematic perspective view which shows the specific form of the inclined surface 87 regarding the formation examples other than the inclined surface shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating that the form of an inclined surface changes according to the depth of the notch window part of the mask member for forming an inclined surface in a piece, (a) is a notch window part enough Explanatory drawing which shows the case where it is deep, (b) Explanatory drawing which shows the case where the notch window part is formed shallowly. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital mobile phone device as an example of an electronic apparatus using a crystal device according to each embodiment of the present invention. It is a general | schematic process figure which shows the formation process of the quartz crystal vibrating piece of the conventional quartz device, (a) is a figure which forms the quartz piece for forming one vibrating piece, (b) is the whole surface of a quartz piece. The figure which forms an electrode film, (c) is a figure which apply | coats a resist to the whole surface of the electrode film of a crystal piece. It is a schematic process drawing which shows the formation process of the quartz crystal resonator element of the conventional quartz device, (d) is the figure which has arrange | positioned the mask member on the surface of a resist, (e) is the figure which removed the resist resist, (f) ) Is a diagram in which unnecessary electrode films are removed by etching. It is a schematic process figure which shows the formation process of the quartz crystal vibrating piece of the conventional quartz device, (g) is the figure which removed the resist. In the formation of the quartz crystal resonator element of the conventional quartz device, a state in which a plurality of mask members are arranged on the quartz piece prior to the formation of the electrodes is shown, (a) is a schematic perspective view thereof, and (b) is a schematic perspective view of (a). AA line schematic sectional drawing. The figure which shows a mode that the processus | protrusion or the convex part was formed in the side part prior to formation of an electrode in formation of the crystal vibrating piece of the conventional crystal device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Quartz device, 31 ... Upper case, 35 ... Lower case, 40 ... Crystal vibrating piece, 41 ... Base part, 43, 44 ... Vibrating arm, 46 ... 1st Excitation electrode, 47... Second excitation electrode, 48... Crystal piece main body, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 86, 87. Piece, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 85, 88 ... side surface

Claims (7)

A crystal device that accommodates a tuning fork type crystal resonator element with a frame in a package,
The tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece is:
The frame;
A base formed inside the frame;
First and second vibrating arms connected to each other via the base ;
A first excitation electrode formed on a side surface of the first vibrating arm and a surface of the second vibrating arm;
A second excitation electrode formed on a surface of the first vibrating arm and a side surface of the second vibrating arm;
A notch window formed on at least one surface of the frame and the base;
An inclined surface inclined in the thickness direction from the base end portion of the cutout window portion toward the open end,
The first and second vibrating arms, the base, and the frame are integrally formed,
An electrode separation region for separating the first excitation electrode and the second excitation electrode is formed on the inclined surface ,
A first extraction electrode drawn from the first excitation electrode and drawn to a first side of the frame; a second extraction electrode drawn from the second excitation electrode; and a second of the frame A crystal device comprising: a second extraction electrode drawn out to the side . The direction in which the side surface of the tuning-fork type quartz vibrating piece extends is TDR, and the notch window portion is formed in a region where this TDR coincides with the electric axis (+ X axis) of the tuning-fork type quartz vibrating piece. The crystal device according to claim 1, wherein The direction in which the side surface of the tuning-fork type quartz vibrating piece extends is TDR, the thickness of the region where the notch window portion of the tuning-fork type quartz vibrating piece is formed is t, and the TDR is the counterclockwise of the tuning-fork type quartz vibrating piece. When the angle formed with the electric axis (+ X axis) nearest to the rotation direction is θ and the depth of the region where the inclined surface is provided is D1, the following relational expression
D1 · cos θ> t / √3
The crystal device according to claim 1, wherein: A frame,
A base formed inside the frame, first and second vibrating arms extending from the base, and a first formed on a side surface of the first vibrating arm and a surface of the second vibrating arm. An excitation electrode, a second excitation electrode formed on the surface of the first vibrating arm and a side surface of the second vibrating arm, and a notch formed on at least one surface of the frame and the base A method for producing a tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece with a frame having a window part and an inclined surface inclined in the thickness direction from a base end part of the cutout window part toward an open end,
An outer shape forming step for obtaining an outer shape of a tuning-fork type vibrating piece with a frame by etching so that the vibrating arm, the base, and the frame are integrated,
Next, an electrode forming step of forming the first and second excitation electrodes on the surface and side surfaces of the tuning fork type quartz vibrating piece,
Have
The outer shape forming step includes
A mask member is disposed from each of the front and back surfaces of the tuning-fork type crystal vibrating piece with a frame and etched so as to be sandwiched between the mask members, and one of the mask members is cut at a side edge of one mask member. A notched window portion is provided, and the tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece with the frame body is formed with an inclined surface inclined in the thickness direction that descends from the base end portion of the notched window portion toward the open end. A method for producing a tuning-fork type crystal vibrating piece characterized by the above.   5. The method of manufacturing a tuning-fork type crystal vibrating piece according to claim 4, wherein the mask member is formed by photoetching a film formed by sputtering.   The direction in which the side surface portion of the mask member extends is MDR, and the cutout window portion is disposed in a region along the electric axis (+ X axis) of the tuning fork type crystal vibrating piece. 6. A method for producing a tuning-fork type crystal vibrating piece according to any one of 5 above. The direction in which the side surface portion of the mask member extends is MDR, the thickness at the side surface portion of the crystal piece is t, and the angle between the MDR and the nearest electric axis (+ X axis) in the counterclockwise direction of the crystal piece is θ. When the depth of the notch window portion is D2, the following relational expression
D2 · cos θ> t / √3
The method for manufacturing a tuning-fork type crystal vibrating piece according to claim 4, wherein:

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