What is the difference between Crystal Oscillator and Frequency Synthesizer?

The main distinction between a crystal oscillator and a frequency synthesizer is the number of frequencies they can generate. A crystal oscillator utilizes the mechanical vibrations of a crystal to produce a resonant frequency that is very accurate. It only creates the frequency for which it was designed.

Crystal oscillators became prevalent when they came out because they provided a smart and economical timing method for watches where only a single frequency is needed. Crystal oscillators can be mass-produced and have an error rate of one second in every few decades. On the other hand, the more intricate frequency synthesizer can produce a specific number of frequencies with the same steps.

A frequency synthesizer is a more intricate circuit, but it doesn’t deliver its frequency. It also has a crystal oscillator that operates as the base frequency. The need for the frequency synthesizer comes from receivers that can be tuned to multiple frequencies, which includes television and radio.

Transmission and computer systems rely on things like Crystal Oscillator and Frequency Synthesizer, for they give off a certain number of frequencies. The main difference between the two is the amount of frequencies that each can produce. The crystal oscillator produces only one frequency. On the other hand, a frequency synthesizer has the ability to produce a number of different frequencies. However, they are different in the number of frequencies that each product, the Crystal Oscillator, and Frequency Synthesizer often work together. This is because a frequency synthesizer will make use of a crystal oscillator in some of the transmissions.