Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) Market Size, Trends

Updated on : Sep 18, 2024

Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) Market Size & Growth

The global Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) Market size is projected to grow from USD 464 million in 2023 to USD 528 million by 2028; growing at a CAGR of 2.6% from 2023 to 2028. The expanding telecommunications industry and widening application scope of OCXOs are among the factors driving the growth of the OCXO industry.

Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) Market Forecast to 2028

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Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) Market Dynamics

Driver: Expanding telecommunications industry

The telecommunications industry significantly drives the OCXO market. Precise timing and synchronization are crucial for developing wireless networks, implementing 5G technology, and faster data transfer. Oven-controlled crystal oscillators are essential in satellite, telecom, broadcast, and other space applications.

5G is expected to connect people, things, data, applications, transport systems, and cities in smart network communication environments. It can transfer large volumes of data swiftly, establish reliable connections between devices, and process massive volumes of data with minimal delay.

5G technologies are expected to support applications such as smart homes and buildings, smart cities, 3D video, work and play in the cloud, remote medical services, virtual and augmented reality, and massive machine-to-machine communications for industrial automation.

Various crystal oscillators such as VCXOs, TCXOs, and OCXOs help easily design customer circuits and improve quality performance for high-speed networks and next-generation wireless telecommunication systems. Hence, the rising development of the 5G network is expected to drive the OCXO market, owing to its robust, reliable, and proven temperature-sensing capabilities.

Restraint: Higher power consumption of OCXOs

OCXOs often use more power than other oscillator categories because of the temperature-controlled oven functions. The higher power consumption of OCXOs may restrict their use in situations where power efficiency is important, such as battery-operated devices or low-power systems.

Moreover, excess power consumption frequently leads to increased heat generation, particularly in small form factor devices or systems with constrained heat dissipation capacities. To control the heat produced by OCXOs, manufacturers may need to take additional steps, such as using heat sinks, thermal pads, or cooling systems, which can add complexity and expense. Hence, higher power consumption acts as a key roadblock for the manufacturers of OCXOs, thereby restraining market growth.

Opportunity: Growing need for high-precision timing and frequency stability due to network densification

The telecommunications network is shifting toward next-generation network connectivity and currently uses 4G/5G small cells and synchronous Ethernet to increase network data capacity, resulting in impending network densification. This drives the rapid deployment of end-use devices in uncontrolled environments, which will introduce added stressors on the systems, such as dynamic temperature changes, thermal shock, unpredictable airflow, and vibration.

These dynamic conditions affect component performance, especially the stability of legacy quartz timing devices. Applications requiring highly precise and stable frequency frequently use OCXOs.

The growing need for precise timing in several industries, including telecommunications, aerospace & defense, and scientific research, is expected to drive the OCXOs market. In aerospace & defense applications, OCXOs keep precise time references across many devices and networks, such as atomic clocks, time servers, and synchronization systems.

Challenge: High manufacturing costs compared with other oscillators

OCXOs are typically more expensive than other types of oscillators. Higher manufacturing costs are due to the requirement for precise temperature management and the inclusion of a temperature-controlled oven.

The higher cost can be a reason for the low adoption of OCXOs, particularly in price-sensitive applications. Additionally, the increased cost of OCXOs may provide the potential for other oscillator technologies to gain market share. Users looking to balance price and performance may find lower-cost alternatives, including temperature-compensated crystal oscillators (TCXOs) or MEMS oscillators. As a result, there may be more rivalry, which could affect the OCXO market growth.

The through-hole segment is projected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period.

The through-hole method requires less capital investment because breadboard sockets can be easily used during the prototype design. Also, the manufacturing process using the through-hole method does not require advanced technologies and skills.

Through-hole crystal oscillators have preferable temperature and electrical characteristics and can be used in applications requiring a wide range of frequencies. As through-hole component leads run through the board, it increases the ability of components to withstand environmental stress. Therefore, this technology is commonly used in military, automobile, and aerospace products that may experience extreme accelerations, collisions, or high temperatures.

The DOCXO segment is likely to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period

DOCXO is a type of OCXO with an additional outer oven wrapped around the internal OCXO. The outer oven implies that DOCXOs have an additional layer of insulation over which the power input must balance heat dissipation, resulting in a drop in the maximum ambient temperature at which the oven can operate.

The benefits include fast warm-up time, low power consumption, good phase noise, long-term stability for the frequency, and multiple supply voltage options. These oscillators are designed for applications that require precision timing and low-phase noise performance, such as instrument reference, microwave communication, clock reference in microwave source signal, test and measurement, and telecom systems.

Consumer electronics segment to hold the larger share of the market during the forecast period

Consumer electronics is one of the major application areas for OCXOs. Significant trends in this sector include high-end audio and video equipment, network time servers, and test & measurement instruments.

OCXOs are used in consumer electronics applications due to their high stability, good quality factor, and small size. They are used for various roles, such as precise timing and synchronization for accurate video signal processing, data logging in digital to analog converters (DACs), music players, professional-grade video cameras, spectrum analyzers, and signal generators.

Americas likely to hold the larger share of the OCXO market during the forecast period

The Americas is one of the most technologically advanced markets for OCXOs. The region facilitates and advocates the advancement and transformation of cellular technologies such as LTE, 5G, and beyond, which provides huge growth opportunities for OCXO manufacturers.

The automotive and consumer electronics sectors have also seen considerable growth and increased demand in this region. In addition, the number of smartphone and tablet users is also expected to increase in the coming years due to the adoption of changing network technologies. Moreover, the demand for high-end advanced cars is quite high in this region. Thus, technological advancements in these sectors are likely to drive market growth.

Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) Market by Region

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Top Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) Companies - Key Market Players

The major players in the OCXO companies include

• Seiko Epson Corporation (Japan),
• NIHON DEMPA KOGYO CO., LTD. (Japan),
• TXC Corporation (Taiwan),
• Daishinku Corp. (Japan),
• Microchip Technology Inc. (US),
• SiTime Corporation (US),
• Rakon Limited. (New Zealand),
• Abracon (US),
• Mercury Electronic Ind. Co., Ltd. (Taiwan),
• Greenray Industries, Inc. (US),
• MTI-Milliren Technologies, Inc. (US),
• QVS Tech, Inc. (US),
• Bliley Technologies, Inc. (US),
• CTS Corporation (US),
• Micro Crystal AG (Switzerland),
• MtronPTI (US),
• IQD Frequency Products (UK), Raltron Electronics (US), ECS Inc. (US), and AXTAL GmbH (Germany). These companies have used organic and inorganic growth strategies, such as product launches, acquisitions, and partnerships, to strengthen their position in the market.

Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) Market Report Scope

Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) Market Highlights

This research report categorizes the OCXO market based on by mounting scheme and type,  by application, and by region.

Recent Developments in Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) Market

• In April 2023, TXC Corporation launched a new series of OCXO products—ThermSymHercules. The products achieve the best performance for time synchronization in 5G network infrastructure.
• In April 2023, SiTime Corporation announced that it would deliver precision timing solutions to Lattice Semiconductor, the low-power programmable leader. The SiTime devices, such as Cascade MEMS-based Clock-System-on-a-Chip (ClkSoC) and an Emerald OCXO or Elite X Super-TCXO, were introduced into Lattice’s new synchronization hardware development platform.
• In July 2021, The “NH37M28LP” ultra-low phase noise 100 MHz OCXO (crystal oscillator with temperature chamber) was manufactured by NIHON DEMPA KOGYO CO., LTD. This product is the second in the company’s low-noise OCXO in the Ultimate series, utilizing its proprietary low-noise circuitry for measuring instruments, radar systems, medical equipment, and microwave reference signals.
• In September 2020, Daishinku Corp. launched “Arkh.5G”, an oven-controlled crystal oscillator equipped with Arkh.3G, a next-generation crystal timing device. The product is small in size and offers the advantages of lower cost and power consumption.
• In April 2020, Microchip Technology Inc. launched the 53100A phase noise analyzer for precision oscillator characterization. The product launch helped research and manufacturing engineers make precise and accurate measurements of frequency signals.

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