Patent ID: 7518296

Claim:
A tuning fork piezoelectric resonator comprising: a base part from which extends first and second parallel vibrating arms carrying a set of excitation electrodes that make the first and second parallel vibrating arms vibrate, wherein said set of excitation electrodes is formed by conductive deposits comprising an outer metallization layer, and said set of excitation electrodes comprises central electrodes disposed on opposite main surfaces of each vibrating arm and lateral electrodes covering lateral surfaces of each vibrating arm, wherein said central electrodes of said first arm and said lateral electrodes of said second arm are connected to a first terminal of an electrical excitation source and said lateral electrodes of said first arm and said central electrodes of said second arm are connected to a second terminal of said electrical excitation source, wherein, on each vibrating arm, said conductive deposits comprising the outer metallization layer form first electrodes and second electrodes, wherein the outer metallization layer of the first electrodes is covered with a superficial layer of spontaneously forming native oxide, and the outer metallization layer of the second electrodes is formed with an unoxidized metal, wherein when the first electrodes are the central electrodes the second electrodes are the lateral electrodes and when the first electrodes are the lateral electrodes the second electrodes are the central electrodes, and wherein said superficial native oxide layer has electrical insulating properties enabling said superficial native oxide layer to act as an electrical insulator.