Crystal Oscillators - case ground?

Community PCB Design
1

Hi all,

Working on a design with a cylinder case crystal oscillator (similar to the one on the ds1307 breakout board from SF). The recommended pad design includes a large pad for the case of the part - looked on SF’s design and this pad doesn’t seem to be connected to anything - I had assumed it was a case ground, but now I’m not certain. Is it only a physical connection or does it need to be grounded?

Thanks in advance!

-cad

2

It doesn’t NEED to be grounded, but it is supposed to help on noise reduction.

3

Thanks! That’s what I suspected was going on. I’ve got plenty of room for another trace, so grounded it will be.