Can I use an LM311 in a 4MHz crystal oscillator?

[Peabody]

I'm not sure what to look for in the datasheet.  I have the crystal and three LM311s.  Is there any chance one of them will work, and be stable?  This is just for a personal project, not a commercial design.

[Konkedout]

I think it work not at all or poorly at best.

I just checked the datasheet and confirmed my memory that the LM311 response time is 200 nSec.  That is probably a typical number (not worst case maximum.) But a complete cycle (one period) of a 4 MHz oscillator is 1/(4MHz) = 250 nSec.  The output needs to switch both up and down during one period.  This means to me that the response time MUST be no more than 250 nSec/2 = 125 nSec maximum, and probably less than that.

I think that if you want to use a comparator for this purpose, you probably ought to use one with a response time of 50 nSec or less.  I have never designed a crystal oscillator and I am not in a position to give you a design unless I were to spend some time working on it.

When using a crystal be careful not to overdrive it....

[Peabody]

Thanks very much.  That's what I suspected.  I was just hoping a comparator I had on hand would work.

[Benta]

You want to drive a crystal with a linear amplifier, not whomp it with a comparator output.

One of the best parts for this is the SN74LVC1GX04:
https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/sn74lvc1gx04.pdf