Micromachined PIN-PMN-PT crystal composite transducer for high-frequency intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging.

In this paper, we report the use of micromachined PbIn1/2Nb1/2O3-PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-PbTiO 3 (PIN-PMNPT) single crystal 1-3 composite material for intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging application. The effective electromechanical coupling coefficient kt(eff) of the composite was measured to be 0.75 to 0.78. Acoustic impedance was estimated to be 20 MRayl. Based on the composite, needle-type and flexible-type IVUS transducers were fabricated. The composite transducer achieved an 86% bandwidth at the center frequency of 41 MHz, which resulted in a 43 µm axial resolution. Ex vivo IVUS imaging was conducted to demonstrate the improvement of axial resolution. The composite transducer was capable of identifying the three layers of a cadaver coronary artery specimen with high resolution. The PIN-PMN-PT-based composite has superior piezoelectric properties comparable to PMN-PT-based composite and its thermal stability is higher than PMN-PT. PIN-PMN-PT crystal can be an alternative approach for fabricating high-frequency composite, instead of using PMN-PT.

Study on dielectric and piezoelectric properties of 0.7 Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.3 PbTiO3 single crystal with nano-patterned composite electrode.

Effect of nano-patterned composite electrode and backswitching poling technique on dielectric and piezoelectric properties of 0.7 Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.3 PbTiO3 was studied in this paper. Composite electrode consists of Mn nano-patterns with pitch size of 200 nm, and a blanket layer of Ti/Au was fabricated using a nanolithography based lift-off process, heat treatment, and metal film sputtering. Composite electrode and backswitching poling resulted in 27% increase of d33 and 25% increase of dielectric constant, and we believe that this is attributed to regularly defined nano-domains and irreversible rhombohedral to monoclinic phase transition in crystal. The results indicate that nano-patterned composite electrode and backswitching poling has a great potential in domain engineering of relaxor single crystals for advanced devices.

Thermal-independent properties of PIN-PMN-PT single-crystal linear-array ultrasonic transducers.

In this paper, low-frequency 32-element linear-array ultrasonic transducers were designed and fabricated using both ternary Pb(In(1/2)Nb(1/2))-Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))-PbTiO(3) (PIN-PMN-PT) and binary Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))-PbTiO(3) (PMNPT) single crystals. Performance of the array transducers was characterized as a function of temperature ranging from room temperature to 160°C. It was found that the array transducers fabricated using the PIN-PMN-PT single crystal were capable of satisfactory performance at 160°C, having a -6-dB bandwidth of 66% and an insertion loss of 37 dB. The results suggest that the potential of PIN-PMN-PT linear-array ultrasonic transducers for high-temperature ultrasonic transducer applications is promising.

Frequency dispersion of longitudinal ultrasonic velocity and attenuation in [001]c-poled 0.24Pb(In1/2Nb1/2O3- 0.45Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.31PbTiO3 single crystal.

The frequency dispersion of ultrasonic velocity and attenuation in [001](c)-poled 0.24Pb(in(1/2)Nb(1/2))O(3)-0.45Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))o(3)-0.31PbTio(3) (PIN-0.45PMN-0.31PT) ternary single crystal were measured by ultrasonic spectroscopy from 25 to 100 MHz for the longitudinal wave. It was found that the velocity has a linear relationship with the frequency f, but the attenuation has a quadratic relation with f. The attenuation and frequency dispersion of the ternary system are lower than that of the (1-x)Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-xPbTiO(3) (PMN-PT) binary system and the coercive field also increased by a factor of 2.5, hence, the ternary single system is superior to the corresponding binary single-crystal system for high-frequency and high-power transducer applications.

Complete set of material properties of [011](c) poled 0.24Pb(In(1/2)Nb(1/2))O(3)-0.46Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-0.30PbTiO(3) single crystal.

A complete set of elastic, piezoelectric, and dielectric constants of [011](c) poled multidomain 0.24Pb(In(1/2)Nb(1/2))O(3)-0.46Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-0.30PbTiO(3) ternary single crystal has been determined using resonance and ultrasonic methods and the temperature dependence of the dielectric permittivity has been measured at 3 different frequencies. The experimental results revealed that this [011](c) poled ternary single crystal has very large transverse piezoelectric coefficient d(32) = -1693 pC/N, transverse dielectric constant ε(11)/ε(0) ~ 7400 and a high electromechanical coupling factor k(32) ~ 90%. In addition, its coercive field is 2 times of that of the corresponding binary 0.7Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-0.30PbTiO(3) single system with much better temperature stability. Therefore, the crystal is an excellent candidate for transverse mode electromechanical devices.

Complete set of material properties of single domain 0.24Pb(In(1∕2)Nb(1∕2))O(3)-0.49Pb(Mg(1∕3)Nb(2∕3))O(3)-0.27PbTiO(3) single crystal and the orientation effects.

Multidomain relaxor-based single crystals have intrigued the enthusiasm of many researchers due to their superior electromechanical properties. In order to understand the physical origin of multidomain properties, one must know the complete set of material coefficients in single domain state. Previous published single domain data were all measured under bias because single domain state is unstable. Here, we report a set of single domain data without bias for rhombohedral 0.24Pb(In(1∕2)Nb(1∕2))O(3)-0.49Pb(Mg(1∕3)Nb(2∕3))O(3)-0.27PbTiO(3) single crystal. Comparing rotated coefficients from single domain data with measured multidomain material coefficients, we concluded that the orientation effects account for more than 90% of the observed multidomain properties.

Design and fabrication of PIN-PMN-PT single-crystal high-frequency ultrasound transducers.

High-frequency PIN-PMN-PT single crystal ultrasound transducers at center frequencies of 35 MHz and 60 MHz were successfully fabricated using lead indium niobate-lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (0.23PIN- 0.5PMN-0.27PT) single crystal. The new PIN-PMN-PT single crystal has higher coercivity (6.0 kV/cm) and higher Curie temperature (160 degrees C) than PMN-PT crystal. Experimental results showed that the PIN-PMN-PT transducers have similar performance but better thermal stability compared with the PMN-PT transducers.

Measurements along the growth direction of PMN-PT crystals: dielectric, piezoelectric, and elastic properties.

Property measurements are reported for Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)03-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) single crystals grown along (001) by a seeded-melt method. Chemical segregation occurs during crystal growth, leading to property changes along the growth direction. Variations in dielectric, piezoelectric, and elastic properties were evaluated for specimens selected from the crystals. Room-temperature data are correlated with Tc and composition that ranged from 27 to 32% PT, i.e., in the vicinity of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). While there was little change in the high electromechanical coupling factor k33 (0.87-0.92), both the piezoelectric charge coefficient d33 (1100-1800 pC/N) and the free dielectric constant K3 (4400-7000) were found to vary significantly with position. Increases in d33 and KT33 were relatively offsetting in that the ratio yielded a relatively stable piezoelectric voltage coefficient g33 (27-31 x 10(-3) Vm/N). Values are also reported for the elastic compliance (3.3-6.3 x 10(-11) m2/N) determined from resonance measurements. Enhancements in d33 and K(T)33 were associated with lattice softening (increasing sE33) as the composition approached the MPB. Details are reported for the piezoelectric, dielectric, and elastic properties as a function of growth direction, Tc, and composition. The results are useful for an understanding of properties in PMN-PT crystals and for the design of piezoelectric devices.

PMN-PT single crystal, high-frequency ultrasonic needle transducers for pulsed-wave Doppler application.

High-frequency needle ultrasound transducers with an aperture size of 0.4 mm were fabricated using lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-33% PT) as the active piezoelectric material. The active element was bonded to a conductive silver particle matching layer and a conductive epoxy backing through direct contact curing. An outer matching layer of parylene was formed by vapor deposition. The active element was housed within a polyimide tube and a 20-gauge needle housing. The magnitude and phase of the electrical impedance of the transducer were 47 omega and -38 degrees, respectively. The measured center frequency and -6 dB fractional bandwidth of the PMN-PT needle transducer were 44 MHz and 45%, respectively. The two-way insertion loss was approximately 15 dB. In vivo high-frequency, pulsed-wave Doppler patterns of blood flow in the posterior portion and in vitro ultrasonic backscatter microscope (UBM) images of the rabbit eye were obtained with the 44-MHz needle transducer.