PMN-PT single-crystal high-frequency kerfless phased array.

This paper reports the design, fabrication, and characterization of a miniature high-frequency kerfless phased array prepared from a PMN-PT single crystal for forward-looking intravascular or endoscopic imaging applications. After lapping down to around 40 µm, the PMN-PT material was utilized to fabricate 32-element kerfless phased arrays using micromachining techniques. The aperture size of the active area was only 1.0 × 1.0 mm. The measured results showed that the array had a center frequency of 40 MHz, a bandwidth of 34% at -6 dB with a polymer matching layer, and an insertion loss of 20 dB at the center frequency. Phantom images were acquired and compared with simulated images. The results suggest that the feasibility of developing a phased array mounted at the tip of a forward-looking intravascular catheter or endoscope. The fabricated array exhibits much higher sensitivity than PZT ceramic-based arrays and demonstrates that PMN-PT is well suited for this application.

Silver Doped 0.9PMN-PT-0.1PZT Composite Films for very High Frequency Ultrasonic Transducer Applications.

A series of silver doping concentration into the 0.9PMN-PT-0.1PZT (PMN-PT-PZT) films via the composite sol-gel technique were prepared. The crystallographic properties and microstructures of PMN-PT-PZT films with the silver dopant were investigated. Additionally, the effect of silver doping on dielectric and ferroelectric properties was examined. The results show that in general, the dielectric permittivity and remnant polarization increase as the silver doping concentration is increased. The PMN-PT-PZT+ 2.5 mol% Ag film exhibits a dielectric constant of 3,610 at 1 kHz and a remnant polarization of 57.6 µC/cm2 at room temperature. From this silver doped film, very high frequency ultrasonic needle transducers were fabricated and evaluated. The representative transducer had the center frequency of 225 MHz with a -6 dB bandwidth of 29% (65 MHz) and 62 dB insertion loss. The performance of this transducer is comparable to other composite sol-gel films transducer. The results suggest that this silver-doped PMN-PT-PZT film is a promising candidate as an alternative piezoelectric film for very high frequency transducer applications.

Ultrahigh frequency lensless ultrasonic transducers for acoustic tweezers application.

Similar to optical tweezers, a tightly focused ultrasound microbeam is needed to manipulate microparticles in acoustic tweezers. The development of highly sensitive ultrahigh frequency ultrasonic transducers is crucial for trapping particles or cells with a size of a few microns. As an extra lens would cause excessive attenuation at ultrahigh frequencies, two types of 200-MHz lensless transducer design were developed as an ultrasound microbeam device for acoustic tweezers application. Lithium niobate single crystal press-focused (PF) transducer and zinc oxide self-focused transducer were designed, fabricated and characterized. Tightly focused acoustic beams produced by these transducers were shown to be capable of manipulating single microspheres as small as 5 µm two-dimensionally within a range of hundreds of micrometers in distilled water. The size of the trapped microspheres is the smallest ever reported in the literature of acoustic PF devices. These results suggest that these lensless ultrahigh frequency ultrasonic transducers are capable of manipulating particles at the cellular level and that acoustic tweezers may be a useful tool to manipulate a single cell or molecule for a wide range of biomedical applications.

Acoustic trapping with a high frequency linear phased array.

A high frequency ultrasonic phased array is shown to be capable of trapping and translating microparticles precisely and efficiently, made possible due to the fact that the acoustic beam produced by a phased array can be both focused and steered. Acoustic manipulation of microparticles by a phased array is advantageous over a single element transducer since there is no mechanical movement required for the array. Experimental results show that 45 µm diameter polystyrene microspheres can be easily and accurately trapped and moved to desired positions by a 64-element 26 MHz phased array.

Focused high frequency needle transducer for ultrasonic imaging and trapping.

A miniature focused needle transducer (<1 mm) was fabricated using the press-focusing technique. The measured pulse-echo waveform showed the transducer had center frequency of 57.5 MHz with 54% bandwidth and 14 dB insertion loss. To evaluate the performance of this type of transducer, invitro ultrasonic biomicroscopy imaging on the rabbit eye was obtained. Moreover, a single beam acoustic trapping experiment was performed using this transducer. Trapping of targeted particle size smaller than the ultrasonic wavelength was observed. Potential applications of these devices include minimally invasive measurements of retinal blood flow and single beam acoustic trapping of microparticles.

PMN-PT-PZT composite films for high frequency ultrasonic transducer applications.

We have successfully fabricated x(0.65PMN-0.35PT)-(1 - x)PZT (xPMN-PT-(1 - x)PZT), where x is 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9, thick films with a thickness of approximately 9 µm on platinized silicon substrate by employing a composite sol-gel technique. X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy revealed that these films are dense and creak-free with well-crystallized perovskite phase in the whole composition range. The dielectric constant can be controllably adjusted by using different compositions. Higher PZT content of xPMN-PT-(1 - x)PZT films show better ferroelectric properties. A representative 0.9PMN-PT-0.1PZT thick film transducer is built. It has 200 MHz center frequency with a -6 dB bandwidth of 38% (76 MHz). The measured two-way insertion loss is 65 dB.

Ultra-low-threshold Er:Yb sol-gel microlaser on silicon.

Ultra-low threshold lasers which operate in the telecommunications band and which can be integrated with other CMOS compatible elements have numerous applications in satellite communications, biochemical detection and optical computing. To achieve sub-mW lasing thresholds, it is necessary to optimize both the gain medium and the pump method. One of the most promising methods is to use rare-earth ions in a co- or tri-dopant configuration, where the lasing of the primary dopant is enhanced by the secondary one, thus improving the efficiency of the overall system. Here, we demonstrate an Erbium:Ytterbium co-doped microcavity-based laser which is lithographically fabricated on a silicon substrate. The quality factor and pump threshold are experimentally determined for a series of erbium and ytterbium doping concentrations, verifying the inter-dependent relationship between the two dopants. The lasing threshold of the optimized device is 4.2 microW.