0-3 and 1-3 piezocomposites based on single crystal PMN-PT for transducer applications

Abstract

0-3 and 1-3 composites were fabricated using piezoelectric single crystals (PSCs). These two connectivities were specifically chosen for large area fabrication. In particular, a lamination technique was used for 1-3 piezocomposites instead of the standard ‘dice and fill’ method. For 0-3 connectivity, the thickness coupling factor of the fabricated materials using PSC phase was twice that obtained using standard PZT powder for the same volume fraction (60%). However, the efficiency of the poling remained low. For the 1-3 piezocomposites, the properties (such as the thickness coupling factor which reached 74%) of the samples fabricated by the lamination technique were comparable to those obtained with standard methods. Finally, three ultrasonic transducers with centre frequencies between 600 and 850 kHz were fabricated to evaluate the performance of these new piezoelectric composites.