Relaxor ferroelectric materials in two-dimensional transducer arrays

Relaxor ferroelectric materials are characterized by high dielectric permittivities and bias controllable piezoelectric response, making them attractive for ultrasonic imaging applications. We propose using relaxor ferroelectrics to multiplex a 2-D array for volumetric and B-mode imaging. Piezoelectric properties of 2-D relaxor elements were measured and used for modeling relaxor ferroelectric transducers. A variable aperture 96 element 1.5-D array was fabricated using a relaxor material and integrated with a commercial B-mode scanner to investigate its multiplexing capability.

[1]  H. Masuzawa,et al.  Relaxor ferroelectric transducers , 1990, IEEE Symposium on Ultrasonics.

[2]  G. R. Lockwood,et al.  Optimizing sparse two-dimensional transducer arrays using an effective aperture approach , 1994, 1994 Proceedings of IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium.

[3]  Marc D Weinshenker,et al.  Explososcan: a parallel processing technique for high speed ultrasound imaging with linear phased arrays. , 1984 .

[4]  S.W. Smith,et al.  High-speed ultrasound volumetric imaging system. I. Transducer design and beam steering , 1991, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[5]  F. Foster,et al.  Characterization of lead zirconate titanate ceramics for use in miniature high-frequency (20-80 MHz) transducers , 1991, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.