超声换能器辐射特性的优化*

匹配层和背衬层是换能器的重要组成部分,对换能器特性有重要影响。针对发射型换能器,基于有/无匹配层和空气/树脂背衬两种条件组合,该文研究了匹配层与背衬层对换能器辐射特性的影响。结果表明,负载材料为水时,空气背衬换能器相较于树脂背衬换能器声能辐射效率更高;匹配层可以提高换能器的主瓣能量,抑制旁瓣能量及旁瓣数量。因此,针对发射型换能器的设计,背衬材料的选择应遵循与压电材料的阻抗差异越大越优的原则;匹配层的合理设计不仅可以提高超声换能器的声能辐射效率,还可以提高主瓣旁瓣峰值比,使声能更集中。     

机电耦合系数和复阻抗对压电换能器脉冲波形的影响

在地震模型实验中,需要指向性均匀、脉冲持续时间短的低频压电换能器。实验发现,具有匹配背衬的换能器发射脉冲的视周期总是比无背衬的长;向水中辐射的脉冲波形比向细棒中辐射的复杂。但没见过对这些现象的详细解释。 本文仅从基本压电万程和梅森等效电路出发,计算了长度模压电换能器的传递函数,并用数值方法计算了机电耦合系数k_(33)和复阻抗对长度模压电换能器脉冲波形的影响。结果表明具有匹配背衬的换能器k_(33)越大,其“单极”脉宽越宽;且复阻抗使脉冲波形变复杂。我们进行了复阻抗对脉冲波形影响的实验,计算和实验基本符合。在一定的近似条件下,可作为设计和使用脉冲压电换能器的参考。     

背衬参数对厚度模压电换能器特性的影响

系统研究了厚度模压电换能器的背衬厚度、声阻抗率及机械损耗因子对换能器振动性能影响,重点分析了在所关心频率附近的有效机电耦合系数和机械品质因数。计算结果表明,随着背衬厚度增大,换能器的有效机电耦合系数和机械品质因数均震荡减小;背衬声阻抗率与压电片声阻抗率差值增大,换能器有效机电耦合系数减小,机械品质因数增大;保持压电片厚度不变,增大背衬的机械损耗因子,换能器有效机电耦合系数单调减小,机械品质因数有极小值,在给定频率范围内电特性曲线趋于光滑。用有限元方法验证了等效电路计算方法的正确性,并对比了换能器的测试结果和计算结果。计算所得规律为厚度模压电换能器的设计和实验制作提供了理论依据。      

宽带多层换能器

为了提高医学超声、无损检测用换能器的频带宽度,目前普遍采用重背衬吸声块及前匹配层技术。一般来说,前匹配层是无压电性的,只起阻抗匹配的作用。 J.A.Hossack和B.A.Auld报道了一种宽带多层换能器,这种换能器的结构与普通具有前匹配层的换能器基本相同,其差别是用压电材料作前匹配层,并且在前匹配层上加激励电压,成为具有两层或两层以     

用锥状厚压电片换能器的测量

在工业无损评价(NDE)及医学超声成像中,为提高纵向分辨率,希望超声换能器具有窄脉冲宽频带的特性,为此,有人用高阻抗、高衰减材料做为压电晶体的背衬,用作匹配吸收体。也有人采用厚的压电晶体制做换能器,利用其远离共振频率的非谐振状态工作,但上述方法存在一些不足,如换能器径向模的振动,粘接层的影响等。作者提出了一解决问题的方法,即厚片锥状压电换能器,其工作在非共振状态,同时作用面积小。     

采用双层结构声失配层背衬的深水压电换能器

水深海增加10m,压力就增加一个大气压,这是限制深水换能器开发的一大障碍。在深海中所使用的仪器必须突破厚壁这种障碍。用于深水的超声压电换能器,强度上不仅要耐水压,而且在大深度下还要具有稳定的声学性能。本文提出一种在压电振子的后面,采用非压缩性材料的双层结构的声失配层背衬,使压力平衡的超声压电换能器。文中应用菊池、中钵等人     

多匹配层空气耦合压电超声换能器*

该文针对超声无损检测与成像功能空气耦合换能器开展了分析计算和研制。为解决压电材料与空气间巨大的阻抗失配问题,进行了多匹配层设计,并基于有限元技术仿真设计了1-3压电复合材料参数。借助复数压电方程,导出考虑损耗的多匹配层压电复合材料换能器厚度振动等效电路,获得其等效导纳,以此计算电导谱,同时基于有限元技术数值计算相应电导谱,二者有较好的一致性。在此基础上分别设计制作复合压电材料,多匹配层材料以及由此构成的空气耦合超声换能器。换能器的实测电导谱与数值仿真结果一致。进一步的换能器回波信号测试及其谱分析结果表明,所研制的160 k Hz中心频率空气耦合换能器样品有较好灵敏度和带宽。这些结果说明,该文研制的空气耦合超声换能器的初样是成功的。     

压电换能器数字模型软件包

最近美国NTR系统公司(NTR System Inc.,1902 North 34th Street,Seattle,WA 98103,USA)推出了一个压电换能器数字模型软件包,PiezoCAD。这个软件包用传输矩阵法计算换能器的整体特性。用户可以从软件包里的数据库选择压电材料的参数。这个数据库里有陶瓷、晶体、聚合物和复合材料的板、条、棒的大量参数。用户可以规定多层匹配层、多层背衬层和负载的特性。在电端可以规定各种电匹配网络,包括电阻、电容、电感、变压器和同轴电缆的串联、并联及各种组合。用T型网络表示的非理想变压器也包括在     

多基元聚焦空气耦合超声换能器*

文中针对空气耦合超声换能器及其在表面缺陷检测中的应用开展了研究。选用1-3型压电复合材料及双匹配层结构来实现超声换能器压电材料与空气之间声阻抗的逐渐过渡,提高压电材料/空气界面的声能量透射率进而提高空气耦合超声换能器的灵敏度。在此基础上研发制作了440 kHz多基元聚焦空气耦合超声换能器,并对其性能进行了测试。其焦距、焦宽及焦深分别为41.44 mm、1.14 mm和20.30 mm,灵敏度和带宽分别为-50 d B和20.2%。测试结果表明该空气耦合超声换能器具有优良的性能,利用该超声换能器可以有效检测材料表面缺陷。     

一种多层压电结构:迭层换能器

在目前的换能器设计技术中,为了提高换能器的带宽,普遍采用重背衬技术。但是,重背衬的使用,使得换能器的灵敏度有较大的损失。近年来压电复合材料的应用使得换能器的性能大为改进。如何进一步提高压电换能器的灵敏度是Chofflet和Fink这篇文章的研究重点。     

Fabrication and comparison of PMN-PT single crystal, PZT and PZT-based 1-3 composite ultrasonic transducers for NDE applications

This paper describes fabrication and comparison of PMN-PT single crystal, PZT, and PZT-based 1-3 composite ultrasonic transducers for NDE applications. As a front matching layer between test material (Austenite stainless steel, SUS316) and piezoelectric materials, alumina ceramics was selected. The appropriate acoustic impedance of the backing materials for each transducer was determined based on the results of KLM model simulation. Prototype ultrasonic transducers with the center frequencies of approximately 2.25 and 5 MHz for contact measurement were fabricated and compared to each other. The PMN-PT single crystal ultrasonic transducer shows considerably improved performance in sensitivity over the PZT and PZT-based 1-3 composite ultrasonic transducers.     

Modeling of functionally graded piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers

The application of functionally graded material (FGM) concept to piezoelectric transducers allows the design of composite transducers without interfaces, due to the continuous change of property values. Thus, large improvements can be achieved, as reduction of stress concentration, increasing of bonding strength, and bandwidth. This work proposes to design and to model FGM piezoelectric transducers and to compare their performance with non-FGM ones. Analytical and finite element (FE) modeling of FGM piezoelectric transducers radiating a plane pressure wave in fluid medium are developed and their results are compared. The ANSYS software is used for the FE modeling. The analytical model is based on FGM-equivalent acoustic transmission-line model, which is implemented using MATLAB software. Two cases are considered: (i) the transducer emits a pressure wave in water and it is composed of a graded piezoceramic disk, and backing and matching layers made of homogeneous materials; (ii) the transducer has no backing and matching layer; in this case, no external load is simulated. Time and frequency pressure responses are obtained through a transient analysis. The material properties are graded along thickness direction. Linear and exponential gradation functions are implemented to illustrate the influence of gradation on the transducer pressure response, electrical impedance, and resonance frequencies.     

Determination of acoustic impedances of multi matching layers for narrowband ultrasonic airborne transducers at frequencies <2.5 MHz - Application of a genetic algorithm

The effective ultrasonic energy radiation into the air of piezoelectric transducers requires using multilayer matching systems with accurately selected acoustic impedances and the thickness of particular layers. One major problem of ultrasonic transducers, radiating acoustic energy into air, is to find the proper acoustic impedances of one or more matching layers. This work aims at developing an original solution to the acoustic impedance mismatch between transducer and air. If the acoustic impedance defences between transducer and air be more, then finding best matching layer(s) is harder. Therefore we consider PZT (lead zirconate titanate piezo electric) transducer and air that has huge acoustic impedance deference. The vibration source energy (PZT), which is used to generate the incident wave, consumes a part of the mechanical energy and converts it to an electrical one in theoretical calculation. After calculating matching layers, we consider the energy source as layer to design a transducer. However, this part of the mechanical energy will be neglected during the mathematical work. This approximation is correct only if the transducer is open-circuit. Since the possibilities of choosing material with required acoustic impedance are limited (the counted values cannot always be realized and applied in practice) it is necessary to correct the differences between theoretical values and the possibilities of practical application of given acoustic impedances. Such a correction can be done by manipulating other parameters of matching layers (e.g. by changing their thickness). The efficiency of the energy transmission from the piezoceramic transducer through different layers with different thickness and different attenuation enabling a compensation of non-ideal real values by changing their thickness was computer analyzed (base on genetic algorithm). Firstly, three theoretical solutions were investigated. Namely, Chebyshev, Desilets and Souquet theories. However, the obtained acoustic impedances do not necessarily correspond to a nowadays available material. Consequently, the values of the acoustic impedances are switched to the nearest values in a large material database. The switched values of the acoustic impedances do not generally give efficient transmission coefficients. Therefore, we proposed, in a second step, the use of a genetic algorithm (GA) to select the best acoustic impedances for matching layers from the material database for a narrow band ultrasonic transducer that work at frequency below the 2.5 MHz by considering attenuation. However this bank is rich, the results get better. So the accuracy of the propose method increase by using a lot of materials with exact data for acoustic impedance and their attenuation, especially in high frequency. This yields highly more efficient transmission coefficient. In fact by using increasing number of layer we can increase our chance to find the best sets of materials with valuable both in acoustic impedance and low attenuation. Precisely, the transmission coefficient is almost equal to unity for the all studied cases. Finally the effect of thickness on transmission coefficient is investigated for different layers. The results showed that the transmission coefficient for air media is a function of thickness and sensitive to it even for small variation in thickness. In fact, the sensitivity increases when the differences of acoustic impedances to be high (difference between PZT and air).     

Design and modeling of inversion layer ultrasonic transducers using LiNbO3 single crystal

Using inversion domain engineering controlled by heating temperature, the LiNbO(3) (LNO) piezoelectric plate with both odd and even-order thickness-extensional modes can be excited simultaneously. Therefore, the inversion layer ultrasound transducer is expected to be capable of operating over a wider frequency range. In this paper, the electrical impedance and the acoustic characteristics of LiNbO(3) (LNO) inversion layer transducer have been studied by finite element modeling (FEM). The transducer designed for this study uses a 36 degrees rotated Y-cut LiNbO(3) thin plate with an active element thickness of approximately 100 microm. First the electrical and elastic properties of the 36 degrees rotated Y-cut LNO were obtained by transforming a basic piezoelectric matrix for Z-cut LNO. In order to validate the FEM using the transformed properties several pieces of pure and 50% inversion layer LNO were tested on the electrical impedance analyzer. The modeled impedance characteristics were consistent with the measured data. Next the model was used to design 50-60 MHz transducers using pure and 30% inversion LNO. Two lambda/4 matching layers and a Tungsten loaded epoxy backing were used in these designs. The modeled results show that an over 90% bandwidth transducer can be made with proper matching and 30% inversion layer.     

Properties of photocured epoxy resin materials for application in piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer matching layers

This paper describes the acoustic properties of a range of epoxy resins prepared by photocuring that are suitable for application in piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer matching layers. Materials, based on blends of diglycidyl ether of Bisphenol A and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol diglycidyl ether, are described. Furthermore, in order to vary the elastic character of the base resin, samples containing polymer microspheres or barium sulfate particles are also described. The acoustic properties of the materials are determined by a liquid coupled through transmission methodology, capable of determining the velocity and attenuation of longitudinal and shear waves propagating in an isotropic layer. Measured acoustic properties are reported which demonstrate materials with specific acoustic impedance varying in the range 0.88-6.25 MRayls. In the samples comprising blends of resin types, a linear variation in the acoustic velocities and density was observed. In the barium sulfate filled samples, acoustic impedance showed an approximately linear variation with composition, reflecting the dominance of the density variation. While such variations can be predicted by simple mixing laws, relaxation and scattering effects influence the attenuation in both the blended and filled resins. These phenomena are discussed with reference to dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and differential scanning calorimetry of the samples.     

Microfabrication of stacks of acoustic matching layers for 15 MHz ultrasonic transducers

This paper presents a novel method used to manufacture stacks of multiple matching layers for 15 MHz piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers, using fabrication technology derived from the MEMS industry. The acoustic matching layers were made on a silicon wafer substrate using micromachining techniques, i.e., lithography and etch, to design silicon and polymer layers with the desired acoustic properties. Two matching layer configurations were tested: a double layer structure consisting of a silicon–polymer composite and polymer and a triple layer structure consisting of silicon, composite, and polymer. The composite is a biphase material of silicon and polymer in 2-2 connectivity. The matching layers were manufactured by anisotropic wet etch of a (1 1 0)-oriented Silicon-on-Insulator wafer. The wafer was etched by KOH 40 wt%, to form 83 μm deep and 4.5 mm long trenches that were subsequently filled with Spurr’s epoxy, which has acoustic impedance 2.4 MRayl. This resulted in a stack of three layers: The silicon substrate, a silicon–polymer composite intermediate layer, and a polymer layer on the top. The stacks were bonded to PZT disks to form acoustic transducers and the acoustic performance of the fabricated transducers was tested in a pulse-echo setup, where center frequency, −6 dB relative bandwidth and insertion loss were measured. The transducer with two matching layers was measured to have a relative bandwidth of 70%, two-way insertion loss 18.4 dB and pulse length 196 ns. The transducers with three matching layers had fractional bandwidths from 90% to 93%, two-way insertion loss ranging from 18.3 to 25.4 dB, and pulse lengths 326 and 446 ns. The long pulse lengths of the transducers with three matching layers were attributed to ripple in the passband.     

具有阻抗匹配层的宽带纵向振动压电换能器设计

本文研究纵向振动压电换能器的频带展宽问题。在复合棒纵向换能器的辐射端加工适当材料的阻抗匹配层,可以使其工作在非单谐振状态下,在单层阻抗匹配层的情况下,合理地选择匹配层的厚度可以调整其谐振点之间的位置,从而改善换能器的辐射特性。本研究结果表明,对于机械品质因素Qm=6,发射响应带宽△f=4kHz的纵向振子,采用四分之一波长厚度的匹配层,在不降低发射响应的条件下,可展宽频带一倍以上。     

Influence of the thickness of multilayer matching systems on the transfer function of ultrasonic airborne transducer

The effective ultrasonic energy radiation into the air of piezoelectric transducers requires using multilayer matching systems with accurately selected acoustic impedances and the thickness of particular layers. This problem is of particular importance in the case of ultrasonic transducers working at a frequency above 1 MHz. Because the possibilities of choosing material with required acoustic impedance are limited (the counted values cannot always be realised and applied in practice) it is necessary to correct the differences between theoretical values and the possibilities of practical application of given acoustic impedances. Such a correction can be done by manipulating other parameters of matching layers (e.g. by changing their thickness). The efficiency of the energy transmission from the piezoceramic transducer through different layers with different thickness enabling a compensation of non-ideal real values by changing their thickness was computer analysed. The result of this analysis is the conclusion that from the technological point of view a layer with defined thickness is easier and faster to produce than elaboration of a new material with required acoustic parameter.