Performance optimization of plate-mode sensors with bi-layered structure

The acoustic characteristics of plate-mode sensors with bi-layered structures composed of a piezoelectric film and a non-piezoelectric substrate are studied by numerical calculations using the transfer matrix method. Performances of the sensors can be evaluated based on the theoretical calculations of the dispersion curves, electromechanical coupling coefficients and sensitivities of the plate-mode sensors with a bi-layered structure. In order to obtain the optimized operating conditions of the sensors, the operating mode, frequency and the ratios of thickness of piezoelectric film to that of the substrate are evaluated when the sensors are applied in gas and/or liquid conditions.     

Transverse surface waves in a layered structure with a functionally graded piezoelectric substrate and a hard dielectric layer

As to an ideally layered structure with a functionally graded piezoelectric substrate (material parameters change continuously along the thickness direction) and a hard dielectric layer, the existence and propagation behavior of transverse surface waves is studied by analytical technique. The dispersion equations for the existence of the transverse surface waves with respect to phase velocity are obtained for electrically open and short circuit conditions, respectively. A detailed investigation of the effect of gradient coefficient on dispersion relation, electromechanical coupling factor and penetration depth is carried out. It is found by numerical examples that adjusting gradient coefficient makes the electromechanical coupling factor of the transverse surface waves achieve quite high values at some appropriate ratio values of the layer thickness to the wavelength, and at the same time, the penetration depth can be reduced to the same order as the wavelength.     

用阴影法观察水声模型的声场

我们建立了一套用于显示模拟海底反射声场的光学系统。实验水声模型是由水-玻璃粉-玻璃-铝组成的三层模拟海底结构,声源是一个管状换能器,其轴线平行于分界面。实验用这套系统记录了从水下三个界面反射的六组波的声场图像。并且分辨出了它们各自的传播路径。从声场图像也可以得出水-玻璃粉界面、玻璃粉-玻璃界面的面波声速,玻璃粉和玻璃中的体波声速以及它们的厚度,结果与预先测出的参数符合。     

Guided wave measurements for characterization of sol-gel layers

Sol-gel applications require very thick layers with a good understanding of the interfaces. To address this problem, we have installed at CEA Le Ripault a characterization bench using guided waves with assistance from the IM2NP lab in Marseille. This bench allows us to measure the thickness and the refractive index and determine the extinction coefficient of a thin layer. We can distinguish losses at interfaces from those in the bulk according to the chosen propagation mode. This allows us to know if we can stack elementary layers to make thick layers without incurring problems.     

On the propagation of infinitesimal discontinuities in relativistic hypoelasticity

This paper investigates the propagation of discontinuity-waves in a hypoelastic isotropic relativistic medium. We shall show existence of three types of waves: material, transversal and longitudinal waves, whose velocities of propagation are real under a suitable condition. Moreover, the discontinuities across the transversal and longitudinal waves propagate along the rays of the respective waves.     

Electroacoustic lamb waves in piezoelectric crystal plates

The main characteristics of various types of plate electroacoustic waves propagating in piezoelectric single-crystal plates of various thickness are numerically studied. A number of piezoelectric plates and orientations in them with record high values of the electromechanical coupling coefficient for transverse plate waves are proposed.     

Calculation of electromechanical coupling coefficient of Lamb waves in multilayered plates

Two methods have been always used to calculate the electromechanical coupling coefficient of a Lamb wave in a multilayered plate: one is an approximate method using the acoustic velocity difference under different electric boundary conditions and the other is the Green's function method. The Green's function method is more accurate but more complicated, because an 8N-order matrix is used for calculating the electromechanical coupling coefficient of the Lamb wave in an N-layered plate, which induces great computation loads and some calculation deviations. In this paper, a transfer matrix method is used for calculating the electromechanical coupling coefficient of Lamb waves in a multilayered plate, in which only an 8-order matrix is needed regardless of the number of layers of the plate. The results show that the transfer matrix method can obtain the same accuracy as those by the Green's function method, but the computation load and deviation are greatly decreased by avoiding the use of a high order matrix used in the Green's function method.     

Bulk heterogeneous plane waves propagation through viscoelastic plates and stratified media with large values of frequency domain

This paper introduces the bulk heterogeneous waves concept into the well known Thomson-Haskell method for computing transmission/reflection coefficients through stratified media. If one of the layers is absorbing, bulk heterogeneous waves are generated at interfaces with other layers and the generalized Snell's laws for heterogeneous modes have to be used. This method was reported to be unstable for large values of frequency domain (FD), the product of the frequency and the medium thickness. The new expression for the matrix transfer between interfaces given in this paper is tested with large values of FD, without showing instability. Large values of FD imply significant effects of attenuation, which is frequency dependent. One particular effect is the interface transmission of modes beyond the limit angle if it is defined with the homogeneous waves concept. This is shown with acquired and simulated waveforms, after transmission through an epoxy layer. Waveforms transmitted by adhesive joints are also presented.     

Characteristics of backing impacts on the performance of the thickness mode piezoelectric transducer

The impacts of the thickness, the specific acoustic impedance and the mechanical loss factor of the backing on the performance of the thickness mode piezoelectric transducer are systemically studied, which are focused on the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient and the mechanical quality factor near the center frequency. The results show that with contin?uous increasing of the backing thickness, the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient and the mechanical quality factor are found rapidly declined by oscillation way. With the increase of the difference value of the acoustic impedance between the backing material and the piezoelec?tric material, the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient deceases and the mechanical quality factor increases. Under condition that the thickness of the piezoelectric material is fixed, the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient is found declined with the increase of the mechanical loss factor by monotonous way. The mechanical quality factor has minimum value and the electric characteristic curve tends to be smooth in a given frequency range. The equivalent circuit theory result is in good agreement with the ones by finite element method and the experimental results. The work mentioned above provides a theoretical guidance for the design and experimental fabrication of the thickness mode piezoelectric transducer.     

The anisotropy of biological composites studied with ultrasonic technique

One of the most common biological composites is wood material. This natural orthotropic like material is characterized by a high anisotropy determined by the special disposition of the microstructure elements. The anisotropy of wood can be described in various ways using the values of ultrasonic velocities of bulk waves (longitudinal and shear) observed on the velocity surface deduced from the theoretical relationships given by the Christofel's equation. The simultaneous view into the three symmetry planes of the anisotropic behavior of wood is presented on the velocity surface. The spatial filtering action of wood structure is easily connected with longitudinal and shear velocities. The first step in examining the anisotropy of wood is to relate the velocities to the symmetry axes. The simplest way to describe the anisotropy of wood is to express the ratios of velocities. These ratios can be calculated separately for longitudinal or shear waves or for a combination of both. The birefringence of shear waves have a particular interest for the fine definition of anisotropy. A more global appreciation of wood anisotropy than the values of individual velocities is given with acoustic invariants. The stability of calculation of acoustic invariants versus different propagation angles confirms the validity of the chosen model for the tested material. Wood species having high density and any important organized structure in the millimeter scale exhibit a high ratio of invariants. The acoustic behavior of tropical wood species is less anisotropic than that of species from a temperate zone having low density.     

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。      

Magnetoelectric effect in bilayer magnetostrictive-piezoelectric structure. Theory and experiment

Bilayer magnetostrictive-piezoelectric structures have certain advantages compared to bulk composites and this allows us to consider them as perspective materials for the development of devices based on the magnetoelectric effect. The theory of magnetoelectric effect in bilayer magnetostrictive-piezoelectric structure is presented taking into account the thickness dependence amplitude of the mechanical oscillations for the structures in form of rectangular plate. The equation for frequency dependence of the ME effect in the region on the electromechanical resonance was obtained, using motion equation, elastodynamics and electrostatic equations for the magnetostrictive, piezoelectric phases and taking into account the boundary conditions on the interface. The cases of longitudinal and transverse orientations of the electric and magnetic fields were considered. It is shown that the thickness dependence of the ME voltage coefficient has the maximum. The dependence between frequency and the thickness ratio of the layers is presented for both the theory and experiment.     

Numerical analysis of surface and leaky surface acoustic waves in new piezoelectric KNBO3, PKN, and LGN crystals

We perform a numerical analysis of the properties of surface acoustic waves (SAW) as well as leaky surface acoustic waves (LSAW) in piezoelectric KNbO₃, Pb₂KNb₅O₁₅ (PKN) and La₃Ga_5.5Nb_0.5O₁₄ (LGN) crystals. We determine optimal thermostable cuts and directions in which the SAWs have high phase velocity, a very high coefficient of electromechanical coupling. and a small angle between the phase and group velocities. We also found the cuts and directions in which the LSAWs can exist. The characteristics of the LSAWs (velocity, the coefficient of electromechanical coupling, angle between the phase and group velocities, temperature coefficient of velocity, and coefficient of surface absorption along the LSAW propagation direction) are calculated. N. I. Lobachevsky State University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 485–493, May 1999.     

薄膜体声波谐振器性能模型参数的提取方法北大核心CSCD

薄膜体声波谐振器(FBAR)性能模型包含两个关系式:一个是FBAR有效机电耦合系数与其形状因子(面积与周长之比)的关系式,另一个是FBAR品质因数与其形状因子的关系式。前一个关系式中的参数为FBAR边缘区域的等效宽度,后一个关系式中的参数为表征FBAR横向声能泄漏的因子。为使性能模型用于不同膜层结构、材料及制备工艺的FBAR,建立FBAR性能模型参数的提取流程。以一种5层复合结构的FBAR为例,在同一晶片上,制备多个不同形状因子的FBAR。针对其中一个五边形FBAR,在ADS软件中通过Mason电路模型仿真得到其性能值(有效机电耦合系数和品质因数);再使用矢量网络分析仪和射频探针台实测其性能值。将仿真与实测得到的性能值代入FBAR性能模型,解算出这两个参数。确定参数之后,使用FBAR性能模型预测同一晶片上其它不同性能因子FBAR的有效机电耦合系数和品质因数,预测值的相对误差在3%之内,验证了该参数提取流程的有效性。     

Pulse-echo measurement of longitudinal sound velocity in nanometer thin films

We propose a method to measure the longitudinal sound velocity in thin films of a few nanometer thickness using laser-based picosecond ultrasonics. In periodic multilayer structures, picosecond pulse-echo techniques were used to measure the effective sound velocity, which is related to the velocities of individual constituents through the superlattice phonon dispersion relation. The individual sound velocities can then be extracted, provided two or more effective velocities are obtained from multilayers of different thickness ratios. Longitudinal sound velocities in ion-beam sputtered Mo and amorphous Si films of 2 to 5 nm thickness have been determined to be 98 and 94% of the bulk speed, respectively. We believe this technique has general applicability to sound velocity measurement in ultra-thin films. PACS 68.60.Bs; 68.65.Ac; 78.47.+p     

弹性波斜入射声子晶体的缺陷模及其转型

推导出弹性波斜入射固-固掺杂结构声子晶体的转移矩阵和透射系数公式.计算固-固掺杂结构声子晶体中弹性波的透射系数.得到当横波斜入射时,透射波中横波的缺陷模随着入射角的增大而减弱,横波向纵波的转型随着入射角的增大而增强.当纵波斜入射时,透射波中纵波的缺陷模随着入射角的增大而减弱,纵波向横波的转型随着入射角的增大而增强.     

Numerical studies of surface and bulk modes in attenuated total reflection spectra

The dispersion relations of normal modes in the layered constructions are studied. In the frequency region with negative permittivity, we investigate the normal modes near the air--metal and the air--matematerial interfaces and compare them. An extra bulk mode appearing in a pass band of two media is found near the air--matematerial interface, which is different from the air--metal case. Moreover, the bulk mode will be further proved by the attenuated total reflection (ATR) technique, in which the coupling between the incident electromagnetic waves and the normal modes is studied. For p-polarized incident waves, the ATR spectra based on the Otto and the Kretschmann configurations are obtained numerically, where the dips present the excitations of the surface and bulk modes. Furthermore, we also discuss the influences of the middle layer thickness, the incident angle and the damping term on the reflection in detail. It is found that the coupling frequencies and the maximum strength are strongly dependent on the above media parameters.     

Lens multielement acoustic microscope in the mode for measuring the parameters of layered objects

An acoustic microscope with a cylindrical lens and ultrasound transducer have been considered, as well as the method based on it for the measuring of longitudinal and transverse wave velocities, the thickness and density of the investigated layer. A theoretical model of the microscope has been constructed, and the relation between the spatiotemporal output signal of the transducer and the angular dependence of the sample reflection coefficient has been found. It has been shown that the velocities of body waves and the thickness can be determined by the delays of ultrasound responses reflected from the layer boundaries measured by the transducer elements, and the density, by the amplitudes of these responses. The method was tested experimentally using a 20-element transducer with a central frequency of 15 MHz and a period of 0.8 mm. The example of a duralumin plate has shown that the error in measuring the thickness and velocity of longitudinal waves error does not exceed 1%; the velocity of transverse waves, 2%; and the density can be estimated with an accuracy of about 5%.     

Surface Acoustoelectric Waves in a Piezoelectric–High-Temperature Granular Superconductor Layered Structure

Interactions of surface acoustoelectric waves with a granular high-temperature superconducting medium are studied. Dispersion equations describing the characteristics of surface acoustoelectric waves are derived for piezoelectrics of 4 and 6mm and 3m symmetry. It is shown that at a temperature above the critical point an attenuation jump and a sudden change in the phase velocity of surface acoustoelectric waves are observed. This effect increases with increase in the electromechanical coupling coefficient and decrease in the thickness of the high-temperature superconducting film. The results obtained can be used in designing frequency selectors and transient photodetectors.     

Optimization of the performance of the sandwich piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer

The resonance and antiresonance frequency, the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient, and the mechanical quality factor of a sandwich piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer are studied and optimized. The effect of the thickness of thick piezoelectric element electrodes on the transducer performance is analyzed. The effect of the length and position of the piezoelectric elements in the transducer is also studied. It is shown that, although using thick electrodes is beneficial for releasing heat produced by the piezoelectric elements, the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient and the mechanical quality factor are reduced. The length and the position of the piezoelectric elements affect the performances of the transducer. Increasing the length of the piezoelectric elements decreases the mechanical quality factor, but the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient increases. When the length reaches a certain value, the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient reaches a maximum value. When the piezoelectric elements are located at the geometrical center or the displacement node, the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient and the mechanical quality factor are maximized.