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.     

Development of a 64 channel ultrasonic high frequency linear array imaging system

In order to improve the lateral resolution and extend the field of view of a previously reported 48 element 30 MHz ultrasound linear array and 16-channel digital imaging system, the development of a 256 element 30 MHz linear array and an ultrasound imaging system with increased channel count has been undertaken. This paper reports the design and testing of a 64 channel digital imaging system which consists of an analog front-end pulser/receiver, 64 channels of Time-Gain Compensation (TGC), 64 channels of high-speed digitizer as well as a beamformer. A Personal Computer (PC) is used as the user interface to display real-time images. This system is designed as a platform for the purpose of testing the performance of high frequency linear arrays that have been developed in house. Therefore conventional approaches were taken it its implementation. Flexibility and ease of use are of primary concern whereas consideration of cost-effectiveness and novelty in design are only secondary. Even so, there are many issues at higher frequencies but do not exist at lower frequencies need to be solved. The system provides 64 channels of excitation pulsers while receiving simultaneously at a 20–120 MHz sampling rate to 12-bits. The digitized data from all channels are first fed through Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and then stored in memories. These raw data are accessed by the beamforming processor to re-build the image or to be downloaded to the PC for further processing. The beamformer that applies delays to the echoes of each channel is implemented with the strategy that combines coarse (8.3 ns) and fine delays (2 ns). The coarse delays are integer multiples of the sampling clock rate and are achieved by controlling the write enable pin of the First-In-First-Out (FIFO) memory to obtain valid beamforming data. The fine delays are accomplished with interpolation filters. This system is capable of achieving a maximum frame rate of 50 frames per second. Wire phantom images acquired with this system show a spatial resolution of 146 μm (lateral) and 54 μm (axial). Images with excised rabbit and pig eyeball as well as mouse embryo were also acquired to demonstrate its imaging capability.     

0.7Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.3PbTiO3单晶/环氧树脂1-3型复合材料的压电性能研究

模拟了0.7Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-0.3PbTiO₃(PMN-0.3PT)单晶1-3型压电复合材料的性能与单晶体积分数的关系,得出性能最优时压电相的体积分数为64%, 在这一体积分数下,采用切割-填充法,并使用了不同类型的环氧树脂填充制备复合材料.系统地研究了聚合物相对复合材料性能的影响,研究表明,减小聚合物相的刚度系数c和密度ρ有利于提高复合材料的性能,且聚合物相与压电相的结合强度对性能的影响非常明显,制备的PMN-0.3 PT单晶1-3型复合材料的厚度伸缩机电耦合系数k_t高达90.1%,压电系数d₃₃大于1000pC/N,机械品质因数Q_m为10.39,声阻抗Z也大大降低,性能明显优于传统的Pb(Zr_xTi_1-x)O₃(PZT)陶瓷及其1-3复合材料,在压电换能器和传感器中显示出广阔的前景. 关键词： PMN-PT单晶 压电复合材料 压电相 聚合物相     

Study of 1-3 PZT fibre/epoxy composite force sensor

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) fibres were prepared by a powder-based extrusion method. Pre-sintered PZT powder mixed with poly(acrylic acid) was spun in a spinnerette to produce fibres. The fibre of ∼400 μm diameter was used to fabricate 1-3 PZT fibre/epoxy composite discs with different volume fractions (ϕ) of PZT. Since the ceramic fibres are rather brittle, their elastic properties cannot be measured directly. In order to determine the properties of the ceramic fibres, effective properties of the fibres/epoxy 1-3 composite were measured. By using a modified series and parallel model, the properties of 1-3 composites can be calculated. Then, the elastic coefficient s_33,fibre^E, relative permittivity ε_33,fibre^T and piezoelectric strain coefficient d_33,fibre of the ceramic fibre could be found. Ring-shaped PZT fibre/epoxy materials composites with different ϕ were fabricated to be used as the sensing material in force sensor applications. The ring-shape composite with ϕ=0.5 was installed into a housing and the sensor was calibrated by different methods and its sensitivity was found to be 144 pC/N within the frequency range of 0.5–6.4 kHz which is much higher than that of a quartz force sensor with a similar structure. PACS 07.07.Df; 72.80.Tm; 77.84.Dy     

重频激光作用下碳纤维/环氧树脂复合材料热损伤规律

 运用热化学分析、扫描电子显微技术等手段,分析了碳纤维增强环氧树脂基复合材料在ms量级重频激光辐照下的损伤形式,研究了峰值功率密度、辐照时间、重复频率和脉冲宽度等对复合材料烧蚀规律的影响。研究结果表明：在激光辐照过程中,复合材料树脂基体在300 ℃开始裂解;由于裂解气体的保护作用,碳纤维不发生氧化,而是在汽化点（3 300 ℃）汽化烧蚀;复合材料热烧蚀率随峰值功率密度和重复频率提高而增大,随辐照时间增加而减小,最终均趋于定值;增加脉冲宽度可以提高辐照区峰值温度,降低碳纤维损伤的功率密度阈值。     

重频激光作用下碳纤维/环氧树脂复合材料热损伤规律

运用热化学分析、扫描电子显微技术等手段,分析了碳纤维增强环氧树脂基复合材料在ms量级重频激光辐照下的损伤形式,研究了峰值功率密度、辐照时间、重复频率和脉冲宽度等对复合材料烧蚀规律的影响。研究结果表明：在激光辐照过程中,复合材料树脂基体在300 ℃开始裂解;由于裂解气体的保护作用,碳纤维不发生氧化,而是在汽化点（3 300 ℃）汽化烧蚀;复合材料热烧蚀率随峰值功率密度和重复频率提高而增大,随辐照时间增加而减小,最终均趋于定值;增加脉冲宽度可以提高辐照区峰值温度,降低碳纤维损伤的功率密度阈值。     

Lead-free BNBT-6 piezoelectric ceramic fibre/epoxy 1-3 composites for ultrasonic transducer applications

Barium-modified bismuth sodium titanate, 0.94 ×(Bi_0.5Na_0.5)TiO₃-0.06BaTiO₃ (BNBT-6), fine-scale piezoelectric fibres were fabricated using a viscous suspension spinning process (VSSP). The sintered BNBT-6 fibres with diameters of 300 m were fabricated into 1-3 composites with fibre volume fraction v_f of 0.2–0.5. Piezoelectric and dielectric properties of the 1-3 composites were measured. The electromechanical coupling coefficient k_t of a v_f=0.40 composite is 0.52. Properties of the VSSP fibres were calculated using the measured properties of the 1-3 composites. A v_f=0.40 composite was thinned down to 213-m thickness and constructed into an ultrasonic transducer. The pulse-echo response, bandwidth and insertion loss of the transducers were studied. The VSSP fibre composite transducer with v_f=0.40 has a centre frequency of 7 MHz with a bandwidth of 88%. The good performance indicated that the BNBT-6/epoxy 1-3 fibre composite transducer has potential for medical imaging applications. PACS 77.84.Dy; 77.84.Lf; 43.38.+n     

布里渊散射决定0.67Pb(Mg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3))O_3-0.33PbTiO_3单晶的弹性、压电和介电常数(英文)

我们报道了用高分辨布里渊散射,确定0.67Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.33PbTiO3单晶中的弹性、压电和介电常数.所有的实验数据都是在一块沿[001]方向的极化的单晶样品上获得的。我们实验中得到的这些常数的数值和以往超声共振技术获得的数值相似。我们还研究了压缩模和剪切模在(010)和(001)平面内的方向依赖性。TA1和TA2模式的强度对散射角度有很强列依赖性。在散射角度为45°~65°内,一个新的峰出现在~18 GHz附近。它可能与晶体中的微观不均匀性或者局域微结构相关。     

1-3 connectivity piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composite transducers made with viscous polymer processing for high frequency ultrasound

Potential applications of high frequency ultrasound exist because of the high spatial resolution consequent upon short wavelength. The frequencies of interest, typically from 25 MHz upwards, are easily supported by modern instrumentation but the capabilities of ultrasonic transducers have not kept pace and the transducers in high frequency commercial ultrasonic systems are still made with single-phase crystal, ceramic or piezopolymer materials. Despite potential performance advantages, the 1-3 connectivity piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composite materials now widely used at lower ultrasonic frequencies have not been adopted because of manufacturing difficulties. These difficulties are centred on fabrication of the 1-3 piezoceramic bristle-block comprising tall, thin pillars upstanding from a supporting stock. Fabrication techniques which have been explored already include injection moulding, mechanical dicing, and laser machining. Here, we describe an alternative technique based on viscous polymer processing (VPP) to produce net shape ceramic bristle-blocks. VPP produces green-state ceramic with rheological properties suitable for embossing. We outline how this can be created then report on our work to fabricate PZT bristle-blocks with lateral pillar dimensions of the order of 50 microm and height-to-width ratios of the order of 10. These have been backfilled with low pre-cure viscosity polymer and made into complete 1-3 piezocomposite transducer elements. We outline the performance of the transducers in terms of electrical impedance and pulse-echo behaviour and show that it corresponds well with computer modelling. We conclude that VPP is a promising technique to allow the established advantages of piezocomposite material to be exploited at higher frequencies than have been possible so far.     

Modelling and simulation of high-frequency (100 MHz) ultrasonic linear arrays based on single crystal LiNbO3

Background

High-frequency ultrasonic transducer arrays are essential for high resolution imaging in clinical analysis and Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE). However, the fabrication of conventional backing-layer structure, which requires a pitch (distance between the centers of two adjacent elements) of half wavelength in medium, is really a great challenge.

Objective and method

Here we present an alternative buffer-layer structure with a silicon lens for volumetric imaging. The requirement for the size of the pitch is less critical for this structure, making it possible to fabricate high-frequency (100 MHz) ultrasonic linear array transducers. Using silicon substrate also makes it possible to integrate the arrays with IC (Integrated Circuit). To compare with the conventional backing-layer structure, a finite element tool, COMSOL, is employed to investigate the performances of acoustic beam focusing, the influence of pitch size for the buffer-layer configuration, and to calculate the electrical properties of the arrays, including crosstalk effect and electrical impedance.

Results

For a 100 MHz 10-element array of buffer-layer structure, the ultrasound beam in azimuth plane in water could be electronically focused to obtain a spatial resolution (a half-amplitude width) of 86 μm at the focal depth. When decreasing from half wavelength in silicon (42 μm) to half wavelength in water (7.5 μm), the pitch sizes weakly affect the focal resolution. The lateral spatial resolution is increased by 4.65% when the pitch size decreases from 42 μm to 7.5 μm. The crosstalk between adjacent elements at the central frequency is, respectively, −95 dB, −39.4 dB, and −60.5 dB for the 10-element buffer, 49-element buffer and 49-element backing arrays. Additionally, the electrical impedance magnitudes for each structure are, respectively, 4 kΩ, 26.4 kΩ, and 24.2 kΩ, which is consistent with calculation results using Krimholtz, Leedom, and Matthaei (KLM) model.

Conclusion

These results show that the buffer-layer configuration is a promising alternative for the fabrication of high-frequency ultrasonic linear arrays dedicated to volumetric imaging.     

电泳辅助制备伪1-3陶瓷/聚合物压电复合材料

1-3压电复合材料的压电、介电及铁电性能要远远优于0-3压电复合材料.在制备传统的0-3复合材料过程中引入电泳技术,使得压电颗粒在聚合物基体中取向排列,制备得到伪1-3复合材料.实验结果表明:在制备PZT/环氧树脂0-3复合压电材料固化过程中,采用500 V/mm,4 kHz的电场对其进行电泳辅助取向,可使得颗粒呈现珍珠串状排列,得到伪1-3复合材料;其压电、介电、铁电性能均比原来的0-3复合材料有显著的提高.电泳辅助制备技术用于制备伪1-3复合压电材料具有操作简单、成本低廉、压电、介电、铁电性能显著提高等优点,在智能传感领域具有很好的实际应用前景.     

基于PbMg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3)O_3-PbTiO_3压电单晶的磁电复合薄膜材料研究进展

电子信息技术的迅速发展对磁电功能器件的微型化、智能化、多功能化以及灵敏度、可靠性、低功耗等都提出了更高的需求,传统的块体磁电功能材料已日渐不能满足上述需求,而层状磁电复合薄膜材料同时具有铁电性、铁磁性和磁电耦合等多种特性,因此能满足上述需求且有望应用于新一代磁电功能器件.层状磁电复合材料不仅具有非常丰富的物理现象和效应,而且在弱磁探测器、多态存储器、电写磁读存储器、电场可调低功耗滤波器、移相器、天线等微波器件中也具有广阔的应用前景,因而受到材料科学家和物理学家广泛的关注和研究.在层状磁电复合材料中,功能薄膜/铁电单晶异质结因其制备简单、结构设计和材料选择灵活以及电场调控方便和有效,最近十余年引起了越来越多的研究人员的兴趣.目前,以具有优异铁电和压电性能的(1-x)PbMg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3)O_3-PbTiO_3(PMN-PT)单晶作为衬底,构建功能薄膜/PMN-PT异质结已成为国内外多铁性复合薄膜材料研究领域的重要方向之一.相比于其他国家,我国科学家无论在发表的文章数量还是在文章被引用次数方面都处于领先地位,表明我国在功能薄膜/PMN-PT单晶异质结方面的研究卓有成效.迄今为止,研究人员已构建了锰氧化合物/PMN-PT、铁氧体/PMN-PT、铁磁金属/PMN-PT、稀磁半导体/PMN-PT、发光材料/PMN-PT、二维材料/PMN-PT、多层薄膜/PMN-PT、超导薄膜/PMN-PT等多种类型的异质结,在理论研究和实验方面都取得了丰富的研究成果.本文对基于PMN-PT压电单晶的磁电复合薄膜材料的研究进展进行了总结:简要介绍了与功能薄膜/PMN-PT异质结相关的研究论文发表现状;介绍了PMN-PT单晶在准同型相界附近的相图和应变特性;按照功能薄膜材料所属的体系对异质结进行了分类,并选取部分代表性的研究成果,介绍了材料的磁电性能和内涵的物理机制;最后就目前有待解决的问题和未来可能的应用方向进行了总结和展望.     

Microstructure and wear behaviors of laser clad NiCr/Cr3C2-WS2 high temperature self-lubricating wear-resistant composite coating

The high temperature self-lubricating wear-resistant NiCr/Cr₃C₂-30%WS₂ coating and wear-resistant NiCr/Cr₃C₂ coating were fabricated on 0Cr18Ni9 austenitic stainless steel by laser cladding. Phase constitutions and microstructures were investigated, and the tribological properties were evaluated using a ball-on-disc wear tester under dry sliding condition at room-temperature (17 °C), 300 °C and 600 °C, respectively. Results indicated that the laser clad NiCr/Cr₃C₂ coating consisted of Cr₇C₃ primary phase and γ-(Fe,Ni)/Cr₇C₃ eutectic colony, while the coating added with WS₂ was mainly composed of Cr₇C₃ and (Cr,W)C carbides, with the lubricating WS₂ and CrS sulfides as the minor phases. The wear tests showed that the friction coefficients of two coatings both decrease with the increasing temperature, while the both wear rates increase. The friction coefficient of laser clad NiCr/Cr₃C₂-30%WS₂ is lower than the coating without WS₂ whatever at room-temperature, 300 °C, 600 °C, but its wear rate is only lower at 300 °C. It is considered that the laser clad NiCr/Cr₃C₂-30%WS₂ composite coating has good combination of anti-wear and friction-reducing capabilities at room-temperature up to 300 °C.     

Effect of dopant and DC bias potential on dielectric properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/PbTiO3 - composite films

Composite films of Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) mixed with Lead Titante Oxide (PbTiO₃) were prepared. Dopant incorporated and DC bias induced electrical parameters were disclosed with respect to pure PVA film. The results demonstrate dielectric polarization is not only directly proportional to PbTiO₃% of dopant but also external DC bias potential at 30 °C based on Maxwell Wagner theory. Hence these properties highly applicable as super-capacitor film and humidity sensor applications.     

Simultaneous observation of positive and negative giant magnetoresistances in composite (La0.83Sr0.17MnO3)1－x(ITO)x

We have studied the transport property of the composites （La0.83Sr0.17 MnO3）1-x（ITO）x [ITO=（In2O3）0.95 （SNO2）0.05], which were fabricated by mechanically mixing La0.83Sr0.17MnO3 and ITO grains. A giant positive magnetoresistance （PMR） has been observed above the Curie temperature Tc for samples with x around 0.40, in addition to the negative magnetoresistanee related to spin-dependent interracial tunnelling below To. For （La0.83Sr0.17MnO3）0.6（ITO）0.4, the magnetoresistive ratio for the PMR can reach 39.3% under a magnetic field H=2.24×10^5A/m. Theoretical analysis suggests that the magnetic-field-induced broadening of the p-n barrier between both kinds of grains and the density of the p-n heterostructures should be responsible for the PMR behaviour.     

Polarizabilities of rubidium (9-10)S 1/2 and 8D 3/2, 5/2 states

Polarizabilities of several rubidium states were determined by measuring stark shifts of transitions using an electro-optically modulated laser beam to excite an atomic beam. The voltage required for atoms excited by the laser beam in an electric field to be simultaneously in resonance as atoms excited by a frequency sideband of the laser in a field free region was measured. The scalar α and tensor α ₂ polarizabilities were found to be: α (9 S _1/2 ) = 103.77±0.09, α (10 S _1/2 ) = 272.54±0.16, α (8 D _3/2 ) = 230.68±0.25 and α ₂ (8 D _3/2 ) = 26.55±0.10, α (8 D _5/2 ) = 222.68±0.14 and α ₂ (8 D _5/2 ) = 51.91±0.10 MHz/(kV/cm)². The results are 100 times more accurate than previous measurements and are within 1% of those found theoretically using a Coulomb approximation calculation. Received 7 September 2000 and Received in final form 6 December 2000     

Sonophotocatalytic degradation of trypan blue and vesuvine dyes in the presence of blue light active photocatalyst of Ag3PO4/Bi2S3-HKUST-1-MOF: Central composite optimization and synergistic effect study

An efficient simultaneous sonophotocatalytic degradation of trypan blue (TB) and vesuvine (VS) using Ag₃PO₄/Bi₂S₃-HKUST-1-MOF as a novel visible light active photocatalyst was carried out successfully in a continuous flow-loop reactor equipped to blue LED light. Ag₃PO₄/Bi₂S₃-HKUST-1-MOF with activation ability under blue light illumination was synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), photoluminescence (PL) and diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The effect of operational parameters such as the initial TB and VS concentration (5–45 mg/L), flow rate (30–110 mL/min), irradiation and sonication time (10–30 min), pH (3–11) and photocatalyst dosage (0.15–0.35 g/L) has been investigated and optimized using central composite design (CCD) combined with desirability function (DF). Maximum sonophotodegradation percentage (98.44% and 99.36% for TB and VS, respectively) was found at optimum condition set as: 25 mg/L of each dye, 70 mL/min of solution flow rate, 25 min of irradiation and sonication time, pH 6 and 0.25 g/L of photocatalyst dosage. At optimum conditions, synergistic index value was obtained 2.53 that indicated the hybrid systems including ultrasound irradiation and photocatalysis have higher efficiency compared with sum of the individual processes.     

The microwave absorption properties of La0.8Sr0.2Mn1−yFeyO3 nanocrystalline powders in the frequency range 2-18 GHz

La_1−xSr_xMn_1−yFe_yO₃ nanocrystalline powders were prepared by the sol-gel method as a microwave absorption material. The reflectance, the dielectric loss tan δ_e and the magnetic loss tan δ_m of the samples were calculated according to the data of electromagnetism parameters measured by a microwave vector network analyzer in the frequency range 2-18 GHz. The dielectric loss tan δ_e and the magnetic loss tan δ_m had a step-change at a certain frequency so that the superiority of dielectric loss change into the superiority of magnetic loss, which indicated that anti-ferromagnetic clusters in the material change into ferromagnetic clusters by absorbing quantum of microwave electromagnetic field when the frequency of incident microwave reaches a certain value. The effective absorption bandwidth higher than 10 dB reached 6.2 GHz. As a result, the La_0.8Sr_0.2Mn_1−yFe_yO₃ has shown useful applications as a microwave absorption material.     

Optical simulation, optimized design and fabrication of (ZrO2)x-(Al2O3)1−x composite films with thin inserted TiO2 layers for ArF-line high transmission attenuated phase shift mask blank applications

The tunable optical constants of the stoichiometric (ZrO₂)_x-(Al₂O₃)_1−x composite films with thin inserted TiO₂ layers are simulated as π-phase shifters. The optimized composition range of the superlattices to be used as a high transmission attenuated phase shift mask (HT-APSM) blank is found. The absorption edge shifts to the longer wavelengths when the thickness fraction of the TiO₂ layer increases. The optimized film for ArF-line HT-APSM blank applications must have the lower inspection transmittance for the better inspection and the lower reflectance at the exposure wavelength for a better aerial image as π-phase shifters, and they will be easier to fabricate than a superlattice. In order to find such a film, (ZrO₂)_x-(Al₂O₃)_1−x composite films with various inserted TiO₂ layers are simulated. The optimal deposition processes of such a film are also determined. For example, a (ZrO₂)_0.187-(Al₂O₃)_0.813 composite film with two inserted TiO₂ thin layers is fabricated. The optical properties are as follows: a transmittance of 19.8%, a reflectance of 9.1%, a calculated phase shift of ∼181.5° at the exposure wavelength of 193 nm, and a transmittance of 18.9% at the inspection wavelength of 257 nm. Such a film should be used as an optimized HT-APSM blank.