In this study, a 0-3 piezoelectric composite based on lead zirconate-titanate (PZT)/polyvinyl-butyral (PVB) was fabricated and characterized for its potential application in tactile sensing. The 0-3 composite was developed to incorporate the advantages of both ceramic and polymer. The paste of 0-3 PZT–PVB composite was printed using a conventional screen-printing technique on alumina and mylar substrates. The thickness of the prepared composite was approximately 80 μm. After printing the top electrode of the silver paste, 10 kV/mm of DC field was applied at 25 °C, 120 °C, and 150 °C for 10 min to align the electric dipoles in the composite. The piezoelectric charge coefficient of d33 and the piezoelectric voltage coefficient of g33 were improved by increasing the temperature of the poling process. The maximum values of d33 and g33 were 14.3 pC/N and 44.2 mV·m/N, respectively, at 150 °C. The sensor’s sensitivity to the impact force was measured by a ball drop test. The sensors showed a linear behavior in the output voltage with increasing impact force. The sensitivity of the sensor on the alumina and mylar substrates was 1.368 V/N and 0.815 V/N, respectively. The rising time of the sensor to the finger touch was 43 ms on the alumina substrate and 35 ms on the mylar substrate. Consequently, the high sensitivity and fast response time of the sensor make the 0-3 PZT–PVB composite a good candidate for tactile sensors.
For high resolution imaging high frequency ultrasonic transducers are needed which can be operated well above 15 MHz. Therefore, fine scale 1-3 piezocomposites are required. Due to the brittleness of the ceramic, the limited blade width and the increasing effort convention aldice-and-fill technique becomes increasingly insufficient as pillar size and kerf become smaller. Micromolding techniques turned out to be suitable for the fabrication of fine scale piezoceramic arrays with free design of ceramic pillars and randomized spatial distribution. The soft mold process offers the opportunity to fabricate fine scale 1-3 piezocomposites with free design of the piezoceramic part. The basis of this approach are master molds, which are structured by microsystems technologies like LIGA, SU8 and deep reactive ion etching (DRIE). That allows a high variety of rod size, shape, spacing, and arrangement. The combination of silicon industry based microstructuring and ceramic molding is possible through soft plastic templates taken from the master mold, which are reusable. A ceramic slurry based on lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is filled into the soft molds under vacuum and there in dried. After demolding array structures are debindered, sintered and filled with an epoxy polymer. Ceramic body and excessive epoxy are removed by grinding and the resulting 1-3 piezocomposite lapped to the desired thickness, electroded and poled. In this contribution, we report on the development of a 20 MHz ultrasonic transducer. Different designs of piezoceramic rods and spacings have been tested and characterized to shift spurious modes to frequencies approximately twiceas working frequency. Ceramic pillars based on triangle and half hexagon cross section with 32 μm edge length, 160 μm height and 13 μm spacing tend to topple during sintering. Best results have been obtained using round pillars in hexagonal arrangement with sintered dimensions of 34 μm diameter, 160 μm height and 10 μm spacing. 1-3 piezocomposites made of these structures show coupling coefficients kt = 0.6 at the thickness resonance of 20 MHz. First lateral resonance is measured at 37 MHz far enough away from thickness mode. A single element ultrasonic probe has been manufactured by selection of appropriate backing and matching layers. The composition of the matching layers were adjusted according to match acoustical impedance of water and grinded down in order to meet quarter wavelength criteria. For characterization of sensitivity and bandwidth pulse-echo curves have been measured. Experimental results will be presented in detail and will be compared to modelled data
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.