Nb and Mn Co-Modified Na0.5Bi4.5Ti4O15 Bismuth-Layered Ceramics for High-Frequency Transducer Applications

Abstract

Lead-free environmentally friendly piezoelectrical materials with enhanced piezoelectric properties are of great significance for high-resolution ultrasound imaging applications. In this paper, Na0.5Bi4.5Ti3.86Mn0.06Nb0.08O15+y (NBT-Nb-Mn) bismuth-layer-structured ceramics were prepared by solid-phase synthesis. The crystallographic structure, micromorphology, and piezoelectrical and electromechanical properties of NBT-Nb-Mn ceramics were examined, showing their enhanced piezoelectricity (d33 = 33 pC/N) and relatively high electromechanical coupling coefficient (kt = 0.4). The purpose of this article is to describe the development of single element ultrasonic transducers based on these piezoelectric ceramics. The as-prepared high-frequency tightly focused transducer (ƒ-number = 1.13) had an electromechanical coupling coefficient of 0.48. The center frequency was determined to be 37.4 MHz and the −6 dB bandwidth to be 47.2%. According to the B-mode imaging experiment of 25 μm tungsten wires, lateral resolution of the transducer was calculated as 56 μm. Additionally, the experimental results were highly correlated to the results simulated by COMSOL software. By scanning a coin, the imaging effect of the transducer was further evaluated, demonstrating the application advantages of the prepared transducer in the field of high-sensitivity ultrasound imaging.

Miniature Ultrasound Transducer Incorporating Sm-PMN-PT 1-3 Composite

“…The echo signal, reflected by a quartz plate, was recorded by a digital oscilloscope with 1 MΩ coupling. IL was then calculated as [24]: 𝐼𝐿 = 20log( ) + 1.9 𝑑𝐵 + 2.2 × 10 × 𝑓 × 2𝑑, Two-way insertion loss (IL) was also measured by exciting a transducer through a function generator (AFG3251, Tektronix, Beaverton, AL, USA), where a burst of a 10-cycle sinusoidal wave with a frequency of f c was generated with 50 Ω coupling. The echo signal, reflected by a quartz plate, was recorded by a digital oscilloscope with 1 MΩ coupling.…”

“…The echo signal, reflected by a quartz plate, was recorded by a digital oscilloscope with 1 MΩ coupling. IL was then calculated as [24]:…”

Enhanced Piezo-Photocatalytic Performance of Na0.5Bi4.5Ti4O15 by High-Voltage Poling

“…As a layered bismuth-based piezoelectric material, Na 0.5 Bi 4.5 Ti 4 O 15 (NBT) has a unique (Bi 2 O 2 ) 2+ -layer and anion-layer staggered charged-layer structure [ 26 , 27 ], in which the formation of Bi-O bonds will cut the anion layer, resulting in the distortion of TiO 6 octahedron and then spontaneous polarization [ 28 , 29 ]. In addition, oxygen vacancies are easily generated in the (Bi 2 O 2 ) 2+ layer, expanding the wavelength coverage of light response [ 30 ].…”