Improved efficiency piezoelectric ceramic/polymer composite transducers

Conventional piezoelectric ceramic/polymer 1-3 composite transducers comprise ceramic pillars embedded in a solid polymer matrix. In the new design described, an additional phase in the form of aligned vertical compressible inclusions in present. These inclusions, which typically take the form of gas filled holes, permit improved electromechanical efficiency and unformity of thickness dilation. The design has applications in both the active pulse-echo mode and the passive low frequency receiver mode. Finite element analysis is employed to obtain theoretical results. These findings are supported by a limited number of experimental results