Design considerations for 1-3 composites used in transducers for medical ultrasonic imaging

Ceramic polymer piezoelectric composites with 1-3 connectivity have become an important tool in the design and manufacture of thickness-mode transducers for medical diagnostic ultrasonic imaging. The authors compare annular array transducers made from ceramics alone to those made with these composites to demonstrate the advantages of composites. They examine some of the trade-offs involved in optimizing composite designs for this application. The effects of varying Young´s modulus and Poisson´s ratio of the polymer phase on the coupling coefficient and high-frequency lateral resonances of the composite are presented