High-sensitivity Sm:PIN-PMN-PT ultrasound transducer for biomedical imaging applications

Medical ultrasound imaging, a cornerstone of noninvasive diagnostics, relies critically on advanced piezoelectric materials to achieve high-resolution visualization and operational reliability, with the materials used in ultrasound transducers crucial in determining their performance. As materials emerge, they offer potential to improve the quality and efficiency of biomedical imaging. In this work, the design, fabrication, and characterization were investigated for 15-MHz piezoelectric crystal/epoxy 1–3 piezocomposite transducers with the 1.5 × 1.5 mm aperture size made with Sm:PIN-PMN-PT, a material not previously described in use in piezocomposites. Transducers with the same design parameters but made with PIN-PMN-PT and PMN-PT were also fabricated. Ex-vivo porcine belly was imaged to determine the comparative performance. Among the three materials, Sm:PIN-PMN-PT exhibited the highest piezoelectric coefficient, d33 = 2189 pC/N, and the transducer made with it showed the lowest insertion loss of 14.6 dB, a high effective electromechanical coupling coefficient, keff = 0.84, and a −6 dB bandwidth of 73%. This suggests good potential for biomedical diagnostics and other precision ultrasound imaging applications.