Abstract

A series of powerful piezoelectric materials are available to generate ultrasound in ultrasonic probes. These materials differ in their physical properties. Depending on the application and the required probe characteristics, the one or the other material is more advantageous, sometimes for acoustic or technical reasons, sometimes even for economic reasons. Although the overall characteristics of probes, such as pulse shape, frequency and sound field are given in data sheets and are basically well understood, the knowledge about constructional details with regard to the utilised piezoelectric materials is less common. Knowing about these details however does not only contribute towards a better technical understanding of the basic action of the probe, but it does also help towards understanding the behaviour of the probe under certain operation conditions, e.g. if a probe is coupled to a specimen, which it is not designed for. The choice of the correct type of probe is often made easier through this knowledge.

Content |Full Text|

1. Introduction
2. Piezoelectric materials
3. Use of piezoelectric materials in probes
4. Closing remarks
5. Literature

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