Imaging of acoustic waves in piezoelectric ceramics by Coulomb coupling

The transport properties of bulk and guided acoustic waves travelling in a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) disc, originally manufactured to serve as ultrasonic transducer, have been monitored by scanned Coulomb coupling. The images are recorded by excitation and detection of ultrasound with local electric field probes via piezoelectric coupling. A narrow pulse has been used for excitation. Broadband coupling is achieved since neither mechanical nor electrical resonances are involved. The velocities of the traveling acoustic waves determined from the images are compared with characteristic velocities calculated from material properties listed by the manufacturer of the PZT plate.