0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.35PbTiO3 Thick Films for High-Frequency Piezoelectric Transducer Applications

The properties of 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.35PbTiO3 (0.65PMN–0.35PT) thick films were studied for high-frequency piezoelectric transducer applications. The films were prepared by screen-printing a thick-film paste on platinized alumina substrates and subsequent sintering at 950 °C. The effective thickness-coupling factor of these films was close to 48%, which is comparable with bulk ceramics having the same compositions. Furthermore, simulations of two configurations representing one element of a high-frequency linear-array transducer (30 MHz) suggests that 0.65PMN–0.35PT thick-films in 50 Ω electrical matching environment improves the performance in comparison with standard Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) compositions.