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Piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers with thick PZT sol gel films

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Abstract

The fabricated micro machined ultrasonic transducers (pMUT) was based on piezoelectric laminated plates operating at flexural modes. The fabricated bimorph pMUT transducers were composed of 5-layers. A 4 μm thick lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film deposited by a sol–gel method was used. The piezoelectric layer exhibited a capacitance corresponding to a permitivity of ɛ r = 1,200. The electromechanical coupling coefficient (k 2) and quality factor (Q) were measured as k 2 = 4.4% and Q = 145 in air for a low frequency transducer (240 kHz). The effect of DC bias voltage on frequency and k 2 has been studied. The 16.9 MHz transducer yielded values of Q = 25 in air and k 2 = 3%.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the Swiss Office for Education and Science (OFES) in the frame of the European project MUSTWIN, and the European project MEMSPIE. The authors would like to thank the technical staff of the center of Micro-Nano-Technologie (CMI) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) for the clean room facilities.

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  1. Ceramics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

    Brahmin Belgacem, Florian Calame & Paul Muralt

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  1. Brahmin Belgacem
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  2. Florian Calame
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  3. Paul Muralt
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Correspondence to Paul Muralt.

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Belgacem, B., Calame, F. & Muralt, P. Piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers with thick PZT sol gel films. J Electroceram 19, 369–373 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10832-007-9031-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10832-007-9031-8

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