We present here the work done to implement a novel lead-free piezoceramic based on doped BaTiO3 produced at large scale in a miniaturized 6 MHz ultrasound phased-array. Synthesis of cobalt-calcium-niobium co-doped barium titanate (Ca, Co, Nb-BaTiO3) powder has been optimized in this work, to scale up the production, and obtain pre-industrial batches (until 50 kg). Many ceramic samples could have been manufactured and characterized leading to a good reproducibility of performances. A 1-3 piezocomposite was fabricated by the Dice and Fill Method (DFM) and integrated in a 6 MHz transducer. Electroacoustic measurements of the complete probe were compared with the same PZT-based transducer and showed quite comparable results except for the pulse-echo sensitivity which is lower for the lead-free version. In conclusion the new composition of Ca, Co, Nb doped BaTiO3 shows really acceptable performances to replace PZT in a 6 MHz phased-array transducer. Moreover, it was possible to obtain large powder fabrication batch of 50 kg with good properties reproducibility leading to promising lead-free piezoceramic production at large scale.
Track ID:
10.2
Track Name:
JOINT: Materials Development for Ultrasound Transducers
