Correspondence: Lead-free intravascular ultrasound transducer using BZT-50BCT ceramics

Yan, X., Lam, K. H. , Li, X., Chen, R., Ren, W., Ren, X., Zhou, Q. and Shung, K. K. (2013) Correspondence: Lead-free intravascular ultrasound transducer using BZT-50BCT ceramics. IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, 60(6), pp. 1272-1276. (doi: 10.1109/TUFFC.2013.2692) (PMID:25004492) (PMCID:PMC4090606)

Abstract

This paper reports the fabrication and evaluation of a high-frequency ultrasonic transducer based on a new lead-free piezoelectric material for intravascular imaging application. Lead-free 0.5Ba(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O 3 -0.5(Ba 0.7 Ca 0.3 )TiO 4 (BZT-50BCT) ceramic with a high dielectric constant (~2800) was employed to develop a high-frequency (~30 MHz) needle-type ultrasonic transducer. With superior piezoelectric performance (piezoelectric coefficient d 33 ~ 600 pC/N), the lead-free transducer was found to exhibit a -6-dB bandwidth of 53% with an insertion loss of 18.7 dB. In vitro intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging of a human cadaver coronary artery was performed to demonstrate the potential of the lead-free transducer for biomedical imaging applications. This is the first time that a lead-free transducer has been used for IVUS imaging application. The experimental results suggest that the BZT-50BCT ceramic is a promising lead-free piezoelectric material for high-frequency intravascular imaging applications.

• Item Type: Articles (Letter)
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lam, Dr Koko
• Authors: Yan, X., Lam, K. H., Li, X., Chen, R., Ren, W., Ren, X., Zhou, Q., and Shung, K. K.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• ISSN: 0885-3010
• ISSN (Online): 1525-8955