High Frequency 0.36BiScO3-0.64PbTiO3 Ultrasonic Transducer for High Temperature Imaging Application.

(1-x)BiScO3-xPbTiO3 (BS-PT) ceramics have excellent piezoelectricity and high Curie temperature at its morphotropic phase boundary (x=0.64), so it is a promising piezoelectric material for fabricating high temperature ultrasonic transducer (HTUT). Electric properties of 0.36BS-0.64PT ceramics were characterized at different temperature, and a HTUT with the center frequency of about 15 MHz was designed by PiezoCAD based on the measuring results. The prepared HTUT was tested in a silicone oil bath at different temperature systematically. The test results show that the HTUT can maintain a stable electrical resonance until 290 °C, and get a clear echo response until 250 °C with slight changes of the center frequency. Then a stepped metal block submerged in silicone oil was imaged by the HTUT until 250 °C. Velocity of silicone oil and axial resolution of the HTUT at different temperature were calculated. The results verify the capability of 0.36BS-0.64PT based HTUT for high temperature ultrasonic imaging applications.