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US 2010/0168582 A1Published application
High frequency transducers and methods of making the transducers
AssigneeBoston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
InventorsJian R. Yuan, Nickola Goodson
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Abstract
A method of making an ultrasound transducer includes providing a piezoelectric crystal of PIN-PMN-PT (lead indium niobate-lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate) and etching kerfs into the piezoelectric crystal using a laser. In at least some embodiments, each kerf has a width of no more than 4 μm. The kerfs are filled with a non-piezoelectric material to form an array of piezoelectric elements.
Claims20
A method of making an ultrasound transducer, the method comprising:
- providing a piezoelectric crystal of PIN-PMN-PT (lead indium niobate-lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate);
- etching a plurality of kerfs into the piezoelectric crystal using a laser, wherein each kerf has a width of no more than 4 μm;
- and
- filling the plurality of kerfs with a non-piezoelectric material to form an array of piezoelectric elements.
1 more element
An ultrasound transducer, comprising:
- a piezocomposite structure comprising a plurality of transducer elements separated by kerfs, wherein the transducer elements are PIN-PMN-PT (lead indium niobate-lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate);
- and
- first and second electrodes disposed on the piezocomposite structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.