A 20 MHz single-element ultrasonic probe using 0.91Pb(Zn(1/3 )Nb(2/3))O(3)-0.09PbTiO(3) single crystal

A 20 MHz single-element ultrasonic probe using 0.91Pb(Zn(1/3 )Nb(2/3))O(3)-0.09PbTiO(3) (PZN-PT 91/9) single crystal has been fabricated. The single crystal of PZN-PT 91/9 orientated to the (001) plane has longitudinal coupling factor of k(33)>90%, which is much larger than the k(33)=70 to 80% of conventional Pb(Zr(1-x),Ti(x))O(3) (PZT) based ceramics. A single crystal of PZN-PT 91/9 without inclusion or crack has been grown with dimensions of about 25x15x5 mm by the self-flux method. Because mechanical strength in the fabrication of disk transducers orientated to the (001) plane was sufficiently strong, under the same conditions as are applied to conventional PZT ceramics, a piston single-element probe with a diameter of 2.0 mm and a frequency of 20 MHz was successfully fabricated. The bandwidth of the PZN-PT 91/9 probe was 13-26 MHz, which was 4 MHz broader than that of the conventional PZT probe.