Development of Large-Diameter and High-Performance Sm Doped PIN-PMN-PT Crystals for Medical Ultrasound Imaging Transducers

Sm doped PIN-PMN-PT crystals with diameter of 75mm and 100mm have been successfully grown in <001> orientation for the first time, which produced uniform (001) wafers large enough for medical ultrasound imaging transducer fabrication. Free dielectric permittivity of 75mm-diameter crystals reached 4900 – 6000, starting ~25% higher than the undoped PIN-PMN-PT crystals. The crystals also hold coercive field of 4.8 – 6.0kV/cm, similar to the undoped PIN-PMN-PT crystals, and Trt of 82 - 99°C, similar to PMN-PT crystals. These crystals may be the desirable alternatives to PIN-PMN-PT crystals for the medical ultrasound imaging transducers.