Gradient piezoelectric composites for ultrasonic transducer design and imaging applications

Ultrasonic imaging technology has advanced rapidly, the escalating demand for imaging quality has driven the continuous development of ultrasonic transducers featuring high-performance. Among them, the crucial factors constraining the further enhancement of imaging quality are the frequency of the device and the intensity of the echo signal. Piezoelectric composites have become a hotspot for ultrasonic transducers and imaging applications due to their excellent properties. However, due to the limitations of the accuracy of the cutting process, the development of piezoelectric/polymer composites is often undermined by undesirable pseudo-vibrations, especially in high-frequency applications, which will significantly reduce energy conversion efficiency. In this study, a novel design method of 1–3 piezoelectric composites with gradient nanoparticle doped polymer is proposed to eliminate the undesired lateral vibrations. Based on the optimized composites, a high-performance composite ultrasonic transducer with a center frequency of 8.51 MHz is prepared. Compared with the traditional composite transducer, the optimized transducer improves the echo voltage amplitude significantly, reaching nearly 3 times. The above advantages are further verified in high-quality ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging. The optimization method has valuable guidance for the design of high-frequency composite transducers, which have great potential in ultrasonic and photoacoustic imaging applications. • Lateral vibration in piezocomposites and its impact on transducer performance are analyzed using a 3D finite element model. • Undesired vibrations are suppressed by piezocomposites of gradient polymers, enabling high-performance transducers. • A higher echo voltage amplitude is achieved by the optimized transducer, with experimental results matching simulations. • High contrast images are demonstrated in ultrasonic and photoacoustic imaging applications by the optimized transducer.