Ceramics International xxx (xxxx) xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Ceramics International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ceramint

BiScO3-PbTiO3 based high temperature piezoelectric ceramics composite

ultrasonic transducer
Xinhao Sun a, Tian-Long Zhao a, *, Guangzhen Xing b, **, Yi Quan a, Juan Zhang a, Yecheng Wang a,
Kefei Shi a, Zhaoxi Li a, Huaxi Gu c, Chunlong Fei a, ***, Yintang Yang a
a
School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an, 710071, China
b
National Institute of Metrology, Beijing, 102200, China
c
The State Key Laboratory of Integrated Service Networks, Xidian University, Xi’an, 710071, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Handling Editor: Dr P. Vincenzini Utilizing the electrical resonance method, matrices encompassing elastic, piezoelectric, and dielectric properties
were calculated for 0.36BiScO3-0.64PbTiO3 (BSPT) ceramics. The design parameters for the BSPT/epoxy 2-2
Keywords: composite material were meticulously elucidated through simulations conducted via COMSOL software. Char­
0.36BiScO3-0.64PbTiO3 acterization outcomes unveil that the synthesized composite material exhibits diminished acoustic impedance
BSPT/Epoxy 2-2 composite material
and heightened electromechanical coupling in comparison to its piezoelectric ceramic counterparts. Subsequent
High temperature ultrasonic transducer
to the design and fabrication of ultrasonic transducers employing both BSPT ceramics and BSPT/epoxy 2-2
High temperature ultrasonic imaging
composite material, a thorough investigation into their electrical and acoustic attributes ensued at ambient
temperature and 200 ◦ C. Test results manifest that the BSPT/epoxy 2-2 composite high temperature ultrasonic
transducer (CHTUT) demonstrates a center frequency and bandwidth of 4.52 MHz and 54.71%, respectively, at
room temperature. While, at 200 ◦ C, these parameters are 3.54 MHz and 80.79%. The HTUT, under parallel
scrutiny, exhibits a center frequency and bandwidth of 4.65 MHz and 34.23% at room temperature, respectively,
and 4.52 MHz and 29.65% at 200 ◦ C. These findings prove the robust ultrasonic performance of the CHTUT, even
under elevated temperatures, with the BSPT ceramic based counterpart demonstrating superior temperature
stability. Furthermore, the results of an imaging experiment involving steel step blocks at both room temperature
and 200 ◦ C align consistently with the acoustic test outcomes.

1. Introduction different environments [12]. For example, ultrasonic nondestructive

testing of pipelines requires piezoelectric materials with mechanical
Piezoelectric materials can realize mutual conversion between flexibility, which is difficult to meet with pure ceramics and single
electrical energy and mechanical energy [1,2]. Ultrasonic transducers crystals. Customizable composites are the solution to this problem, and
based on piezoelectric materials are widely used in the field of in addition, composites can offer engineered acoustic impedance and
non-destructive testing because of their non destructiveness and low piezoelectric activity [13–15]. By adjusting the ratio of ceramic phase
cost, such as nuclear industry, aerospace industry, pipeline, composite and polymer phase, a composite material with more excellent piezo­
material preparation process monitoring etc [3–7]. In these application electric properties than pure ceramics or single crystals and more in line
scenarios, quite a few devices need to be tested in high temperature with environmental conditions can be obtained [16–19]. Therefore,
environment. Therefore, it is crucial to conduct research on ultrasonic composite materials are widely used in various transducers for
transducers that can withstand high temperatures [8–11]. non-destructive testing and ultrasonic medical diagnostics [20–23].
With the increasing application of ultrasonic transducers, the de­ Shepherd et al. designed a Z-cut lithium niobate and alumina cement
mand for piezoelectric materials is also diverse. Pure piezoelectric ce­ composite material. The 1–3 composite was permanently fixed to a steel
ramics and single crystals have been difficult to meet the needs of block, to obtain the pulse-echo response at different temperature. The

* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author.
*** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (T.-L. Zhao), [email protected] (G. Xing), [email protected] (C. Fei).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.03.071
Received 15 November 2023; Received in revised form 17 February 2024; Accepted 5 March 2024
Available online 6 March 2024
0272-8842/© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Please cite this article as: Xinhao Sun et al., Ceramics International, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.03.071
X. Sun et al. Ceramics International xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 1 2. Simulation and experimental

Elastic stiffness constant, piezoelectric stress constant and relative dielectric
constant of BSPT piezoelectric ceramics. 2.1. Characterization of BSPT ceramics
Parameters Value Unit Parameters Value Unit

c11 e31 − 5.40 N/(m • V)

Elastic, piezoelectric and dielectric properties of BSPT ceramic were
1.5 × 1011 N/m2
c12 9.36 × 1010 N/m2 e33 23.04 N/(m • V) well characterized. BSPT ceramics were cut into different cut shapes and
c13 7.8 × 1010 N/m2 e15 15.65 N/(m • V) polarized in the specified direction. Specific cleavage and polarization
c33 1.09 × 1011 N/m2 ε11 1938 – directions are mentioned in the literature by Chen et al. [34]. Then an
c44 2.4 × 1010 N/m2 ε33 1936 – impedance analyzer (WK6500B 1J65120B, Wayne Kerr Electronics, UK)
c66 2.84 × 1010 N/m2 was used to measure electrical resonance properties of the samples.
In view of the inherent symmetry exhibited by piezoelectric ce­
ramics, the elastic, piezoelectric and dielectric properties of BSPT ce­
results show that the 1–3 composite ultrasonic transducer could work at
ramics can be described by a set of elastic stiffness constants,
336 ◦ C. The purpose of this work is to verify the possibility of combining
piezoelectric stress constants and relative dielectric constants, which is
lithium niobate and cement, and the prepared material does not have
shown in Table 1.
the advantages of 1–3 composite materials [24]. 0.36BiScO3-0.64Pb­
TiO3 (BSPT) piezoelectric ceramics are used by researchers in
high-temperature piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers and sensors 2.2. Design, preparation and characterization of 2-2 piezoelectric
[25–27] due to their excellent piezoelectric properties and high Curie composite materials
temperature [28,29]. However, there are few studies on
high-temperature composite materials based on BSPT. Li et al. prepared Under the premise of considering the material as a homogenous
1–3 piezoelectric composite based on Mn-modified BSPT ceramic. The medium, the determination of equivalent parameters can be accom­
composite materials were characterized for electrical properties in 3 plished through application of the ensuing formula.
thermal cycles between room temperature and 300 ◦ C. The testing re­ [ ( )2 ]
c12 − cE13
sults show that The BSPT composite exhibits good thermal stability and cE33 = V cE33 − V′ ′ E + V′c11 (1)
V c11 + Vc11
low loss at high temperature, as well as its high electromechanical
coupling coefficient, with no obvious changes observed in several [ ( E )]
thermal cycles. This work provides a good characterization of the c − c12
e33 = V e33 − V′e31 ′ 13 (2)
composite material but does not include the actual ultrasound trans­ V cE11 + Vc11
ducer fabrication process using this material [30]. In our previous work, [ ]
BSPT ceramic and ultrasonic transducers based on this material were e231 V′
ε33 = V ε33 + (3)
characterized in detail from room temperature to high temperature until V′eE
11 + Vc11
300 ◦ C, which proved that BSPT ceramic is a kind of material with
excellent piezoelectric properties from room temperature to high tem­ cD33 = cE33 +
e233
(4)
perature [31,32]. While there is little work in this study on performance ε33
enhancement of high temperature ultrasound transducers.
e33
In this study, composite materials are introduced to improve the kt = √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
̅ (5)
performance of high temperature ultrasonic transducers. Firstly, elastic, cD33 ε33
piezoelectric and dielectric properties of BSPT ceramics were charac­
Where c is for elastic stiffness coefficient. The superscripts E and D
terized [33,34]. Then 2-2 BSPT/epoxy composite materials were
designed and prepared based on parameters of BSPT. After that, ultra­ indicate that the corresponding elastic stiffness coefficient and dielectric
permittivity are parameters of piezoelectric ceramics. V and V′ are the
sonic transducers based on BSPT ceramic and fabricated composite
material were designed and fabricated. In the end, the electrical and volume fractions of ceramic phase and polymer phase, respectively, e is
piezoelectric stress constant, ε is dielectric permittivity, kt is electro­
acoustic properties of ultrasonic transducers at room temperature and
high temperature are characterized and ultrasonic transducers based on mechanical coupling coefficient. Schematic of BSPT/epoxy 2-2 piezo­
electric composite material is shown in Fig. 1 (a). Fig. 1 (b) shows
different materials are compared.
variation curve of kt with volume ratio in 2-2 composite materials, from
which it can be obtained that kt nearly reaches the maximum value
when the ceramic volume ratio is between 0.63 and 0.67. Considering
the actual process conditions, the kerf and pitch are 55 μm and 165 μm,
respectively.
Then simulation software COMSOL was utilized verify the design

Fig. 1. Schematic of fabricated BSPT/epoxy 2-2 piezoelectric composite material (a); Variation curve of kt with volume ratio in 2-2 composite materials (b).

2
X. Sun et al. Ceramics International xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 2. The simulation model and simulated impedance spectrum of BSPT/epoxy 2-2 composite material.

Fig. 3. BSPT ceramic (a); Cutting Grooves on Ceramic Surfaces with a dicing saw (b); Fill the grooves with epoxy (c); Grinding the ungrooved portion of BSPT
ceramic (d); Grinded 2-2 Piezoelectric Composite Material (e); Photograph of fabricated BSPT/epoxy 2-2 piezoelectric composite material (f).

shown in Table 2.
Table 2
Parameters of BSPT/epoxy 2-2 composite material.
Parameters BSPT BSPT/epoxy 2.3. Simulation and fabrication of ultrasonic transducers
Density (kg/m3) 7720 6035
Clamping dielectric constant 1253 290
The BSPT ceramics and BSPT/epoxy 2-2 composite materials were
Electromechanical coupling coefficient 0.54 0.61 used to design and fabricate ultrasonic transducer. The design parame­
Acoustic impedance (Mrayls) 29.18 17.77 ters of transducers were simulated and optimized by PiezoCAD (Sonic
Piezoelectric strain constant (pC/N) 443 350 Concepts, Woodinville, WA), which was based on Krimholtz, Leedom,
and Matthaei (KLM) model. The resonant (fr ) and anti-resonant fre­
parameters. The 2-D simulation model and impedance spectrum of quency (fa ) can read from diagram of impedance phase versus fre­
BSPT/epoxy 2-2 composite material are shown in Fig. 2. The width of quency, and the equivalent electromechanical coupling coefficient (keff )
the ceramic phase and the polymer phase are 110 μm and 55 μm, and the also could be calculated as:
thickness is 356 μm in the simulation model. Both polarization direction √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
( )
π fr π fa − fr
and electric field direction are along the thickness direction, and the keff = ⋅ tan ⋅ (6)
2 fa 2 fa
electrical response at different frequencies was calculated.
BSPT/epoxy 2-2 composite materials were prepared by traditional The center frequency (fc ) could get from the FFT transformed graph
dice and fill method, and the preparation process is shown in Fig. 3. The of pulse-echo plots, which can be calculated by the formula:
BSPT ceramic disc with a diameter of 10.7 mm was grooved by a dicing
saw (DAD 323, Disco Corp., Tokyo, Japan). According to the design fc =
f1 + f2
(7)
parameters, the kerf is 55 μm and the pitch is 165 μm. Then high tem­ 2
perature epoxy (3019, Hasuncast, USA) was filled into the cut groove by
Where f1 and f2 are the lower and higher frequency plot at -6dB. The
capillary effect. After heating at 100 ◦ C for 2 h in an oven (FCD-3000,
bandwidth (BW) can be calculated by:
Langgan, Shanghai, China), surface of the sample was ground and pol­
ished. The sample was turned over and glued to a flat glass slide with f2 − f1
BW = (8)
paraffin, thinned and polished to 356 μm. Both sides of the sample were fc
deposited with 200 nm gold by magnetron sputtering system (DESK V,
The electrical and acoustic simulation results of the BSPT/epoxy 2-2
Denton Vacuum, USA). Finally, the piezoelectric material was charac­
composite high temperature ultrasonic transducer (CHTUT) and BSPT
terized. The parameters of BSPT/epoxy 2-2 composite material are
high temperature ultrasonic transducer (HTUT) were shown in Figs. 4

3
X. Sun et al. Ceramics International xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 4. Simulation results of CHTUT: (a) The electrical properties dependent of frequency and (b) pulse-echo response curve and spectrum.

Fig. 5. Simulation results of HTUT: (a) The electrical properties dependent of frequency and (b) pulse-echo response curve and spectrum.

In the end, subminiature version A (SMA) was attached to fabricated

Table 3
ultrasonic transducers for following testing.
Simulated parameters of ultrasonic transducers.
Ultrasonic transducers were immersed in silicon oil (PMX-200, DOW,
Parameters CHTUT HTUT USA) and connected to an impedance analyzer (WK6500B 1J65120B,
Thickness (μm) 356 430 Wayne Kerr Electronics, UK) for characterizing the electrical perfor­
Size (mm) Φ 10.7 5.2 × 5.2 mance. The silicon oil was heated by a magnetic heating stirrer (DF-
Resonant frequency (MHz) 3.64 4.62 101S, Yuhua, Henan, China), where a magnetic core rotor was used to
Anti-resonant frequency (MHz) 5.00 5.55
Equivalent Electromechanical Coupling Coefficient 0.72 0.59
maintain the continuous flow of silicone oil and realize heat exchange.
Center frequency (MHz) 4.57 5.07 The fabricated ultrasonic transducers were tested at room temperature
Bandwidth (%) 58.85 29.44 and 200 ◦ C, and the silicon oil was kept at each temperature point for at
least 5 min before test. The electrical testing results were shown in
Fig. 7.
and 5, and parameters of simulated results were listed in Table 3.
As before, pulse-echo response of the ultrasonic transducers was
Comparing the results of CHTUT and HTUT, it is obvious that the
tested in a silicone oil bath at room temperature and 200 ◦ C. An ultra­
CHTUT has a larger equivalent electromechanical coupling coefficient
sonic pulser/receiver (Olympus 5073 PR, USA) was used for exciting the
and a wider bandwidth, which are very beneficial for ultrasonic trans­
ultrasonic transducers and receiving echo signal with gain of 30 dB. The
ducer applications.
echo signals and frequency spectra were shown in a digital storage
According to the designed parameters, ultrasonic transducers based
oscilloscope (DSOX3024A, Keysight, USA) with built-in Fourier trans­
on BSPT/epoxy 2-2 composite materials and BSPT ceramics were
form function. Results of acoustic testing were shown in Fig. 8.
fabricated according to the following process (Fig. 6). Firstly, the BSPT/
The experimental process of the imaging test is as follows. A steel
epoxy 2-2 composite materials with a diameter of 10.7 mm were lapped
step block is immersed in a silicone oil bath. Fig. 9 shows the size of the
to 356 μm in thickness and polished. The BSPT ceramics were thinned to
step block, where the arrow indicates the scanning direction of the ul­
430 μm and polished. And surfaces of the samples were sputtered with
trasonic probe. These scanned images are normalized to the maximum
gold with a thickness of 200 nm as above. Then the BSPT ceramics were
echo amplitude obtained. The ultrasound images scanned at room
cut into small pieces of 5.2 mm*5.2 mm. After that, a lead wire was
temperature and 200 ◦ C are shown in Fig. 10.
bonding to the side which has been sputtered gold using high temper­
ature silver paste (Loctite Ablestik 3880, Henkel, Germany). Then the
3. Results and discussion
sample was housed in a brass housing with high temperature epoxy
(3019, Hasuncast, USA). After that, the other side of samples established
The electrical and acoustic measured results at 30 ◦ C and 200 ◦ C of
an electrical connection to brass housings by sputtering gold with a
CHTUT were presented in Fig. 7, and HTUT in Fig. 8. The specific pa­
thickness of 200 nm, and a lead wire was bonding to the housing with
rameters of testing results were displayed in Table 4.
high temperature silver paste (Loctite Ablestik 3880, Henkel, Germany).

4
X. Sun et al. Ceramics International xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 6. Piezoelectric material (a); Sputtering a gold conductive layer on the surface (b); Connecting wires with high temperature silver paste (c); Connecting housing
with high temperature epoxy (d); Connecting the housing with wires (e); Fabricated ultrasonic transducers (f). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this
figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

Fig. 7. Testing results of CHTUT: The electrical properties dependent of frequency at (a) room temperature and (b) 200 ◦ C and pulse-echo response curve and
spectrum at (c) room temperature and (d) 200 ◦ C.

As shown in Fig. 7(a) and (b), the resonant frequency, the anti- slightly, which is 0.67 at 30 ◦ C and 0.68 at 200 ◦ C. The pulse-echo
resonant frequency and impedance reduced from 30 ◦ C to 200 ◦ C, response is shown in Fig. 7(c) and (d). It is clear that the echo ampli­
while the equivalent electromechanical coupling coefficient increases tude is significantly reduced, while the bandwidth increases

5
X. Sun et al. Ceramics International xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 8. Testing results of HTUT: The electrical properties dependent of frequency at (a) room temperature and (b) 200 ◦ C and pulse-echo response curve and
spectrum at (c) room temperature and (d) 200 ◦ C.

Fig. 9. Cross-section view of steel step block and scanning direction.

significantly. The acoustic test results at room temperature are basically may be attributed to the denaturation of the high-temperature epoxy.
consistent with the simulation, while the electrical resonance results For imaging applications, the echo amplitude and bandwidth of the
have certain differences. Differences may be due to material parameters high-temperature ultrasound transducer determine the imaging quality.
and experimental errors, such as errors in material testing, thickness and From Table 4 we can see that CHTUT show larger bandwidth and echo
size of piezoelectric materials inconsistent with design parameters, etc. amplitude than HTUT. However, HTUT exhibits smaller changes at
It can be seen from Fig. 8(a) and (b) that the resonant frequency room temperature and 200 ◦ C, which may be more suitable for variable
remains the same, and the anti-resonant frequency, impedance and temperature applications.
equivalent electromechanical coupling coefficient reduce from 30 ◦ C to Fig. 10 shows images of B-mode scanning of steel step blocks using
200 ◦ C. From Fig. 8(c) and (d), it is obvious that the echo amplitude and two ultrasonic transducers. It can be seen that the CHTUT can clearly
bandwidth at 200 ◦ C are smaller than those at 30 ◦ C. distinguish the steps at room temperature and 200 ◦ C, while the BSPT
The testing results of CHTUT basically agree with the simulation ceramic ultrasonic transducer can clearly distinguish the steps at room
results. As the simulation results show, fabricated ultrasonic transducers temperature, but only part of the steps can be seen at 200 ◦ C. Fig. 10 (b)
based on composite materials present high larger electromechanical exhibits higher resolution than Fig. 10 (a), which is due to the larger
coupling coefficient and wider bandwidth than BSPT ceramics. Besides, bandwidth of the ultrasound transducer, meaning the shorter pulse
the CHTUT can still maintain better performance than BSPT ceramics at duration, and the smaller wavelength due to the reduced sound speed of
200 ◦ C. The echo amplitude attenuation of the composite ultrasonic the silicone oil. From Table 4, we can see that the two ultrasonic
transducer is much larger than that of the piezoelectric ceramics, which transducers have similar echo amplitudes at 200 ◦ C. However, the image

6
X. Sun et al. Ceramics International xxx (xxxx) xxx

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Founda­

tions of China (No: 61974110); the Industry-University-Academy
Cooperation Program of Xidian University-Chongqing IC Innovation
Research Institute (No. CQIRI-2021CXY-Z03); the Natural Science
Foundation of Liaoning Province-Joint Open Fund of State Key Labo­
ratory of Robotics (2022-KF-22-03); Natural Science Fundamental
Research Project of Shaanxi Province of China (No. 2023-JC-QN-0709);
and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under
(Grant YJSJ23019, XJSJ23048, ZYTS23029, QTZX23022, and
JBF211103).

References

[1] X. Jiang, K. Kim, S. Zhang, High-temperature piezoelectric sensing, Sensors 14

(2014) 144–169, https://doi.org/10.3390/s140100144.
Fig. 10. Ultrasound images of CHTUT: at (a) room temperature and (b) 200 ◦ C [2] X. Zhang, X. Lin, R. Guo, Influence of the prestressed layer on spherical transducer
in sound radiation performance, J. Adv. Dielectr. 12 (2022) 2241004, 12.10.1142/
and HTUT at (c) room temperature and (d) 200 ◦ C.
S2010135X22410041.
[3] M.H. Amini, A.N. Sinclair, T.W. A Coyle, New high-temperature ultrasonic
transducer for continuous inspection, IEEE T. Ultrason. Ferr. 63 (2016) 448–455,
https://doi.org/10.1109/TUFFC.2016.2519348.
Table 4
[4] R. Kazys, A. Voleisis, R. Sliteris, L. Mazeika, High temperature ultrasonic
Measured parameters of ultrasonic CHTUT and HTUT. transducers for imaging and measurements in a liquid Pb/Bi eutectic alloy, IEEE T.
Parameters 30 ◦ C 200 ◦ C Ultrason. Ferr. 52 (2005) 525–537, https://doi.org/10.1109/tuffc.2005.1428033.
[5] R. Kazys, A. Voleisis, R. Sliteris, Development of ultrasonic sensors for operation in
CHTUT BSPT CHTUT BSPT a heavy liquid metal, IEEE Sensor. J. 6 (2006) 1134–1143, https://doi.org/
10.1109/JSEN.2006.877997.
Resonant frequency (MHz) 4.23 4.32 3.81 4.32 [6] H. Mao, J. Bu, M. Qiu, PZT/Ti composite piezoceramic membranes for liquid
Anti-resonant frequency (MHz) 5.47 5.26 4.95 5.11 filtration: fabrication and self-cleaning properties, J. Membr. Sci. 581 (2019)
Equivalent Electromechanical Coupling 0.67 0.61 0.68 0.57 28–37, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2019.03.022.
Coefficient [7] S. Zhang, F. Yu, Piezoelectric materials for high temperature sensors, J. Am. Ceram.
Center frequency (MHz) 4.52 4.65 3.54 4.52 Soc. 94 (2011) 3153–3170, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1551-2916.2011.04792.x.
Bandwidth (%) 54.71 34.23 80.79 29.65 [8] S. Han, G. Jiang, Y. Zhu, High piezoelectricity performance in PSBZT ceramic for
Amplitude of echo (V) 4.66 1.85 1.37 1.31 ultrasonic transducer, J. Adv. Dielectr. 13 (2023) 2350012, https://doi.org/
10.1142/S2010135X23500121.
[9] L. Hu, L. Fu, X. Ren, High-temperature piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer based on
BiScO3-PbTiO3 ceramics, Sens. Actuator A Phys. 362 (2023) 114657, https://doi.
quality of the CHTUT is much better than that of the HTUT. This is org/10.1016/j.sna.2023.114657.
mainly because there is obvious noise in Fig. 10(d), which may also be [10] R.C. Turner, P.A. Fuierer, R.E. Newnham, Materials for high-temperature acoustic
related to the size of the ultrasonic transducer. and vibration sensors-a review, Appl. Acoust. 41 (1994) 299–324, https://doi.org/
10.1016/0003-682X(94)90091-4.
In summary, the imaging results are generally consistent with the
[11] T. Stevenson, D.G. Martin, P.I. Cowin, Piezoelectric materials for high temperature
acoustic test results, demonstrating the capability of the CHTUT for transducers and actuators, J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 26 (2015) 9256–9267,
high-temperature imaging applications. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-3629-4.
[12] H.J. Lee, S. Zhang, Y. Bar-Cohen, High temperature, high power piezoelectric
composite transducers, Sensors 14 (2014) 14526–14552, https://doi.org/10.3390/
4. Conclusion s140814526.
[13] R.E. Newnham, D.P. Skinner, L.E. Crossden, Connectivity and piezoelectric-
The BSPT/epoxy 2-2 composite material was prepared by traditional pyroelectric composites, Mater. Res. Bull. 13 (1978) 525–536, https://doi.org/
10.1016/0025-5408(78)90161-7.
dice and fill method with a volume fraction of 0.61. Electromechanical [14] W.A. Smith, A. Shaulov, B.A. Auld, Tailoring the properties of composite
coupling coefficient and acoustic impedance were 0.61 and 20.7 MRayls piezoelectric materials for medical ultrasonic transducers, IEEE Ultrason. Symp.
in the prepared composites. Ultrasonic transducers based on BSPT ce­ (1985) 642–647, https://doi.org/10.1109/ULTSYM.1985.198589.
[15] W.A. Smith, B.A. Auld, Modeling 1-3 composite piezoelectrics: thickness-mode
ramics and BSPT/epoxy 2-2 composite materials were designed and oscillations, IEEE T. Ultrason. Ferr. 38 (1991) 40–47, https://doi.org/10.1109/
fabricated. According to the electrical and acoustic test results, 58.67833.
compared with the BSPT ceramic transducer, the resonant frequency, [16] Q.M. Zhang, X. Geng, Dynamic modeling of piezoceramic polymer composite with
2-2 connectivity, J. Appl. Phys. 76 (1994) 6014–6016, https://doi.org/10.1063/
center frequency, bandwidth and echo amplitude of the CHTUT change 1.358354.
greatly, and the equivalent electromechanical coupling coefficient re­ [17] W. Qi, W. Cao, Finite element analysis and experimental studies on the thickness
mains stable. While the CHTUT has a wider bandwidth and higher echo resonance of piezocomposite transducers, Ultrason. Imag. 18 (1996) 1–9, https://
doi.org/10.1006/uimg.1996.0001.
amplitude at room temperature and 200 ◦ C. The ultrasonic images of the
[18] W.A. Smith, The role of piezocomposites in ultrasonic transducers, IEEE Ultrason.
steel step block test at room temperature and 200 ◦ C are basically Symp. 2 (1991) 755–766, https://doi.org/10.1109/ULTSYM.1989.67088.
consistent with the acoustic test results, which demonstrates the capa­ [19] Z. Li, D. Chen, C. Fei, Optimization design of ultrasonic transducer with
multimatching layer, IEEE T. Ultrason. Ferr. 68 (2021) 2202–2211, https://doi.
bility of the 2-2 composite ultrasound transducer for high temperature
org/10.1109/TUFFC.2021.3059671.
imaging applications. [20] P. Lin, Y. Zhu, C. Fei, Multilayer stairstep piezoelectric structure design for
ultrabroad-bandwidth ultrasonic transducer, IEEE Sensor. J. 21 (2021)
Declaration of competing interest 19889–19895, https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2021.3100126.
[21] P. Lin, L. Zhang, C. Fei, Novel multi-layer-composites design for ultrasonic
transducer applications, Compos. Struct. 245 (2020) 112364, https://doi.org/
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial 10.1016/j.compstruct.2020.112364.
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence [22] S. Hou, X. Yang, C. Fei, Fabrication of PMN-PT/Epoxy 2–2 composite ultrasonic
transducers and analysis based on equivalent circuit model, J. Electron. Mater. 47
the work reported in this paper. (2018) 6842–6847, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-018-6603-0.
[23] D. Liu, Q. Yue, J. Deng, Broadband and high sensitive Time-of-Flight diffraction
ultrasonic transducers based on PMNT/Epoxy 1–3 piezoelectric composite, Sensors
15 (2015) 6807–6817, https://doi.org/10.3390/s150306807.

7
X. Sun et al. Ceramics International xxx (xxxx) xxx

[24] G. Shepherd, A. Cochran, K.J. Kirk, 1-3 connectivity composite material made from [30] L. Li, S. Zhang, Z. Xu, 1-3 ceramic/polymer composites for high-temperature
lithium niobate and cement for ultrasonic condition monitoring at elevated transducer applications, Phys. Status Solidi A 210 (2013) 1888–1891, https://doi.
temperatures, Ultrasonics 40 (2002) 223–226, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0041- org/10.1002/pssa.201228787.
624X(02)00141-5. [31] C. Fei, T. Zhao, J. Zhang, 0.36BiScO3-0.64PbTiO3 piezoelectric ceramics for high
[25] S. Zhang, R.E. Eitel, C.A. Randall, Manganese-modified BiScO3–PbTiO3 temperature ultrasonic transducer applications, J. Alloys Compd. 743 (2018)
piezoelectric ceramic for high-temperature shear mode sensor, Appl. Phys. Lett. 86 365–371, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.01.393.
(2005) 262904, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1968419. [32] X. Sun, X. Yang, T. Zhao, High-frequency 0.36BiScO3-0.64PbTiO3 ultrasonic
[26] J. Chen, J. Cheng, S. Dong, Review on high temperature piezoelectric ceramics and transducer for high-temperature imaging application, IEEE T. Ultrason. Ferr. 69
actuators based on BiScO3–PbTiO3 solid solutions, J. Adv. Dielectr. 4 (2014) (2022) 761–768, https://doi.org/10.1109/2021.3123331.
1430002, https://doi.org/10.1142/S2010135X14300023. [33] Y. Dong, K. Zou, R. Liang, Review of BiScO3-PbTiO3 piezoelectric materials for high
[27] Y. Dong, Q. Yue, D. Cheng, Ultrasonic transducer with BiScO3-PbTiO3-based temperature applications: fundamental, progress, and perspective, Prog. Mater.
ceramics of operating temperature over 400◦ C, Sens. Actuators, A A. 340 (2022) Sci. 132 (2023) 101026, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2022.101026.
113528, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2022.113528. [34] J. Chen, H. Shi, G. Liu, Temperature dependence of dielectric, piezoelectric and
[28] S. Zhang, C.A. Randall, T.R. Shrout, High curie temperature piezoelectric crystals elastic properties of BiScO3–PbTiO3 high temperature ceramics with morphotropic
in the BiScO3–PbTiO3 perovskite system, Appl. Phys. Lett. 83 (2003) 3150–3152, phase boundary (MPB) composition, J. Alloy, Compd 53 (2012) 280–285, https://
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1619207. doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2012.05.041.
[29] Y. Chen, J. Zhu, D. Xiao, Bismuth-modified BiScO3–PbTiO3 piezoelectric ceramics
with high curie temperature, Mater. Lett. 62 (2008) 3567–3569, https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.matlet.2008.03.056.