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http://dx.doi.org/10.7779/JKSNT.2012.32.5.585

Piezoelectric Polymer Ultrasound Transducers and Its Biomedical Applications  

Ha, Kang-Lyeol (Department of Physics, Pukyong National University)
Cao, Yonggang (Department of Physics, Pukyong National University)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing / v.32, no.5, 2012 , pp. 585-596 More about this Journal
Abstract
PVDF(poly vinylidene fluoride) and P(VDF-TrFE)(poly vinylidene fluoride-tetrafluoroethylene) are the typical piezoelectric polymers with unique properties. Even they are inferior to conventional piezoelectric ceramics PZT in electromechanical conversion efficiency and interior loss, though they are superior in receiving sensitivity and frequency bandwidth. Their acoustic impedances are relatively close to water or biological tissue and it is easier to make thin film than other piezoelectric materials. Futhermore, the film is so flexible that it is easy to attach on a complex surface. Those properties are suitable for the ultrasound transducers which are useful for medical and biological application, so that various types of polymer transducers have been developed. In this paper, several important considerations for design and fabrication of piezoelectric polymer transducers were described and their effect on the transducer performance were demonstrated through the KLM model analysis. Then, it was briefly reviewed about the structures of the polymer transducers developed for obtaining images as well as the characteristics of the images in several important medical and biological application fields.
Keywords
Piezoelectric Polymer; PVDF; P(VDF-TrFE); Ultrasound Transducer; Ultrasonic Image;
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