title: A highly sensitive Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin film ultrasonic micro-sensor with a grooved diaphragm.
abstract: A highly sensitive piezoelectric ultrasonic micro-sensor with a grooved multilayer membrane was developed by a Si-based MEMS technique. The groove was located at one-quarter of the distance away from the edge of the membrane and opened into piezoelectric layer. The piezoelectric layer Pb(Zr,Ti)O(3) (PZT) was 2.2 microm thick and was prepared by a sol-gel method. The prepared PZT film was pure perovskite and showed a highly (100) textured structure. The sensitivity of the fabricated piezoelectric ultrasonic sensor without the groove structure was 100 microV/Pa. In comparison, the sensitivity of the ultrasonic sensor with the groove structure was about 500 microV/Pa, which is 5 times that without the groove structure. The diaphragm having grooves showed a corrugate-like structure that was formed by residual stress. The high sensitivity of the membrane with the grooved diaphragm is considered to relate to the corrugate-like structure.
authors.affiliation: New Product & Technologies Development Department, Matsushita Electric Works Ltd., Osaka, Japan. tomoaki.matsushima@mail.mew.co.jp
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsushima
authors.forename: Sibei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawada
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Muralt
mesh_terms: D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D007854:Lead / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008839:Microelectrodes; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014159:Transducers; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; C065536:lead titanate zirconate; D007854:Lead; D015040:Zirconium; D014025:Titanium