Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Kosuke Tsuji, Zhongming Fan, Sun Hwi Bang, Sinan Dursun, Susan Trolier-McKinstry, Clive A. Randall
Summary: In this study, Cold Sintering was applied to densify a Potassium-Sodium Niobate solid solution composition, resulting in ceramics with comparable dielectric and electrical properties as conventionally sintered KNN. TEM analysis revealed high density of line defects in grains and crystalline grain boundaries with faceted kinks, which limit the piezoelectric properties and hysteresis of the ceramics.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Acoustics
Qingqing Ke, Weng Heng Liew, Lei Zhang, Chin Yaw Tan, Chang-Yun Jiang, Chee Kiang Ivan Tan, Kui Yao
Summary: This article presents the design and fabrication of a focused 5-MHz 128-element linear-array ultrasonic transducer with concave structure, using piezoelectric ceramic, showcasing higher bandwidth and lateral resolution.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ULTRASONICS FERROELECTRICS AND FREQUENCY CONTROL
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Yu Huan, Limin Hou, Tao Wei, Fenghua Jiang, Ting Wang, Longtu Li, Xiaohui Wang
Summary: Multilayer ceramic actuator (MLCA) consisting of MnCO3- and CuO-doped KNN-0.04CaZrO(3) piezoelectric ceramics and Ni inner electrode was co-fired by a two-step sintering process. The well-integrated ceramic layer/electrode interface without interdiffusion and chemical reaction ensures the electrical reliability of MLCA. With a thickness of 0.5 mm, the MLCA composed of 50 μm-thick ceramic layers and 3 μm-thick Ni electrodes achieves a high displacement of 1.8 μm under a low voltage of 200 V (compared to 3700 V for 1 mm-thick bulk ceramics). The excellent electrical performance and low-cost base electrode make KNN-based MLCAs promising lead-free candidates for actuator applications.
JOURNAL OF ADVANCED CERAMICS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Qifeng Quan, Huiqing Fan, Qi Shen, Yuxin Jia, Han Wang, Ao Zhang, Dingwei Hou, Weijia Wang, Qiang Li
Summary: In this study, a very promising electrostrictive material is obtained by doping barium zirconate into a sodium potassium niobate matrix. The material shows high electrostrain, ultra-low hysteresis, and excellent stability.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Acoustics
Kai Zou, Qingwen Yue, Jianan Li, Wenbin Zhang, Ruihong Liang, Zhiyong Zhou
Summary: This paper proposes a high-performance ultrasonic transducer based on PZT-5A piezoelectric ceramic for high-temperature NDE. Experimental results show that the transducer has good temperature stability and performance characteristics, indicating its great potential for practical applications.
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Jiacheng Li, Ying Hou, Tingting Ye, Tianle Ding, Junfeng Ding, Ruihong Liang
Summary: The three-step sintering technology was applied to fabricate K0.5Na0.5NbO3 ceramics, resulting in improved density and dielectric/ferroelectric properties. The optimal tunability of these properties was found to occur at temperatures of 1160-1220-1120 degrees Celsius.
ADVANCES IN APPLIED CERAMICS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Jiahao Jiang, Shuaimin Chen, Chunlin Zhao, Cong Lin, Xiao Wu, Min Gao, Tengfei Lin, Changqing Fang
Summary: This study employed two-step cold sintering process (CSP) under different pressures to prepare (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN) ceramics, and found that the density of KNN green pellets can be increased by enhancing the pressure of the second-step CSP. Furthermore, it was observed that high pressure can accelerate the dissolution of K+ and result in more Na+ in some grains, and the diffusion rate of Na+ in grains is better than K+, which promotes the growth of grains. As a result, the piezoelectric property is improved even at low ceramic density due to the larger grains with higher performance composition. Hence, the pressure and inhomogeneous dissolution of alkali metal ions in CSP play a significant role in grain growth and piezoelectric enhancement.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Acoustics
Jie Yin, Shuting Chen, Voon-Kean Wong, Kui Yao
Summary: This article reviews the background and progress of using thermal spray method for fabricating piezoelectric ceramic coatings and their values for structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. The combination of environmentally friendly lead-free compositions and the scalable thermal spray processing method opens substantial application opportunities.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ULTRASONICS FERROELECTRICS AND FREQUENCY CONTROL
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jiaqi Li, Junjun Wang, Fengmin Wu, Hui Ma, Tianyi Ma, Yu Tian, Danqing Liu, Bin Yang
Summary: In this paper, the structure, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of Bi2O3-doped lead-free ceramics were studied. It was found that doping Bi2O3 increases the proportion of the trigonal phase in the ceramics, enabling the construction of ceramics with an orthogonal-trigonal phase boundary at room temperature. Additionally, doping with Bi2O3 reduces grain size and improves grain size uniformity. The ceramic with 0.1% Bi2O3 doping showed the best piezoelectric properties.
Article
Acoustics
Premysl Janu, Josef Bajer, Pavel Dycka, Radek Bystricky
Summary: This method determines electric equivalent circuit parameters of piezoelectric ceramic transducers from their resonance characteristics, focusing on commonly available transducers and being cost efficient. The key part is an iterative process to find the parameters, using linearized equations to determine them. The advantage lies in simplicity of measurement and calculation without the need for expensive circuit analyzers.
Article
Physics, Applied
C. Groppi, L. Mondonico, F. Maspero, C. Rinaldi, M. Asa, R. Bertacco
Summary: Lead-free piezoceramics, specifically (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN) thin films, grown on Pt(111)/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition show promising piezoelectric properties, with a piezoelectric coefficient d(33) of about 80pm/V. Proper treatment of the Pt substrate is crucial for film quality and electric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties, paving the way for integration of these KNN films into microfabricated actuator devices.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Huan Lu, Minhong Jiang, Xiaoyu Yao, Zhaowei Zhang, Wei Wang, Lin Li, Guanghui Rao
Summary: Annealing treatment can significantly enhance the performance of KNN-based piezoelectric single crystals, including their piezoelectric, ferroelectric, and dielectric properties. The optimal annealing temperature is in the range of 550 to 800 degrees Celsius.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN ELECTRONICS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Jiangting Wang, Shaoyang Shi, Xiang Liu, Huangtao Wu, Hua Wang, Jiwen Xu, Ling Yang, Wei Qiu
Summary: In this study, Er-doped transparent fluorescent ceramics were synthesized using the solid-phase method. The effects of Er3+ on the structure, optical, and electrical properties were investigated. The ceramics showed high transmittance, up-conversion luminescence, and relaxation ferroelectricity.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN ELECTRONICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yu Huang, Liang Shu, Fade Hu, Lisha Liu, Zhen Zhou, Yue-Yu-Shan Cheng, Suwei Zhang, Wei Li, Qian Li, Hongliang Wang, Zhinan Dong, Liyu Wei, Chuan Luo, Jing-Feng Li
Summary: Piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs) have attracted widespread attention due to their important applications in medical imaging, fingerprint identification, range-finding, and gesture recognition. However, the toxicity of lead limits the use of piezoelectric Pb(Zr, Ti)O-3 (PZT) in medical-related applications. This study successfully developed lead-free (K,Na)NbO3 (KNN) based pMUTs, which achieved an ultrahigh transmitting sensitivity.
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Ya-Han Liu, Hsin-Yi Su, Hsiao-Chi Lin, Chih-Ying Li, Yeong-Her Wang, Chih-Hsien Huang
Summary: This study proposes a small-sized and low-power piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) to replace traditional transducers for ultrasound haptics applications. The optimized design procedures and fabrication process of the pMUT platform are successfully demonstrated, showing its potential.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
A. Gharbi, S. Ayadi, N. Jouini, F. Schoenstein, H. Oudadess, H. El Feki, W. Cheikhrouhou-Koubaa
Summary: This study successfully consolidated alkali borated bioactive glasses powders at low temperature using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS), achieving high density and fully amorphous structure. Increasing the sintering temperature resulted in crystallization and higher density, making it suitable for repairing defects in non-load bearing bones and improving bone/implant bioactivity. The mechanical properties of the glasses decreased with increasing boron content, approaching those of natural materials.
JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Micka Bah, Taoufik Slimani Tlemcani, Sarah Boubenia, Camille Justeau, Nicolas Vivet, Jean-Michel Chauveau, Francois Jomard, Kevin Nadaud, Guylaine Poulin-Vittrant, Daniel Alquier
Summary: This study investigated the electrical characteristics of ZnO nanowires after annealing at 350 degrees C for 15 hours using 2D electrical profiling. The annealed nanowires showed significant SCM data with higher signal-to-noise ratio and temperature-dependent uniformity, indicating the potential for improved performance in final devices.
NANOSCALE ADVANCES
(2022)
Correction
Physics, Applied
Kevin Nadaud, Matej Sadl, Micka Bah, Franck Levassort, Hana Ursic
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Applied
Kevin Nadaud, Matej Sadl, Micka Bah, Franck Levassort, Hana Ursic
Summary: This study investigates the effects of thermal annealing on aerosol-deposited thick films. The findings demonstrate that annealing enhances the ferroelectric behavior of the films by increasing both the switching and non-switching contributions to polarization, as well as the reversible domain wall contribution to dielectric permittivity.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Hugo Spiridigliozzi, Silvana Mercone, Guillaume Lang, Eduard Feldbach, Andrei Kanaev, Frederic Schoenstein
Summary: This study investigated the evolution of structural defects in fine-grain transparent MgAl2O4 ceramics after consolidation via Spark Plasma Sintering and heat treatment under air. The results showed that a dark discoloration caused by carbon contamination and partial reduction during the sintering process could be suppressed by post-annealing under air. EPR and cathodoluminescence analyses demonstrated the significance of the reduction of Mn4+ ions after the consolidation of powders.
EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL-SPECIAL TOPICS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
R. Mahayri, S. Mercone, F. Giovannelli, K-L Tan, J-M Morelle, N. Jouini, F. Schoenstein
Summary: In this study, the transport properties of sintered intermetallic Ag3Sn powders were analyzed using spark plasma sintering (SPS) at room temperature. The results showed that the sintering temperature was the key factor affecting the microstructure of the sintered material. Additionally, the density and grain size of the sintered samples played a significant role in determining the thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity.
EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL-SPECIAL TOPICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Micka Bah, Renaud Podor, Richard Retoux, Fabian Delorme, Kevin Nadaud, Fabien Giovannelli, Isabelle Monot-Laffez, Andre Ayral
Summary: Sintering is a crucial process in materials science and technological applications. The K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN) sintering process is not fully understood yet, despite advancements in optimizing piezoelectric properties. This study used a High Temperature-Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope to monitor microscale events during KNN sintering, revealing insights into grain growth and elimination. The research also explored the effects of atmospheres and microstructure on the dielectric response.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Razvan Burcea, Jean-Francois Barbot, Pierre-Olivier Renault, Dominique Eyidi, Thierry Girardeau, Marc Marteau, Fabien Giovannelli, Ahmad Zenji, Jean-Michel Rampnoux, Stefan Dilhaire, Per Eklund, Arnaud le Febvrier
Summary: By introducing point and extended defects through argon ion implantation in epitaxial 111-ScN thin films, the thermal conductivity was reduced and overall thermoelectric performance was improved. The study showed that control defect engineering with defects introduced by irradiation using noble gases can be an attractive method to enhance the figure of merit of thermoelectric materials.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Physics, Multidisciplinary
N. Jouini, F. Schoenstein, S. Mercone
Summary: This special issue presents scientific results on the relationship between functionality and structure in micro- and nano-structured materials. It brings together expertise from physics, mechanics, and chemistry for a trans-disciplinary discussion on the multi-scaled properties of nanostructured systems. The focus is on understanding the parameters governing the macroscopic physical properties of these structures and developing reliable strategies for characterizing the microstructures and linking them to the performance of nanostructured materials. This is essential for improving the physical functionalities of new nanostructures.
EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL-SPECIAL TOPICS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Hugo Spiridigliozzi, Olivier Rouleau, Andrei Kanaev, Freïdeïric Schoenstein
Summary: We describe a controlled synthesis method of MAl2O4 (M = Mg, Co, Ni, Zn, Ba) nanopowders. The method involves three main steps: growth of ultraporous nanofibrous Al2O3 (UPA) monoliths, M-nitrate impregnation, and heat treatment. The formation of desirable nanocrystallites, such as spinel structures below 10 nm, was achieved. This synthesis route has potential applications in the fabrication of functional materials for various fields.
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Physics, Applied
Kevin Nadaud, Caroline Borderon, Raphael Renoud, Micka Bah, Stephane Ginestar, Hartmut W. Gundel
Summary: The field-induced residual ferroelectricity in antiferroelectric lead zirconate thin films has been studied by impedance measurements and hyperbolic law analysis. It is found that the residual ferroelectricity is significantly enhanced when the sample is exposed to an electric field close to the antiferroelectric to ferroelectric transition field. This indicates the presence of a part of the material that remains ferroelectric after the antiferroelectric-ferroelectric backward transition, contributing to polarization. A higher domain wall density and mobility are observed as a result. The measurements after thermal treatment show that this ferroelectric response is metastable.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Kevin Nadaud, Caroline Borderon, Raphael Renoud, Micka Bah, Stephane Ginestar, Hartmut W. Gundel
Summary: The weak ferroelectric contribution to the polarization of antiferroelectric lead zirconate (PZO) thin films was investigated using PUND pulse measurements and FORC technique. The PUND allowed decomposing the measured current into a switching and a non-switching contribution. The weak ferroelectric phase was enhanced when a large electric field was previously applied to switch from the antiferroelectric to the ferroelectric phase. The FORC measurements showed a presence of ferroelectric phase at different fields, with a high concentration near the antiferroelectric to ferroelectric phase transition, and the weak ferroelectricity contribution was found to be metastable and decreasing with time when changing the delay between PUND and FORC measurements.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Mohsen Mhadhbi, Ilker Emin Dag, Baris Avar, Mohamed Khitouni, Mohamed Ali Bousnina, Frederic Schoenstein, Noureddine Jouini
Summary: Dense nanostructured carbides in ternary system Ti-Cr-C were prepared using a two-steps method. First, nanostructured Ti0.9Cr0.1C carbides were prepared by high-energy planetary ball milling, and then densified carbides were produced using spark plasma sintering. The effect of sintering on microstructural and electrochemical properties of the carbides was investigated. The results showed the decomposition of (Ti,Cr)C carbide into TiC, Cr7C3, and Cr3C2 phases during sintering, and the 20 h milled carbide showed the highest corrosion resistance.
Correction
Chemistry, Physical
Razvan Burcea, Jean-Francois Barbot, Pierre-Olivier Renault, Dominique Eyidi, Thierry Girardeau, Marc Marteau, Fabien Giovannelli, Ahmad Zenji, Jean-Michel Rampnoux, Stefan Dilhaire, Per Eklund, Arnaud le Febvrier
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Arnaud le Febvrier, Davide Gambino, Fabien Giovannelli, Babak Bakhit, Simon Hurand, Gregory Abadias, Bjorn Alling, Per Eklund
Summary: This article reports the results of a study on nonstoichiometric CrN1+?? thin films, showing a transition from n-type to p-type behavior and changes in lattice parameter and Seebeck coefficient with varying nitrogen concentration. The presence of Cr vacancies and N2 dumbbells, possibly in combined configurations, was found to explain the experimental trends. This research opens up possibilities for controlling the semiconducting behavior of CrN and its integration in energy-harvesting thermoelectric devices.
Article
Acoustics
Maxwell J. Kiernan, Rashid Al Mukaddim, Carol C. Mitchell, Jenna Maybock, Stephanie M. Wilbrand, Robert J. Dempsey, Tomy Varghese
Summary: In this study, a method for automatically determining bounding boxes and lumen segmentation using a Mask R-CNN network trained on sonographer assisted groundtruth carotid lumen segmentations is presented. This method is of great importance for analyzing ultrasound images that require time and labor, and it also lays the foundation for developing accurate plaque segmentation and wall thickness measurement methods.
Article
Acoustics
Junzhen Wang, Jianmin Qu
Summary: This article presents the solution to guided wave fields in a double-layer plate and proposes a nonlinear spring-interface model for the bonding between the two sublayers. The study finds that the nonlinearity of the spring-interface can generate resonant guided waves in the double-layer plate, providing a theoretical foundation for the development of nondestructive evaluation techniques using nonlinear guided waves.
Article
Acoustics
Shuyuan Ye, Tianyu Peng, Zhili Long, Zhiming Jiang, Xiangqing Li, Zhonghua Cao
Summary: In this study, a novel approach based on beating vibration model is proposed for frequency tracking, which accurately determines the resonant frequency of the transducer in a short time.
Article
Acoustics
Shuling Gao, Rui Zhang, Zheng Fan, Ning Li, Yanan Yue, Lili Xie
Summary: In this study, a novel method is proposed to monitor fatigue damage in welded joints by computing the energy density in the diffuse ultrasonic signal. The results indicate that the correlation coefficient of the energy density exhibits a significant decreasing trend when crack initiation occurs, providing a unique signal to indicate crack initiation in welded joints.
Article
Acoustics
Ata Jafarzadeh, Peter D. Folkow, Anders Bostrom
Summary: This study investigates the scattering of elastic waves by an anisotropic sphere with orthorhombic symmetry inside an isotropic medium, and applies it to the characterization of polycrystalline materials with anisotropic grains. The expansion coefficients of the wave and displacement field are determined inside the sphere using recursion relations and boundary conditions. The T matrix elements are then obtained and used to analyze the attenuation and phase velocity of polycrystalline materials, particularly at low frequencies. The proposed approach shows good agreement with previous results and finite element method for strongly anisotropic materials.
Article
Acoustics
F. R. Akhmedzhanov, M. I. Elboeva, S. Z. Mirzaev
Summary: The dependence of elastic and acousto-optic properties on the direction of wave vector and polarization of acoustic and optical waves in lead molybdate crystals has been investigated. Effective photoelastic constants were determined using the Dixon method for different geometries of Bragg light diffraction. The study of the acousto-optic quality factor dependence on the direction of the wave vector of longitudinal acoustic waves in the symmetry plane revealed that the maximum and minimum values are observed when light is diffracted by pure longitudinal waves in this plane. Additionally, it was found that the acousto-optic quality factor in lead molybdate crystals is practically the same as in paratellurite crystals.
Article
Acoustics
H. Franklin
Summary: This paper investigates the interaction between double porosity distributed cylindrical bodies and the surrounding fluid using a generalized self consistent method. The study reveals that there is a correlation between the propagating waves and the effective quantities at low frequencies, which is influenced by the volume fraction of scatterers and the porosity.
Article
Acoustics
Yuchen Liu, Mahshid Hafezi, Andrew Feeney
Summary: This study investigates the use of Nitinol, a shape memory alloy, in a Langevin power ultrasonic transducer to mitigate the influence of temperature on device performance. The results demonstrate that by controlling the microstructure of Nitinol, the nonlinear softening of the piezoelectric stack can be reduced, leading to higher and more stable vibration amplitudes. Furthermore, the use of Nitinol allows for stable resonance frequency and performance even with temperature changes and continuous operation.
Article
Acoustics
Shrutika Sharma, Vishal Gupta, Deepa Mudgal
Summary: Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) based bone plates fabricated using Fused Deposition Modeling can have improved mechanical strength by biocompatible polydopamine (PDM) coating. The effect of ultrasonic assisted coating parameters on tensile strength of coated bone plates was investigated and compared using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and machine learning (ML) models. The gradient boosting regression (GBReg) model outperformed other models in terms of accuracy and prediction performance for predicting the tensile strength of PDM coated bone plates.
Article
Acoustics
Kirill Kolesnik, Vijay Rajagopal, David J. Collins
Summary: Superstrate-based acoustofluidic devices offer advantages of cost, interchangeability and prevention of contamination between samples. This study analyzes the coupling layers and superstrate dimensions for efficient sound transmission, finding that a superstrate thickness of 0.55 times the acoustic wavelength maximizes acoustic coupling.
Article
Acoustics
Dingpeng Wang, Xiaocen Wang, Shili Chen, Jian Li, Lin Liang, Yang Liu
Summary: This paper proposes an end-to-end ultrasonic guided wave joint learning imaging method for sparse and limited-view transducer arrays, which significantly improves the quality of imaging results by integrating sparse feature reconstruction and deep learning imaging methods.
Article
Acoustics
Zubeir M. Ebrahim Saib, Anthony J. Croxford, Bruce W. Drinkwater
Summary: This paper proposes a numerical model using FDTD scheme to solve the nonlinear elastic bulk wave equations, aiming to better understand nonlinear ultrasonic techniques. The model considers material and geometrical nonlinearities and uses a stress-type boundary condition for excitation. Simulation and experimental results validate the effectiveness of the model.
Article
Acoustics
Sol R. Martinez, Emmanuel Odella, Luis E. Ibarra, Arianna Sosa Lochedino, Ana B. Wendel, Andres M. Durantini, Carlos A. Chesta, Rodrigo E. Palacios
Summary: Sonodynamic inactivation (SDI) has an advantage over optical excitation-based protocols due to the deeper penetration of ultrasound (US) excitation. In this study, we applied conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs) as an efficient sonosensitizer (SS) in SDI of pathogens and characterized the sonoreactor. We found that CPNs have a germicidal effect on planktonic cultures and mature biofilms, highlighting their potential for novel inactivation protocols.
Article
Acoustics
Quentin Baudis, Tony Valier-Brasier, Regis Wunenburger
Summary: In this study, we present a detailed procedure for measuring the rheological properties of soft, highly attenuating, visco-elastic materials at ultrasonic frequencies. We use a crosslinked Polyurethane (PU) elastomer as an example and determine its complex longitudinal modulus M and shear modulus G as a function of frequency and temperature. The results show that M, G, and bulk modulus K obey the time-temperature superposition principle and can be accurately described using a fractional derivative rheological model.
Article
Acoustics
Richard E. Jacob, Matthew S. Prowant, Chris A. Hutchinson
Summary: Ultrasonic inspection of cast austenitic stainless steel (CASS) in the nuclear industry is challenging due to sound field scatter and attenuation caused by the coarse-grained microstructure. Modeling and simulation are important tools for addressing key aspects of inspections, but developing a useful and reliable CASS model is challenging. This study demonstrates a method of creating a realistic CASS model and compares it with laboratory-measured sound fields, showing promising results.
