1-3 Dice & Fill Composites
1-3 Dice & Fill Composites
Smart Material manufactures 1-3 composites using the commonly used Dice & Fill method.
1-3 Dice & Fill Composites specifications
- Frequencies 500kHz to 12 MHz
- PZT Navy type I,II, III and VI
- Fill Factors 25% to 75%
- Single Crystal PMN-PT
- Maximun dimensions 8cm by 8cm, larger and curved on request
- Various epoxy and polyurethane interstitial materials available.
- Operational temperatures up to 135℃
- Available with Gold, Copper-Tin electrodes
1-3 Dice & Fill Composites
Smart Material manufactures 1-3 composites using the standard Dice & Fill method, which is the current industry standard for frequencies greater than 500kHz.
1-3 Dice & Fill piezo composites are prepared by dicing a piezoceramic plate into an orthogonal array and cutting 80%-90% of the plate thickness. The pitch (distance between rods) must be very small, typically near 100µm at 5 MHz resonance frequency to avoid lateral modes and grating lobes.
The kerfs or trenches are filled with epoxy or other polymer material. After the interstitial material has cured the uncut side of the ceramic is grinded down to the rod structure and the thickness is adjusted to the desired resonance frequency. This yields a regular pixel or rod distribution required for phased array ultrasound transducers.
1-3 D&F Composite product specifications and selections
| Resonance Frequencies | 500kHZ up to 15MHz |
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| Fill Factors | 25% up to 75% |
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| PZT Materials | PZT Navy Type I, II, III, VI Single Crystal PMN-PT |
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| Acoustic Impedance | 8.5 MRayl to 26 MRayl |
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| Available Electrodes | CuSn (Copper with Tin flash layer) Au (Gold) |
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| Dimensions | Max. 75mm by 75mm, various round diameters |
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| Coupling Coefficient kt | 0.61 to 0.68 for standard PZT materials, > 0.75 for single Crystal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operational Temperatures | Typical 95°C, 135°C on request | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interstitial Materials | Various Epoxy systems | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Typical Ultrasound Applications for 1-3 D&F Composites
- NDT,Non-Destructive Testing
- Medical Ultrasound
- Flow Control and Measurement
- NDT phased array transducer
Compared with the Arrange & Fill production method for our 1-3 random and regular fiber composites, the Dice & Fill method is generally more expensive than similar 1-3 fiber composites due to additional production steps and scalability for volume quantities
Smart Material typically manufactures Dice & Fill standard composites for frequencies between 500kHz and 15MHz with maximum sizes of 75mm by 75mm. Available fill factors range from 25% up to 75% and available PZT materials, for example Navy Type I, Type II (standard), Type III and Type VI (standard). Single crystal materials, i.e. PMN-PT are also available on request.
Smart Material offers various standard epoxy and polyurethane systems as the interstitial material, often called filler. The available filler materials allow for operational temperatures between 95°C and 135°C. Smart Material's machining equipment and capacities also allow the manufacturing of curved 1-3 Dice & Fill piezo composites as well as complex array structures and interconnects.