Lead-free Piezoelectric Composite with Configurable Material Properties by Interdigital Pair-bonding

Lead-based piezoelectric material is the most widely used for acoustic applications. However, many regulations limit the use of lead globally and research groups are looking for alternatives. Lithium niobate (LN) is lead-free and has high curie temperature and high electromechanical coupling factor, but also has low dielectric constant, which causes higher electrical impedance when the transducer aperture is smaller. Therefore, LN is not a preferred choice for a miniaturized transducer or an array transducer. In this study, we focus on the development of lead-free piezoelectric Lithium niobate/barium titanate composite using an interdigital pair-bonding technology. The measurement results show that higher dielectric constant and lower electric impedance that are required for smaller-sized transducers.