Vapor-Deposited Thin-Film Piezoelectric Transducers

Abstract

A new vapor deposition technique has been developed for the production of insulating thin-film CdS and ZnS piezoelectric transducers. These high efficiency transducers have been used to generate either shear or compressional waves in dielectric materials at frequencies in the gigacycle range. The thickness, which is measured by means of a quartz crystal microbalance, is controlled to produce films which operate at their fundamental resonance. The mode of the generated waves is determined by the orientation of the driving electric field with respect to the crystal axes of the film transducer.