On the Generation of High-Frequency Acoustic Energy with Polyvinylidene Fluoride

Abstract

Absrracr-The piezoelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVF2) has recently shown great promise in medical imaging applications when combined with integrated circuit technology to form a broadband acoustic detector. The application of polyvinylidene fluoride as a generator of acoustic energy in the 1-10 MHz frequency range is considered. The acoustic response of rigidly backed PVFz to voltage and current-source electrical drive is analyzed, and the broadband nature of the response to current-source drive is demonstrated. Measured values of the dielectric parameters of PVFz are presented and used to calculate the effects arising from the frequency-dependent dielectric constant and associated dielectric loss. The multiple-layer stack, a mechanical transformer, is proposed as a method for increasing the available output power from a transducer. Experimental investigation of this theoretical modeling is described.