Effective poling of hard PZT ceramics for high-power ultrasound applications

For high power ultrasound transducers, the poling condition of the piezoceramic is crucial for stable and continuous operation. In this investigation, poling during the temperature-timepaths heating and cooling in addition to poling at constant temperatures were investigated and evaluated regarding the achieved poling result.The planar coupling factor and large signal loss factor are used for characterization. From the results, poling process parameters can be derived, minimizing losses while maximizing the electromechanical coupling.