10/12-08   -   Press releases

Supreme Navy I equivalent – piezoceramic material

PCM40 is a hard PZT, low loss material for high power applications and an equivalent of Navy I materials. The high coupling factor and low dielectric and mechanical losses (tgδ, Qm) combined with high piezoelectric charge constant (d33) make the material ultimate for high power ultrasonic applications.

Higher piezoelectric charge coefficient
PCM40 provides a higher coupling factor and higher piezoelectric charge coefficient than competitive materials.

PCM40 can be exposed to high repetitive quasi-static and dynamic loads and is suitable for both constant and repetitive conditions in sonar, ultrasonic cleaning, and other high power applications

PCM40 may advantageously be used in these applications:
Medical transducers
Hydrophones
Level sensors
Dental cleaners
High power underwater transducers

Application examples
A hydrophone (Greek "hydro" = "water" and "phone" = "sound") is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates electricity when subjected to a pressure change. Such piezoelectric materials, or transducers can convert a sound signal into an electrical signal since sound is a pressure wave in fluids. Some transducers can also serve as a projector (emitter), but not all have this capability, and may be destroyed if used in such a manner.
A hydrophone can "listen" to sound in air, but will be less sensitive due to its design as having a good acoustic impedance match to water, the denser fluid. Likewise, a microphone can be buried in the ground, or immersed in water if it is put in a waterproof container, but will give similarly poor performance due to the similarly bad acoustic impedance match.

Sonar (originally an acronym for sound navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater) to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels. There are two kinds of sonar: active and passive. Sonar may be used as a means of acoustic location. Acoustic location in air was used before the introduction of radar. Sonar may also be used in air for robot navigation, and SODAR (an upward looking in-air sonar) is used for atmospheric investigations. The term sonar is also used for the equipment used to generate and receive the sound. The frequencies used in sonar systems vary from infrasonic to ultrasonic. The study of underwater sound is known as underwater acoustics or sometimes hydroacoustics.