Simulation of Piezoelectric Devices by Two- and Three-Dimensional Finite Elements

REINHARD LERCH.
MEMBER.
IEW.

Abslract--A method for the analysis of piezoelectric media hased o n finite element calculations is presented in which the fundamental electroelastic equations gokerning piemelectric media are solved numerically.Theresultsohtained h! thisfinite-elementcalculationscheme agree with theoretical and experimental data given in the literature. The method is applied to the bihrational anal!sis of piezoelectric sensors and actuators with arbitrary structure. Natural frequencies nith related eigenmodes of those devices as well as theirre.;ponses to Iarious time-dependent nlechanical or electrical excitations are computed. The theoretically calculated mode shapes of piezoelectric transducers and their electrical impedances agree quantitativelj with our re5pective interferometric and electric measurements. The simulations are used to optimize piezoelectric devices such as ultrasonic transducers for medical imaging. The method also provides deeper insight into the physical mechanism5 of acoustic wabe propagation in piemelectric media.

1. INTRODUCTION IEZOELECTRICMATERIALSare widely used in electromechanical sensors and actuators such as telephone handset transmitter and receiver insets, robotic sensors, ultrasonic transducers for medical imaging and nondestructive evaluation NDE, as well as transducers used in the upper MHz range, e.g.. surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) devices. In the past. the development of electroacoustic transducers was primarily based on trial and error, whichistime-consumingandthereforeexpensive. This kind of development is not consistent with modem industrial engineering practice, which is to aid development by computer simulations for the theoretical prediction of thepropertiesexpectedtoresult from agiven transducer design. The main purposes of computersimulations in transducer development are:

Optimization of transducer design without time-consuming experiments. Evaluation of new materials in device design, Deeperinsightintothewavepropagation in piezoelectric solids. The models commonly used to simulate the mechanical and electrical behavior of piezoelectric transducers generallyintroducesimplifyingassumptions thatareoften invalid foractualdesigns.Thegeometriesof practical
Manuscript receit)cd Deccrnbcr23. 1988; reviwd J u l j I O . 1989 and October 1 . 1989. acctptcd October 2 5 . 19x9. The author is w i t h Slerncn\ AG. AFE-TPH 41. Postlach 3220. D-8SlO Erlangen. West Germany. IEEE I.og Nunlber 9034355.

transducers are often two(2-D) o r three-dimensional (3-D). The most popular models, such as Mason's model or theKLM-model 111-191, however,are only one-dimensional ( 1 -D). For the 2-D or 3-D simulation of piezoelectric media the complete set of fundamental equations governing piezoelectric media has to be solved. The finite difference or finite-elementmethodsarehowever sufficiently general to handle these differential equations. The finite element method was preferred here because it is capable of handlingcomplexgeometries.Hitherto mainly results of 2-D piezoelectric finite difference or finite element simulations have been reported in the literature [ 101[ 141. The geometrical dimensions of practical transducers,however,oftendemanda full 3-D description. Thus we have implemented an analysis scheme for piezoelectric media with no restrictions other than linearity. Thc ma.jor advantages of our finite element calculation scheme compared to other piezoelectric finite element software, e.g., [ 151, are the availability of 2-D and 3-D piezoelectric finite elements as well as the capability of computing transient responses and of handling structures with nonuniform damping. Our finite element analysis scheme is the first to allow the handling of different 2-D as well as 3-D piezoelectric finite elements for static, eigenfrequency, harmonic and transient analysis. In transient analysis the damping coefficients may differ from element to element,which is important for the computationof structures with locallynonuniformdamping coefficients as, for example, in array antennas with absorbing backing materials. With this analysis scheme piezoelectric media with anisotropic material tensors and almost any geometry can be calculated. Telephone handset transducers [ 161, array antennas for medical imaging [ 17). acoustic delay lines [ 181 and SAW devices [ 191 have already been successfully analyzed using this method. We will concentrate below on the analysis of ultrasonic transducers as used in echographic systems.
11. THEOKY OF
PI~:%OEI.I<C'IRIC FINITEELEMENTS

The matrix equations ( 1 ) relating mechanical and electrical quantities in piezoelectricmediaare the basisfor thederivation of the finite elementmodel(vectors and matrices are printed in boldface):

T D

= =

C'S eS

e'E
~ E

( la)
(lb)

+E

0885-3010/90/0500-0233$01.OO 0 1990 IEEE

vector of mechanical stresses vector of mechanical strains vector of electric field vector of dielectricdisplacement c E mechanical stiffness matrix for constant electric field E E' permittivitymatrix forconstantmechanical strain S e piezoelectric matrix; superscript ' means transposed. The electric field E is related to the electrical potential @ by

T S E D

with Elastic energy E,,

E\t
and Dielectric energy

= 1 2
.Etl

S'TdV

E cl = I2
and Kinetic energy E,,, EL,,, = where
U

\SS ;jS 1
+

D ~ d v

pic'

dV

E = -grad @
andthemechanicalstrain ment U by

(2)

S to the mechanical displaceS

=

is the vector of particlevelocityand V is the volume of the piezoelectric medium.

Bu

where in the Cartesian coordinates

The energy I+' generated by external mechanical or electrical excitation is defined

W =

B =
where The elastic behavior by Newton's law:
of piezoelectric media is governed

11s S
v
1

uif,dV

$I
;I

ujf,clA

+q,sdA

+ c u'F,,

x @Qp

( 12)

fH vector of mechanical body forces [ N/m3] fs vector of mechanicalsurfaceforces [ N / m ' ] FP vector of mechanical point forces [ NI
area where forces are applied [m' ] qS surfacecharges [ As/m'] QP pointcharges [ A s ] A , area where charges are applied [ m'
A,

DIV T where

= pa'u/at'

(5)

DIV is divergence of a dyadic [20]and p is density of the piezoelectric medium;

whereas the electric behavior is described by Maxwell's Equation considering that piezoelectric media are insulating (no free volume charge):

1.

ditlD = 0.

(6)

Equations (1)-(6) constitute a complete set of differential equations which can be solved with appropriate mechanical (displacementsandforces) andelectrical(potential and charge) boundary conditions. An equivalent description of the above boundary value problem is Hamilton'svariationalprinciple as extended to piezoelectric media [ 2 l ] , (221

(7) u ( . T ,J. Z ) = N f f ( . r ,y, Z ) U(.rf,yf, z f ) (13) where the operator 6 denotes first-order variation and the where Lagrangian term L is determined by the energies available U is the vector of nodal point displacements (order 3 in the piezoelectric medium: * n ) and L E,,, - E,, + E,, + W (8) N , , is the interpolation functions for the displacement.

In the finite element method the body to be computed is subdivided into small discrete elements, the so called finite elements. The mechanical displacements U and forces F as well as the electrical potential @ and charge Q are determined at the nodes of these elements. The values of these mechanical and electrical quantities at an arbitrary position on the element are given by a linear combination of polynomial interpolation functions N ( x . y, z ) and the nodal point values of these quantities as coefficients [23], [24]. For an element with I I nodes (nodal coordinates: (.xf, yf, z , ) ; i = 1 . 2 . . . . , H ) thecontinuousdisplacement function u ( . u , y, :) (vector of order three). for example, can be evaluated from its discrete nodal point vectors as follows(thequantities with the sign ' + ' * are the nodal point values of one element):

Ldr=O

225

All other mechanical and electrical quantities .Y are similarly interpolated with appropriate interpolation functions N,. With the interpolation functions for the displacement ( N i l )and the electrical potential ( N + ) , (2) and (3) can be written:

where
a'"), p"''

dampingcoefficients of element ( c ) external body force at element ( c ) external surface force at element ( c ) external point force at element ( P ) external surface charge at element ( d external point charge at element ( e ) .

fk"'
f

= -grad

+ = grad ( N a & ) = - B a &

( l4a)

F:) 4 : '

S = Bu = BN,,li = B,,U

(14b)

Q:)

The substitution of the polynomial interpolation functions N , into (7) yields a set of linear differential equations that describe one single piezoelectric finite element:

mu

+ d,,,, U' + k,,,, U' + k,,*6 = F B + F y + F P

k:,+u + k + + 6 =
Q , *

( 15a)

+ Qp

(15b)

where
A

ic,

ii Vectors of nodalvelocities,accelerations

Mechanical stiffness matrix:

k,,,,=

Mechanical damping matrix:

d,,,, =

Piezoelectric coupling matrix:

k,,@ =

Dielectric stiffness matrix:

kae =
Mass matrix:

m =

S1 CY'"'15 S + 5c 11S S51 5

P""

B:,c"B,,dl/.

( 16a)

pN:,N,, ciV
B:,c"B,,dl/.
(16b)

B:,e'B+ d V .

(16c)

B;cSB+ d V .

(16d)

pN;,N,,dV.

(164

Mechanical body forces:

Mechanical surface forces:

The damping behavior of the element is determined by the damping matrix d(,,,. which can be introduced by standard finite element techniques 1231. In the general case, these matrices d,,,, can be assembled from the damping properties of the structure, which are usually frequency dependent. An arbitrary frequency dependence of the damping. however,requires more than twodampingcoefficients. in a full damping matrixand conseThiswouldresult quently in a significant amount of computational efiort, as reported in [ 2 3 ] .In practice it is convenient therefore, to approximate the damping behavior by (16b). Therewith, four types of physical damping can be modeled, according tothevalues of thedampingcoefficients a and 6 . Theseare: l ) theundampedcase ( a = 0; p = 0 ) , 2) stiffness-proportional damping, i.e., viscous damping, ( a = 0: p > 0 ) , 3 ) mass-proportionaldamping ( a > 0, p = 0 ) and 4) Rayleigh damping ( a > 0; p > 0 ) (see also (251). The magnitudes of the Rayleigh coefficients cy and p depend on the energy dissipation characteristics of the modeled structure. Hysteretic damping. for example, can also be roughly approximated by suitable values of a and p. In order to handle structures with non-uniform damping. the values of cy and p can be different from element to element. Typical values of the Rayleigh coefficients for piezoceramic materials operated at a frequency of 1 MHz are: CY = 7.5 and /3 = 2 X lo-'. For soundabsorbing materials we increase the values of CY and ( 3 so that critical damping is obtained. The subdivision of the area or body to be computed into finite elements results in a mesh composed of numerous single elements. The complete finite-elernent mesh of a piezoelectric medium is mathematically described by a set of linear differential equations with symmetric band structure. Here, thequantities U , CD. FB, F*, Q s , and Qp are the globally assembled field quantities and no longer element quantities as those marked by an .'*" in (15) and (16):
Mii

+ D,,,,u + K,,,,u + K,,+@ = FR + F s + FP

(17a)

Mechanical point forces:

Electrical surface charges:

" A

Electrical point charges:

K L u + K++@ = Qs + QP (17b) According to the theory of conventional mechanical finite elements (see, for example, [23], 1241) the matrices and vectors describing the whole mesh (( 17)) result from assembling the vectors and matrices of the single elements ((15)) of which the mesh is composed. If the whole mesh contains n t n t nodes, matrix equation (17a) will consist of 3 * IZ,<,,and matrix equation (17b) of n,,,, linear equations. This is because the mechanical description of a body re-

quires three vector components (e.g., displacement), whereas for the description of a quasi-stationary electrical field a single scalar quantity (e.g., potential) is sufficient. Thesolution of (17)yieldsthemechanicaldisplace@ in thepiezoelectric ments U andelectricalpotentials medium. The two sets of linear equations (17a) and (17b) are coupled by the matrix K,,+ and split into two separate matrixequations with diminishingpiezoelectricity (piezoelectricstresstensor e = 0 K,,, = 0 ) . These two separate sets of equations describe respectively pure mechanical finite element models already known from structural mechanics [23] ((17a) with K,,+ = 0 ) and models of electrostatic field problems ( (17b) with K,l+ = 0 ) . Besides these nodal or local results we further evaluate integral quantities, such as the electrical input impedance or electromechanical coupling coefficient characterizing a piezoelectric transducer.
--$

spectively by the minima and the antiresonance frequencies ( f a ) by the maxima of the electrical input impedance. Eventheelectromechanicalcouplingcoefficientcanbe determined from resonances and antiresonances using an approximated formula (21:

Equation (20) is strictlyvalidonly for pureone-dimensional vibration modes (21, e.g., a pure thickness mode, whereas the definition by ( 1 8) is exact without qualifying assumptions. To compute the electrical input impedance of a piezoelectric transducer with finite elements, the transducerhastobeexcited by adeltafunction of the electrical charge at one electrode, while the other is grounded:

Electromechanical Coupling Coeflcient The electromechanical coupling coefficient k is defined in [2]:

7 kG I = __

Q ( [ )= Q , J ( t >

(21 1

E,, E d

(18)

where Q,, is the amplitude of charge pulse and 6( t ) is the Deltafunction.Theelectricalimpedance Z ( o ) is then given by (22) (since I ( t ) = d Q ( r ) / d t ) :

where E,,, is mutual energy. E,, is elastic energy. and Ed is dielectric energy. In terms of piezoelectricfiniteelementmatrices the three energies are written

E,, = f ( u'K,,+@

+ @'K:,+u)

(19a)

wheref { +c, ( t ) } is the Fourier transform of the electrical potential at the excited electrode. In this case, the application of a delta function charge is superior to a step function charge, since the computations for a delta pulse require less data storage.

Average Displacernmt In practical transducer development it is useful to deThe magnitude of electromechanical coupling of a vibra- fine an integral quantity that characterizes the mechanical tional mode represents the significance of that particular output of the transducer. One integral result which can be mode compared to the other modes. If the coupling of a used to quantify the mechanical response is, for example, certain mode is of the order of 50% or higher, that mode the average displacement of a region of interest, e . g . , the will be strongly excited. The larger the electromechanical average displacement of the sound emitting face of the coupling coefficient of the mode of interest, the lower will transducer. The average displacement is computed by be the insertion loss and the broader the bandwidth of the summing the displacement amplitude spectra U , ( o)of all transducer. thenodes i belonging to theregionofinterest. The resulting average amplitude spectrum U,,, ( W ) then repreElectrical Impedunce sents the strength of the various vibrational modes in reThe electrical impedance is another characterizing spect to the mechanical output of the considered region: quantity which can moreover be verified experimentally without undue effort, since impedance measurements can easily be carried out with a network analyzer by sweeping the frequency and recording the real and imaginary part of the impedance. The input impedance of a piezoelectric Amplitude spectrum of mechanical displacement transduceralsoreveals all theresonancesandantiresoat node i. Node i belongs to thatface of element j which is a subarea of the region of innances of the device. The resonances are the natural freterest. quenciesforshort-circuitedelectrodes,whiletheantiresonances are those for open-circuit conditions. The resAAJ Area of that face of elementj that is a subarea of the region of interest onances are excited by a pulse of the electrical potential, N,,, Number of nodes belonging to the considered eleand the anti-resonances by a pulse of the electrical charge. ment face Thustheresonancefrequencies ( f , ) arerepresented reEd
=

!@'K*+@.

(19c)

N,,

A,,,i

Number of elementsbelongingtotheregion interest Totalareaofregionofinterest.

111.
I M P L F . M E N ' l 4 T I O N O F THl.. T H t : O R Y

of

able to handlepiezoelectricproblems. it was necessary for us to develop appropriate software.

Iv.

c O N F I R M / \ T l O N O F T H k cAI.CIIL4'I'lON

SC.Hl.Mt<

The theory described above was implemented in FORTRAN routinessupplementedtoafiniteelement conputerprogramdeveloped at our computercenter.The original version of this program was used to solve problems of structural mechanics. Up to now we have implemented the following types of piezoelectricfiniteelements: 2-D plane-strain element ( 3 to 8 nodes). 2-D plane-stress element ( 3 to 8 nodes). axially symmetrical element ( 3 to 8 nodes) and 3-D elements (4 to 27 nodes). Plane-strain conditions imply the absence of strain in the ( S , = Sh = 0: third (neglected)geometricaldimension E , = 0 in ( l a ) ) , while plane-stress implies the absence of stress in that direction ( TI = T, = 0; D , = 0 ) . This physically meansastructure with eithera very thin (planestress) or an infinitely long (plane-strain) third dimension. For the implementation of these elements the mechanical. electrical and piezoelectric anisotropies of the material are considered in toto by using the full material tensors. Forthenumericalanalysis of piezoelectricfiniteelements, standard finite element equation solvers can be applied because the matrix equation ((17)) to be solved exhibits symmetric band structure. As for conventional mechanical finite elementsweapply,forexample,the subspace iteration method [23] to calculate the natural frequencies and their related mode shapes. Further, the standard Newmark step-by-step integration method [23] is usedto compute transient responses to mechanical (displacement or force) or electrical (charge or voltage) excitations. An algorithm for solving (17) in complex forin order to compute mulation has also been implemented the responses to harmonic excitation. In transient and harmonic analysis the damping coefficients may differ from element to element. This demands more computing power. for the matrix D,, (( 17)) has to be evaluated and stored separately. It is moreover a very important feature for simulating structures in which damping is locally nonuniform. In none of our computations did we experience numerical difficulties due to piezoelectric finite elements. Thus the implementation of the theory of piezoelectric finite elements in otherstandard finiteelementsoftware would seem to be practicable without major problems. In finite-element analysis it is furthermore necessary for appropriate pre- and postprocessing software to be available for the convenient handling of the structures to be analyzed. The preprocessing software should support the interactive generation of finite element meshesat a graphic workstation. Once finite-element analysis has been completed by the kernel finite element program. an appropriate postprocessing software is needed to convert the numeric values determined at the nodes of the finite element mesh intographicaloutput.Sincethepreandpostprocessing software at present commercially available is un-

First. four examples are reported that prove the validity of our calculation scheme by comparison with theoretical and experimental data given in the literature.

E-rmtr1plc I
Jungermann e t N I . havetheoretically and experimentally examinedpiezoelectricparallelepipedarraytransducers (261 and computed the resonance and antiresonance frequencies o f the parallelepiped bars by using series-approximations. I n Table 1 the results are compared with our own piezoelectric finite element calculations. E.ranlple 2 Thisexample was used totest ouraxisymmetricelement. EerNisse 127) has presented numerical calculations for piezoceramic ( BaTi03) disks based on Taylor series approximations. while Shaw 1281 has reported related experimental results. The diagram of dispersion and the shape of the sixth eigenmode of a BaTi03-disk I271 c o n puted with our axisymmetric element are compared (Figs. 1 and 2) with the results of EerNisse and Shaw. E-rarnplt> 3 Boucher et t i l . havereported the simulation o f piezoelectric cubes using a mixedfiniteelement-perturbation method [ 121. In Table I1 Boucher's theoretical and experimentalresultsarecheckedagainstown 3-D finite element calculations as well aslatestrelatedfiniteelement results reported by Ostergaard ( 151.

Esutnple 4
The resonances of an electromechanical Langevin-type transducerwerealsocalculated with our finite element software and compared with the results given in [ I S ] and (291 (Table 111). Like Kagawa 1291 we used 2-D axisymmetric elements, whereas Ostergaard [ 151 modeled a small sector of the axisymmetric rod with 3-D elements.
V . APPL.ICATION OF T H C ~ A L C C I I A T ISCHFME ON 1 ' 0 TRANSDIJCEKS FOR ULTKASONIC IMAGING

The qualityofultrasonicimages is knowntodepend performance of the electromechanical greatly on the transducers used. In order to improve transducer characteristics we analyzedpiezoelectricparallelepipedpiezoceramic bars as used in theultrasonicarrayantennas of echographic systems. In transducer development it is often assumed that the transducers vibrate like simple pistons. Thisis.however. not correct in the followingrespects: First.thethicknessmode,which is closesttothe ideal piston mode as to shape. does not exhibit true piston behavior at all. Due to the strong lateral contraction o f con-

3 5-

3 0-

? i-

? 3-

05

I
1

C m x l r r lh~ckncss4

-+--t i f --t
'3 4

i
l0

06

08

ventional piezoceramic materials, e.g.. Poisson's ratio = 0.4 for PZT ( 3 = thicknessdimension; 2 = width dimension ), the thickness modes of piezoceramic vibrators mostly exhibit significant displacements normal to the thickness dimension. The displacements along the width

dimension are consequently nonuniform. Second, still other modes are often excited whose strength depends on the transducer geometry. These modes areof parasitic nature and greatly differ from piston-like behavior. A further. more general problem in the analysis of electromechanical devices is that their vibrational modes can very rarelybeassigned to puremodessuchas.forexample, the l-D thickness mode. The actual eigenmodes of complex vibrators are often a mixture of different pure modes. To obtain deeper insight into the physical mechanisms of such vibrations we have computed the eigenmodes of parallelepipedpiezoelectricbarswithgeometriessimilar to thosegenerallyused in ultrasonicarray antennas. These bars are typically so longthattheireigenmodes in the length dimension appear far (at least by a factor of 10) below the frequency range of practical interest. Since these modes and also their harmonics are all weakly coupled. it is not necessary to consider them beit is generally not low.However, it will beshownthat permissible to neglect the length dimension on account of its influence on the modes of interest.

A . Mechaniml Di.~l~lar.c~tnPt~t.~

First of all, thelowest eigenmodesofparallelepiped piezoceramic bars have been analyzed by 2-D as well as 3-D simulations with respect to displacements and electric fields. The permanent polarization of the bars as well as the applied external electric field are aligned in the thickness dimension. The thickness modes of bars with widthto-thickness ( W / T ) ratios of W / T = 0.5 and W / T = 2.0 as well asthewidth-dilatationalmodefor W/T = 2.0areshown in Figs. 3-5. Theelastic.dielectric and piezoelectric constants, of the utilized piezoceramic material (Siemens-Vibrit-420) are givenin the appendix. For narrow elements ( W / T < I ) the thickness mode always corresponds to the first and, for wider bars ( W / T > I ), to the second natural frequency. The mode switch occurs in the region W / T = 1. since the W < T the condition ( h/2-resonance of a nonfor mechanical resonance clamped bar) is first fulfilled in the largerthicknessdimension. For W > T the first resonance condition is met in the broader width dimension. Consequently the thickness mode of bars with W > T corresponds to the second eigenfrequency . ForW/T-ratiosgreater than 3.0 the thickness mode even corresponds to the third natural frequency. As will be shown later. the thickness mode is the mode of interest for ultrasonic imaging applications. The resultsof the 3-D analysishavealsobeencomparedto related 2-D calculations, for which thelength L of the bars was assumed to be infinite. The natural frequencies obtained with 2-D simulations typically differ by n o more than 1 % fromthecorrespondingvalues of 3-D simulations as long as the length L of the bar is at least ten times greater than both its width and its thickness. We discovered no differences between the 2-D mode shapes and the cross sections at I = L / 2 of related 3-D modes (in Figs. 3(b) 4(b), and 5(b)).Nevertheless, theassumption that 2-Dsimulationscanadequatelydescribetheelasticdeformations of suchvibratorsdoes not holdbecausethe often considerable displacement gradients along the length dimension cannot be considered in 2-D calculations. The analysis shows that the displacements of such bars even the displacements of the thickness modes, (conventional piezoceramic materials assumed) are not constantalong the length dimension (Fig. 3(a), (c)). This is even true if the length of the bar is ten times greater than both its width and its thickness. The observed displacementripples along the length dimension (Fig. 3 ) are of importance because they influence the emitted sound field. The computed eigenmode shapes of these bars have also been experimentally verified by laser interferometric measurements. The normaldisplacementsweremeasured in thewidthdimensiononthetopelectrodes.whichwere polished to obtain higher reflectivity for the laser beam. Computed and measured eigenmode shapes of piezoceramic bars with various W/T-ratios are compared in Fig. 6. Foraconvenientcomparison of computedandmeasured mode shapes the following procedure was chosen: the computations were done by eigenfrequency analysis,

Dlsplacements Mechanical Equlpotentlal

Llnes

of the Electrcal FleH

. .-

Mechallcal Dlsplacements

(Cl

whereas the measurements were performed in continuouswave mode at the resonance frequencies. to reproduce the mode shapes.Theseresonancefrequenciescan be ob-

Mechanlcal Displacements

Mechanlcal Displacements

Equlpotentlal Llnesof the Electrlcal Fleld

Geamely

MateW

Walh 4mm Thickness-Zmm. Lengll-50mm S~emers \'~br~l 420

Mechancal Dlsolacements

(h)
Mechanical Dlsplacemenrs

Equipotential Lines at the Electrlcal Fleld

Geometrf Materla1

W1dth-4mm hckness-Pmm Lenglk-50mm S#eme,s-i'brl 420

(C)

Fig. 5 . Width-dilatational mode of a piezoceramic bar with W / T = 2.0. ( a ) 3-D mode shape. ( h ) Cross section at I = L / ? = 2.5 mm. ( c ) Sagittal

tained from the input impedance results of Fig. 1 1 . Since an eigenfrequency analysis delivers no absolute displacement values, it was necessary to normalize measured and computeddisplacements.Theresults of Figs. 6(a). (c), (d) were normalized with respect to the maximum values, whereas those of Fig. 6(b) were normalized with respect to the minimum value. The normalization factors, which wereevaluatedforeachmeasurement.aregiven in the figure captions of Fig. 6.

section.

B. ElectromechunicalCoupling The dependence of electromechanical coupling on transducer geometry is often used to optimize design. In Fig. 7 the electromechanical coupling coefficients for the five lowest modes of a piezoceramic bar are displayed as a function of the W / T ratio. One discerns the maximum coupling of the thickness mode for W / T = 0.6. At W / T

L E R C H . SIMULATION OF PIEZOELECTRIC D t V I C E S BY ?-I) A N D 3-1) FILI'I f; k.l.t\lFh IS

24 I

10-

Theoretlcal result

Second resonance
f Dlrplacemenl (normallzed 1

' l
+ Dtsplacemenl (narmalhed)
F m : resonance

10

05

Fig. 7 . Electromechanical coupling coefiicicnt o f long piezoelectric bars

= 0.6 the thickness mode is maximally excited. while all othermodesarelargelysuppressed.This can be confirmed by comparing the mode histogram for W / T = 0.6 with any other, for example. W / T = 2.0 (Fig. 8). For W / T = 2.0 thetotalenergy is splitintoapproximately equalpartsamongseveralmodes,whereas for theoptimum W/T-ratio of 0.6 it predominantly concentrates on the thickness mode. Usually the transduceris designed for vibration in one single mode as obtained for W / T = 0.6. With this optimum W /T-ratioarray elements generate and detectultrasoundsignals with optimumefficiency. since most of the electrical energy is converted into a normal displacement of the sound emitting face (see also the shape of the thickness mode for W / T = 0.5 in Fig. 3(b)). Thus the thickness mode is the one of interest for imaging applications.

1110

.. 00 0

120

3 6C

4 EO

C . Dia<grcrtn of Disprrsiotl For designing array transducers an exact knowledge of the propagation velocities of the various vibrational modes is essential because with known velocities and specified geometrical transducer dimensions the frequencies of the various modes can be easily determined. Finite element simulations are therefore used to calculate the diagram of dispersion for piezocerarnicmaterialsofpracticalinterest. Fig. 9 shows a diagram of dispersion for the two lowest resonances of bars made of typical PZT-SA-like piezoceramic material. The product "frequency * thickness" expressed in ( M H z . mm) equals half the velocity of sound expressed in ( lo3 m/s ) . In the following we declare that mode as "main mode'' in which exhibits the maximum average displacement U:,,,( W ) ((23)) of the sound-emitting front electrode. The main mode is represented by the bold line in Figs. 9. 10. and 14. For piezoceramic barssuch as those considered here the thickness mode is always the main mode because the permanent polarization of the piezoceramic material as well as the exciting electrical field arealigned in the thickness dimension. Fig. 9 suggests simplified mode shapes for the two lowest resonances of a long piezoceramic bar. One should however bear in mind that the real modeshapes of vibratorsalwaysdifferfromthesepure modes. Forsometransducergeometries the differences are so greatthattheassignment of puremodeshapes would seem to be senseless. In a typical design for array transducers one first determines in the manner already described the W/T-ratio of the parallelepiped transducer elements required for maximum electromechanical coupling. Then the thickness of the vibrator is determined corresponding to the velocity of the fundamental thickness mode (Fig. 9) and the specified operating frequency of the antenna. The spectral positions of the other, parasitic modes are afterwards determined with the aid of Fig. 10. In Fig. 10 the diagram in

Fig. 9 is extended by higher resonance modes. The velocity of the pure l-D thickness mode as obtained from Mason's model 1 1 1-[2] is alsoindicated in Fig. 10. The difference between this velocity and the actual velocities of the thickness mode shown in the diagram of dispersion demonstratesthat l - D models may proveratherinadequate for the simulation of actual transducer designs.

D.ElectricalItnprdance
The electrical input impedances Z ( W ) of the bars were computed according to (22) and compared with measurements (Fig. 1 1 ) . Dampingvalues of 01 = 7.5 and 0 = 2 X lo-' were used in calculations across the frequency range shown.The close agreementbetweensimulation and measurements confirms once more the validity of our simulationprocess. It is evident, thatforsuch agood agreementbetweencalculationandexperimenttheprecise data of the material tensors are clearly essential. In contrast to the simpler ID models generally used for transducer simulation, the finite-element analysis is able to correctly compute all physically present modes.

terest. As predicted by computations of theelectromechanical coupling coefficient (Fig. 7) these modes are only weakly coupled.ForW/T-ratioslarger 0.8. however. thesemodesarestronglycoupled (Fig. I I(c)), whereas the coupling of the first mode is slightly reduced. This is oncemoreconsistent with theresultsobtainedforthe electromechanical coupling coefficient (Fig. 7).

E. Bllcking
The piezoelectric transducer elements of imaging array antennas are typically provided with a backing, which has to be considered in any realistic simulation. The functions of such a hacking are mechanical support and sound absorption. A backing damps resonances due to the transfer of acoustic energy to the sound-absorbing backing material. The energy transfer is determined by the ratio of the acoustic impedances of the piezoceramic material to the epoxy backing [ 1]-[9]. Fig. 12 shows the influence of the acoustic backing impedance on the mechanical output of an array transducer. The average displacement of the transducer's front face is used as an integral result to quantify the mechanical output of the transducer. We observe that the hacking influences primarily the thickness modeandto a farsmallerextentthewidth-dilational mode.Dueto thepreferredlateraldisplacementofthe width-dilatational mode only a small fraction of its energy is transferred to the backing. The width-dilatational mode is a high-Q mode because most of its mechanical energy travels back and forth between the free sides of the element. Theelectrical inputimpedance of piezoceramicbars with backing likewise demonstrates the considerable difference in dampingbehavior of thevariousvibrational modes.Fig. 13 shows thecomputedandthemeasured electrical impedance of such a bar. The amplitudes of the various modes show the damping of the width-dilatational mode (lowest eigenmode) to beslight in relationtothe other modes for the reasons discussed above. Thediagram of dispersion for anarrayelement with backing also differs from that of the array element alone (Fig. 14). The resonance frequency is approximately 5 % lower due to mass loading and the main mode switches hacktothe first naturalfrequency in the case of larger W/T-ratios. This second switch occurs because the widthdilatationalmode(firsteigenmodefor W / T > I . O ) is less damped than the thickness mode for the reasons already explained. Due to the stronger damping the bandwidth of thethicknessmode is largerthanthatforthe width-dilatational mode. The W/T-ratio at which the main mode switches back to the first eigenmode (Fig. 14) depends on the acoustic impedance of the backing. In the presence of a backing we observe the mass-spring mode originally introduced by Larson (301. This is an oscillationofthealmostundeformedtransducerelement (mass)against themechanicallymuchmorecompliant

00

04

08

12

20

Freque-cy (MHz) __+

(a)

- 20

-30
- 40 - 50

- 60 -iO -

-80 -90

Theotellcal result

In the shown frequency band the narrow bar ( W,/T = 0.25 in Fig. I l(a)) exhibits only a single strong thickness mode, whereas its higher modes lie outside this frequency range. For W / T = 0.5 (Fig. 1 l@)) the thickness mode is again strongly coupled. but the second and third vibrationalmodesalready appear in thefrequency band of in-

Pe m

Elernems

06Cl-

040-

E D W Racklna

0 C~C05C 15C

1OC

?CO

?SC

300

350

Fig.

7
'

Electrical impedance ( R )

2rnm

mm
W
L

Fig. IS. Mas-\pring mode o f piemccramic array transduccr backlng.

with

4mm

100

Measuremerll

.-.
09

Theoretlcal result

7
2.1

10

0.1

05

13

1.7

validity of this formula but the exactly computed frequen30% lower. The mode shape of cies are generally about a typical mass-spring mode is shown in Fig. 15. This mode is slightlydamped and alwayshasalower frequency than the main transducer mode. It may disturb the sonographic image by adding clutter 1301, which can however be avoided by using high-absorption backing material.

Frequency ( M H z j

Fig. 13. Electrical input impedancc nf picroccramic bar with baching.

F. Electric r r t d Mechmicwl Cross Colrplirlg

Cross-coupling between the transducer elements of an ultrasonic array antenna degrades the sonographic image scanned by the antenna. Kino and DeSilets haveshown that cross-coupling between neighboring elements should be below -30 dB in antennas for which a wide angle of acceptance is required [3 11. but conclude that reasonably satisfactory results can even be obtained with cross-coupling in the range of -25 to -20 dB. Finite element simulationsare used to analyzethephysicalmechanismof cross-coupling in array antennas. The purelyelectriccross-couplingbetweentwoelements of anultrasonicphased-arrayantennawassimulated with suppressed mechanical degrees of freedom. Fig. 16 shows the cross section of the transducer configuration for different saw-cuts. In each of the three systems a pair of PZT-transducers is provided with epoxy backing. The upper electrodesof both vibrators are electrically grounded,whilethelowerelectrode of eachleft-hand transducer is energized by an electricpotentialof 1 V. The voltage appearing across the lower electrode of each right-hand transducer is induced by electriccross-coupling. Fig. 16 shows the crosstalk for three different

backing (spring). The frequency of this mode can be determined by using an approximation formula given in [30], The exact finite element calculation confirms the essential

LERCH SIMULATIOh OF PIEZOF.1.ECTRIC DEVICF,S B Y ?-DA K D 3-D FINITE ELEMENTS

245

'

I . .

Fig. 16. Electrlc croswxupling between transducers of array antenna

Number of element 4

Fig. 17. Overall (electrical and mechanical) cross-coupling between transducers of array antennas.

depths of saw-cut, which reaches a maximum of -43 dB betweenthetwoneighbouringvibratorsas in thecase where the backing is without a saw-cut. If the saw-cut is as deep as the vibrator is thick. the cross-coupling due to electrical effects almost vanishes (crosstalk: -61 dB). In a further computer operation the cross-coupling due toelectrical andmechanicaleffectswascomputed.The "n" in response of a pulse-excited transducer (element Fig. 17) is for this purpose calculated and compared with the responses of the neighbouring elements (elements "n 1 to ''n + 4 ' '). Resultsareobtainedforantennas with cut and non-cut matching layers. We further compare configurations in which the saw-cut ends at the top of thebacking withthose in which thesaw-cut in the backing is as deep as the vibrator is thick. During production these cuts may be filled with the epoxy adhesive used to fix the matching layer to the top of the piezoceramic transducers. This case was also analyzed (Fig. 17). Fromtheresultsobtainedcross-coupling may beconcluded to be present at most in the case of non-cut matching layers. This indicates that cross-coupling derives mainly from mechanical wave propagation in the matching or protective layer. In-depth investigations show several different vibrational modes, mainly Lamb modes. to be involved in mechanical cross-coupling. The results (Fig. 17) show a saw-cut in the backing material to lead toasubstantialreduction in cross-couplingonly in the case of cut matching layers. If the matching layer is cut the electric cross-coupling through the backing material will also be a major source of coupling. Mechanical wave propagationthroughthebackingis.however,onlysignificant when a low-absorption backing material is used. In view of the results reported by Kino and DeSilets the simulation furthermore predicts that the filling of saw-cuts by epoxymaterialintroducesthe risk of visibleimage degradation due to strong mechanical cross-coupling, especially if theapplicationrequiresawideangle of acceptance. Finally, theinfluence of saw-cutgeometryoncrosscoupling is analyzed.Fig. 18 showsthecross-coupling betweentwoneighbouringarray elements with cutand non-cut matching layers. The results are shown as a func-

"

-70-80-t
0

---

sawcut wldth vibrator ~ d l l - - 0 2 saw-cul wdlh vlbralof width. 03

1 125

05
Sa+cul

075
depth vlbralor 1hl:kness-

10

Fig. 18. Influences o f raw-cut geometry on cross-coupllng

tion of the saw-cut depth with the saw-cut width as parameter. Cross-coupling is seen to beinfluencedgreatly by the saw-cut depth only in the case of a cut matching layerwhereasalreadyexplained it is primarilydetermined by electrical crosstalk. We further discerned that the cross-coupling is only partially influenced by the sawcut width. VI. CONCLUSION
A finite-elementcalculationschemeforthe2-Dand 3-D simulation of anisotropic piezoelectric media is presented. Using this method the natural frequencies and related eigenmodes as well as the dynamic responses to mechanicalandelectricalexcitationscanbecomputedfor piezoelectric transducers of almost any geometry. The validity of the simulation scheme has been confirmed by data reported in theliteratureas well as by in-houseexperiments. This finite-element analysis method allows the solution of numerous problems encountered in piezoelectric transducer design. One of the main problems that arise in piezoelectric sensor design is the simultaneous appearance of various Vibrational modes with quite different physical characteristics. In many casesthesemodescan only be

sufficiently described by 3-D analysis as shown here. In theoreticalmodeling it shouldalwaysbeborne in mind that the standard 1 -D models are only applicable if two or the three geometrical dimensions can be neglected. They will not yield correct results if differenttypes of vibrationalmodes appearsimultaneously.The finiteelement method, however, yields correct results, even if more than one type of vibrational mode is essential for the operation of the transducer. The simulations allow a deeper understanding of thephysicalmechanisms ofacoustic wave propagation in piezoelectric sensors and actuators. We use suchsimulations to optimizetransducerdesignwithrespect to efficiency, bandwith, angle of acceptance. crosscoupling. etc. The importance of these computer simulations isstill growing in transducerdevelopmentas well as in many other branches of technology. This development is supported by the continuously increasing power of modern computerequipment.Futureperspectives in thissector can be seen in the use of such simulations in combination with appropriate computer-aided design (CAD).
APPENDIX Material data of the used piezoelectric material VIBRIT 420.

Kaarmann, Dr. P. Kraemmer, B. Sachs, and Dr. H. von Seggern forfabricatingtransducers,performingexperiments and for valuable and stimulating discussions.

REFERENCES
I l ] W . P.Mason. E/cc.rro-Mec.htrrllc.trl 7'rtrrrsrlrtcer.v ond WNW F i h m .
third ed. Princeton.NJ:D. van Nostrand. 1948. 121 D. A. Berllncourt, D. R . Curran. H . Jatle. "Piezoelectricand piv o l . 1. Part A . New ezomagneticmaterials." In P/r\.ricu/ ,4~0~4,sric.\. York:AcademicPress.1964.pp.233-256. 131 R . Krimholtz. D. A . Leedom, G . L. Matthaei. "New equivalent circuits for elementary piezoelectric transducers." E I P ~ O JL Ic . f t . vol 6. p. 398. 1976. 141 G. Kossofi, "The effects of hacking and matching o n the pertormancc of piezoelectric ceramic transducers." l E E E Tr<l11,s. So~nc..\ L'/trrl\o/! . SU-13. pp. 20-30. Mar. 1966. E. K . Sittig. "Effects of bonding and electrode layers on the transmission parameters o f piezoelectric transducers used in ultrasonic dipita1 delay lines." lEEE T r u r u Sotrics U / / r u o t r . .vol. SU-16, pp 2IO. Jan. 1969. J . Souquet. P. Defranould. J . Dehois. "Design o f low-loss wide-hand ultrasonictransducersfornoninvasive medical application," f E E E 7'rcrrr.r. S o r u ' c . r U h r ~ . ~ m .v ro . I SU-26. pp. 75-81. Mar. 1974. T. M . Reeder. D. K . Wllson. "Characteristic\ o l microwave acourtlc transducer., for volun>c waveexcitatmn." IEEE Trcrm. Microwrrw Theory Tcchrr.. v o l . MTT-17, pp. 927-941. N o v . 1969. C. S. Desilets. J . D.Fraaer. G. S. Kino, "The design o f etficient IEEE Trtr~r.~. Sfmi(.., L'//rrrbroad-band piezoelectric transducers." . r o l l . , v o l . su-2s. pp. 115-125.1978. R. Lerch, "Simula~ion rtm Ultraschall-Wnndlern. A c ~ r . r r i c , t r .c o l . 57. pp. 205-217. 1985. Y . Kagawaand T. Yarnahuchi. "Finite elernent simulation of ~ W O dimensional electromechanical resonators." IEEE 7'r~rm. S o ! l i t s U / trusorr.. v o l . SU-21. pp. 275-283. Oct. 1974. H. Allik. K. M. Wehman, J . T. Hunt, "Vlbrational rcsponw ofsonar transducers using piezoelectric finite elements," J. Acrmc.r. .'h.. An!. . v o l . 56.pp.1782-1791.1974. D Boucher. M . Lagier. and C Maerfeld."Computation of the v i brational modes for piezoelectric array tran\ducei-s using a mixed tinite element-perturbation method." lEEE Trm.\. S o r l i c v Ulrrtrsotl., VOI. SU-28. pp. 318-330. 1981. M . Naillon. R . Couraant. and F. Besnler. ".4naly\is 01 piczocleclrlc structures by a finite element method," Arrtr E/ct.mur., v o l . 25. pp. 341-362,1983. E Langrr. "Anregung und .4uabreitung clektroakustischer Wellen in piezoelektrischen Kristallen." thesis. University 0 1 Vienna. Vienna. 1986. D F.05tergaardand T. P. Pawlak,"Three-dimensional tinite clementa for analyzing piezoelectric htructure5." i n Pro<..IEEE Uifrtr. s o n . S ~ n r p . Williamsburg. . V A . 1986. pp. 639-642. R . Lerch."Moderntechniques i n electroacou\tic transducer d e w opment." in Proc.. 9th CWI~. A c o r r v r i r s . Budapest.Hungary.May. 1988. -, -'Berechnung des Sch\vingungsverhaltens plezoclcktrischer Korper mit einem Vektorprozessor." Siemens For\chungsund Entwicklungsberichte 15. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1986, pp. 234238. W . Friedrich. R . Lerch. K . Pre\tcle. and R . SolJner."Sirnulations ofpiczoelcctrlc lamb wave delay lines using a finite element Inethod," f E E t Trot!,\. Ul/rO\on. F]-?</. cori/r.3 \Ol. 3:. n o . 3 , pp. 748-254. May 1990. -. "Finiteelementa~rnulatrons 01- S4W-tmnsduccrs." i n Proc.. l E E E Conf S\.rf. Crrc.uirs. Helsinki.Finland. June 1988, pp. 13991403. A . Korn and T. M . Korn. M t r f h c r n t r t i c . t r / H t r r r t h o k j i ! r kierlri.rt.! ctrrti Etr,qitwc,r.s. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1Y68. H . F. Tiersten."Hamilton'\principle For linearpiezoelectric nlcdm.'' in Prot,. IEEE. 1967, p. 1523. H. Allik and T. J . R . Hughes. "Flnite element method lor piczoelectric vibration," h r . J Nurrt. Metlr. E t ~ g . v . o l . 2 , pp. 151-157. 1970. K . 1. Batheand E. Wllson. /V~rnrrric.~r/ Mrrhods i n Fi,ri/c. E l c , r ~ r r r Antr/y.vi\. Englewood Cliti's. NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1976.
i r o i .

Density: p = 7600 kg/m-3 . Mechanical moduli

p4.9 10.1 14.9 9.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.8 0.0 0.0 0.0

1I
I

2 . 2 0.0

L
Piezoelectric constants:

2- 4 1

.-(

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 11.7 0

11.7 0

0 0

0
0

-5.4

-5.4 13.5

Dielectric constants:

\O

7.2/

ACKNOWLEDGMENT Theauthor is gratefulto Prof. Dr. H . Ermert(Ruhr University,Bochum).Dipl.-Ing. W . Friedrich, Dr. H .

LERCH.SIMULATION

OF PIEZOELECTRICDEVICES

B Y 2-D AND 3-D FIVITEELEMENTS

247

[24] 0. C . Zienkiewicz, The Finite EIetnerzr Merhod i n Etyqtwering Scim c r . New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971. Ed.. Finirr Elrmcwt Handbook. New York: 12.51 H . Kardestuncer. McGraw-Hill, 1987. p. 4-77. 1261 R . L.Jungermann. P. Benett, A. R . Selfridge. B. T. Khuri-Yakub, and G . S . Kino, Measurement of normal surface displacement for the characterization of rectangular acoustic array elements. J. Acousr. Soc. A m . , vol. 76. 1984, pp. 5 16. 1271 P. EerNisse.Varlationalmethodforelectroelastic vibration analysis. f E E E T r a m Sot1ic.s Ulrruson.. vol. SU-14. pp. 153-160, 1967. 1281 E. A . Shaw, On the resonantvibrations of thickbariumtitanate disks, J . Acoust. Soc. , A m . , vol. 28, pp. 38-50, 1956. (291 Y . Kagawaand T. Yamabuchi.Finiteelementapproachfora PIezoelectric circular rod. lEEE Truns. Sonics U / t r c r . ~ o nvol. . , SU-23. pp.379-385.1976. [30] J . D.Larson. A new vibrationmode in tall,narrowpiezoelectrlc elements, in Proc. JEEESytnp.. 1979. pp. 108-1 13. 1311 G . S . Kino and C. S . DeSilets. Design of slotted transducer arrays with matched backings. (ilrrason. Imaging. pp. 189-209. 1979.

Reinhard Lerch (85) was born i n West Germanyin 1953.Hereceived his masters in 1977 and his Ph.D. degree in 1980, all in electrical engineering, from the University of Darmstadt, West Germany. From 1977 to 1981he was engaged in the development of a new type of audio transducerbased on piezoelectric polymer foils at the Institute of Electroacoustics at DarmstadtUniversity.Since 1981 he is employedattheSIEMENS-Research Center in Erlangen, West Germany. where he has implementednewcomputertoolssupporting thedevelopmentofpiezoelectric transducers. His latest work is concerned with finite-element simulations of piezoelectric transducers, which are used in medical imaging and communication engineering. Dr. Lerch is member of the Acoustical Society of America. In 1982 he got the Award of the German Nachrichtentechnische Gesellschaft for his work about piezoelectric audio transducers.