Large-Area Piezoelectric Single Crystal Composites via 3-D-Printing-Assisted Dice-and-Insert Technology for Hydrophone Applications

Compared with Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 (PZT) ceramics, piezoelectric ceramic composites (PCCs), and piezoelectric polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) polymer, piezoelectric single crystal composites (PSCCs) are thought to be the promising candidates for hydrophone applications because of their superior hydrostatic performance. However, due to the brittleness and small dimensions of single crystals, the preparation of large-area or conformal PSCCs is to be challenged. Herein, we prepared a large-area PSCC with dimensions of 50 mm x 50 mm x 5 mm using 3-D-printing-assisted diceand-insert technology. The hydrostatic piezoelectric performances for PSCC were investigated using a quasi-static method. The hydrostatic figure-of-merit (HFOM) of PSCC is approximately 1469 x 10(-15) m(2)/N, which is higher by 69.4% than that of PCC. Furthermore, PSCC shows advantages in the dielectric loss, frequency constant, electromechanical coupling coefficient, and hydrostatic pressure stability. The results suggest that PSCCs have great potential in substantially improving the sensitivity of hydrophones. In addition, 3-D-printing-assisted dice-and-insert technology breaks through the restriction of as-grown piezoelectric crystal size so as to make it possible for the applications where large-scale piezoelectric composites are required.

Automated summary

Piezoelectric single crystal composites (PSCCs) are considered promising candidates for hydrophone applications due to their superior hydrostatic performance, but challenges remain in preparing large-area or conformal PSCCs due to the brittleness and small dimensions of single crystals. A large-area PSCC was successfully prepared using 3D-printing-assisted dice-and-insert technology, showing significant advantages in hydrostatic piezoelectric performance compared to other materials. This breakthrough technology allows for the production of large-scale piezoelectric composites, enhancing the sensitivity of hydrophones significantly.