Transparent ultrasonic transducers based on relaxor ferroelectric crystals for advanced photoacoustic imaging

Chaorui Qiu; Zhiqiang Zhang; Zhiqiang Xu; Liao Qiao; Li Ning; Shujun Zhang; Min Su; Weichang Wu; Kexin Song; Zhuo Xu; Long-Qing Chen; Hairong Zheng; Chengbo Liu; Weibao Qiu; Fei Li

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-55032-0

Nature Communications (Dec 2024)

Transparent ultrasonic transducers based on relaxor ferroelectric crystals for advanced photoacoustic imaging

Chaorui Qiu,
Zhiqiang Zhang,
Zhiqiang Xu,
Liao Qiao,
Li Ning,
Shujun Zhang,
Min Su,
Weichang Wu,
Kexin Song,
Zhuo Xu,
Long-Qing Chen,
Hairong Zheng,
Chengbo Liu,
Weibao Qiu,
Fei Li

Affiliations

Chaorui Qiu: Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Lab of Education Ministry and State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Zhiqiang Zhang: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy, Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhiqiang Xu: Research Laboratory for Biomedical Optics and Molecular Imaging, CAS Key Laboratory of Health Informatics, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Liao Qiao: Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Lab of Education Ministry and State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Li Ning: Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Lab of Education Ministry and State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Shujun Zhang: Institute of Superconducting and Electronic Materials, Australian Institute for Innovative Materials, University of Wollongong
Min Su: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy, Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Weichang Wu: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy, Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kexin Song: Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Lab of Education Ministry and State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Zhuo Xu: Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Lab of Education Ministry and State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Long-Qing Chen: Materials Research Institute, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
Hairong Zheng: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy, Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chengbo Liu: Research Laboratory for Biomedical Optics and Molecular Imaging, CAS Key Laboratory of Health Informatics, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Weibao Qiu: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy, Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Fei Li: Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Lab of Education Ministry and State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55032-0
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 14

Abstract

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Abstract Photoacoustic imaging is a promising non-invasive functional imaging modality for fundamental research and clinical diagnosis. However, achieving capillary-level resolution, wide field-of-view, and high frame rates remains challenging. To address this, we propose a transparent ultrasonic transducer design using our developed transparent Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 crystals. Our fabrication technique incorporates quartz-glass-and-epoxy matching layers with low-resistance indium-tin-oxide electrodes through a brass-ring based structure, enabling a high frequency (28.5 MHz), wide bandwidth (78%), and enhanced pulse-echo sensitivity (2.5 V under 2-μJ pulse excitation). Our Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3-based transparent ultrasonic transducer demonstrates a four-fold enhancement in photoacoustic detection sensitivity when compared to the LiNbO3-based counterpart, leading to a 13 dB improvement of signal-to-noise ratio in microvascular photoacoustic imaging. This enables dynamic monitoring of mouse cerebral cortex microvasculature during seizures at 0.8 Hz frame rates over a 1.5 × 1.5 mm2 field-of-view. Our work paves the way for high-performance and compact photoacoustic imaging systems using advanced piezoelectric materials.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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