Ultrasound Pulse-Echo Setup for Studying Elastic Properties of the Electric Field Induced Phase Transitions in Ferroelectric Materials

Not long ago, we proposed a new design for ultrasonic measurements based on commercially available, mass-produced microchips [1]. Thanks to the high-linearity of the amplitude and phase characteristics of the design and to its broad dynamic range, the test measurements demonstrated superior performance of the instrument, achieving phase sensitivity of ~0.06 deg and amplitude sensitivity of ~0.05 dB with an input S/N ratio of 3. However, the pulse-forming and -receiving circuitry is vulnerable to electric discharge. To enable measurements in the presence of high electric fields, we designed and built special protective stages. Performance of the modified instrument has been tested on the example of electric field induced phase transitions in ferroelectric KTaNbO₃ crystal.
1. J. Grossmann, A. Suslov, G. Yong, L. Boatner, O. Svitelskiy, Rev. Sci. Instr., v. 87, 044901 (2016).