ABSTRACT A membrane hydrophone with a 37-µm diameter spot poled electrode has been fabricated on a 4-µm-thick film of the piezoelectric copolymer, polyvinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE), and initially characterized. The hydrophone has an effective spot size of less than 100 µm, an on-membrane +7-dB gain buffer amplifier, and a -3-dB bandwidth of 150 MHz. The acoustic properties of the hydrophone were investigated with a transducer equivalent circuit model, the electric fringe fields due to poling were characterized with a finite difference electrostatic field model, and the effective spot diameters 2a3 and 2a6 were estimated. Measurements on the bandwidth, effective spot size, and sensitivity are presented. This hydrophone appears suitable for the characterization of both the frequency and spatial parameters of high-frequency transducers such as intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheter transducers operating in the 10-40 MHz range.
© 1996, by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved.