Analysis of Mechanical and Electrical Cross-Talk Effects in Advanced Single Crystal and Standard Piezocomposite Transducers Using B-Scan Measurements

Undesirable interactions between neighboring transducer elements, known as cross-talk, can significantly affect ultrasound quality. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis using B-scan measurements to independently quantify electrical and mechanical cross-talk between an advanced single crystal and a standard piezocomposite transducer. Both transducers were designed for a 6 MHz linear array intended for superficial applications. A lab-made emitter/receiver was used to emit a pulse from a selected active element and receive echoes from all other elements. On average, the single crystal configuration exhibits lower electrical cross-talk (8.8 dB lower) between the excited element and its ten nearest neighbors compared to the piezocomposite transducer. Furthermore, mechanical cross-talk is, on average, 6 dB lower in the single crystal configuration. A 2-D Fourier transform of the B-scans was performed for both configurations to assess the propagation of Lamb waves. The fundamental mode S0 was observed in the piezocomposite array but was barely identifiable in the single crystal configuration. However, these modes became more pronounced when the acoustic lens was removed. Directivity patterns measurements are consistent with the cross-talk measurement. The half-power directivity (at -6 dB) of the single crystal configuration is 64°, compared to 55° for the piezocomposite configuration.