Lead-Free Piezo Ceramic Material from PI Ceramic Successful in First Industrial Applications

PIC700 is based on modified bismuth sodium titanate (BST) and is suitable for industrial ultrasound applications in the MHz range as well as for sonar and hydrophonic applications. The maximum operating temperature is 200 °C.

PI Ceramic can manufacture quantities of approx. 50 kilograms per process cycle from which up to several ten thousand piezo elements can be manufactured with the known standard dimensions using press technology.

"The further development of the material now needs to be conducted in close cooperation with customers. We have already gained first experiences with its use in a commercial power ultrasonic transducer and expect PIC700 to prove itself in further applications. We have also seen that this new material behaves differently in applications than what we have seen with PZT materials. Therefore suitable applications for lead-free piezo ceramics must be evaluated and qualified, and this is best achieved in cooperation with end users", states Eberhard Hennig, Head of Central Development at PI Ceramic.