Ultrasound pulse-echo setup for studying elastic properties of materials

The ultrasound pulse-echo technique is an invaluable non-destructive tool for the scientific exploration of the elastic properties of materials. We recently proposed a new design for such an instrument based on commercially available, mass-produced microchips [1]. Our measurements on a sample ferroelectric crystal of KTaNbO$_{3}$ demonstrate the superior performance of the instrument, achieving phase sensitivity of $\sim$ 0.06 degrees and amplitude sensitivity of $\sim$ 0.05 dB with an input signal S/N ratio of 3. We have since continued to refine this instrument’s capabilities through additional RF shielding and structural damping, and by the addition of static-discharge protection circuitry on the input. With these modifications, we hope to facilitate elasticity measurements in the presence of strong electric fields. \newline 1. J. Grossmann, A. Suslov, G. Yong, L. Boatner, O. Svitelskiy, Rev. Sci. Instr., v. 87, 044901 (2016).