Effects of Sub-100 nm Platinum Metal Particle on the Acoustic Attenuation Properties of Silicone Rubber Lens for Medical Array Probe

摘要

The acoustic attenuation properties of room temperature vulcanization (RTV) silicone rubber lenses with platinum (Pt) metal particle sizes ranging from 10 to 94 nm were investigated for the acoustic lens application for a medical ultrasound array probe. Pt particle size did not change their sound velocities, 858-861 m/s, but changed their acoustic attenuation property noticeably. RTV silicone rubber doped with the largest Pt particle, 94 nm, showed the largest attenuation, 2.24 dB/mmMHz, whereas, RTV silicone rubber doped with the smallest Pt particle, 10 nm, showed the smallest attenuation, 0.84 dB/mmMHz, with an acoustic impedance of 1.31 MRayls. The fine particle size with the application of a high-density dopant to RTV silicone rubber is important for realizing a low-acoustic-attenuation silicone lens for a probe for high-frequencies of higher than 5 MHz.