Abstract
The effects of fine metal oxide particles, BaSO_4, Al_2O_3, TiO_2, ZrO_2, Fe_O_3 and Yb_2O_3 on the acoustic properties of silicone rubber have been investigated, in order to develop an acoustic lens material with a low acoustic attenuation. Silicone rubber doped with Yb_2O_3 powder having nanoparticle size of 16 nm showed a lower acoustic attenuation than silicone rubber doped with other powders. The silicone rubber doped with Yb_2O_3 powder showed a density of 1.63 x 10^3 kg/m^3, a sound velocity of 816 m/s, an acoustic impedance Z_<33> of 1.33 x 10^6 kg/m^2s, an acoustic attenuation of 0.93 dB/mmMHz at 37℃. The low sound velocity and low acoustic attenuation of the lens material contribute to make a low loss acoustic lens for medical array probe application.
