High-performance lead-free NBT-BT piezoelectric ceramic
This technology produces a new type of lead-free ceramic material—a sodium bismuth titanate–barium titanate (NBT-BT) composite—that generates unusually strong electrical signals when mechanically stressed, and vice versa. The key innovation is a fabrication process that grows and aligns tiny, high-aspect-ratio crystal seeds within the ceramic, giving it a highly ordered internal grain structure (over 90% aligned). That alignment produces piezoelectric performance dramatically better than conventional randomly structured versions of the same material, rivaling lead-based ceramics that are currently the industry standard. The result is a greener, high-performance material suitable for actuators, transducers, and sensors without the toxicity concerns of lead-based alternatives.
What you could build
A drop-in lead-free piezoelectric ceramic material for manufacturers of ultrasonic transducers, multilayer actuators, and precision sensors; buyers would be industrial sensor OEMs, medical ultrasound device makers, and defense electronics suppliers seeking RoHS-compliant high-performance components.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense and aerospace suppliers in Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads corridor seeking lead-free, high-performance piezoelectric materials for sonar, actuators, and ruggedized sensor systems would be the most plausible interested parties.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Deepam Maurya, Shashank Priya
- Granted
- September 26, 2017
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 9773967
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.