White Paper: Magnetostrictive Versus Piezoelectric Transducers For Power Ultrasonic Applications

There are two fundamental transducer designs used for power ultrasonic applications today, magnetostrictive and piezoelectric. Piezoelectric transducers utilize the piezoelectric property of a material to convert electrical energy directly into mechanical energy. Magnetostrictive transducers utilize the magnetostrictive property of a material to convert the energy in a magnetic field into mechanical energy. The magnetic field is provided by a coil of wire which is wrapped around the magnetostrictive material. Both types of transducers have advantages and disadvantages. Blackstone~NEY Ultrasonics has weighed both technologies and chooses to provide piezoelectric transducers. The following will help the reader understand the rationale behind this choice.

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