Measurement of piezoceramic material nonlinearity by intermodulation method

A method of measurement of the nonlinearity of piezoelectric ceramic materi als near a resonance has been described. It is based upon intermodulation d istortion IMD of two signals of different frequency. Since relatively low e xcitation signals can be used, higher frequencies can be attained. Suitable magnitudes have been defined in order to analyze the results, and the data treatement has been discussed, verifying that the results are not only sel f coherent, but coherent with other measurement methods. The present method has been applied to a set of diferent piezoceramic materials, comparing th eir properties.