Vermon NDT announces the launch of PZT Boost, its new phased-array transducer technology designed to deliver more signal for demanding non-destructive testing applications.
Developed to address inspection challenges such as thick sections, highly attenuating materials, complex welds and increasingly small critical flaws, PZT Boost significantly increases the signal available to inspectors.
Benchmarked against Vermon’s high-performance piezocomposite technology on the same 3.5 MHz, 64-element linear array, PZT Boost achieved +14 dB of pulse-echo sensitivity (equivalent to a fivefold increase in echo amplitude) while maintaining the same center frequency and bandwidth. The –20 dB pulse length was also reduced by 17%, from 868 ns to 717 ns.
More signal margin for demanding inspections
The additional 14 dB provides a larger signal budget that can be used differently depending on the inspection challenge: to extend reach in thick or attenuating materials, provide additional margin on flaws at depth, improve signal-to-noise ratio at lower instrument gain, or support higher operating frequencies while maintaining sensitivity.
The shorter pulse also improves axial resolution and reduces the near-surface dead zone, while the lower electrical impedance helps reduce losses over long cable runs. Because center frequency and bandwidth remain unchanged, existing focal laws and scan plans can be transferred directly.
Potential applications include austenitic and dissimilar-metal weld inspection, thick castings and forgings, aerospace CFRP composites, corrosion mapping, and pipeline or vessel weld inspection using angled wedges.
Originally developed by Vermon Group for demanding cardiac ultrasound imaging, the technology now brings this high-performance transducer architecture to industrial phased-array NDT.
Experience PZT Boost live at ASNT 2026
Vermon NDT will showcase PZT Boost alongside its PAUT probe portfolio at ASNT 2026, Booth 125, from October 12 to 15 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Visitors will be able to see the technology in operation through live demonstrations and discuss its potential for demanding inspection applications directly with the Vermon NDT team.
Reference: https://pautprobes.com/blog/pzt-boost-premiumgrade-transducer-technology-for-phasedarray-ndt/
