The invention relates to a thin film aluminium nitride ultrasound transducer, a method of manufacture the transducer and a test component upon which a thin film aluminium nitride ultrasound transducer is deposited. The aluminium nitride film may be (002) orientated with its c-axis normal to the surface of a substrate made of glass or a composite material. The invention also includes a system for non-destructive testing wherein a pulse is emitted from an ultrasound transducer to propagate through the test component and a reflected pulse is detected by the aluminium nitride thin film ultrasound transducer. The ultrasound transducer can be integrated into engine components such as bearings
