Systems and methods for specimen inspection using ultrasonic wave generation

An apparatus for inspecting a solid object using ultrasound, comprising:

• a pulser having a plurality of pulser ports configured to output electrical signals;
• a switching array configured to:
• receive the signals from the pulser ports as individual channels, and
• route the signals to individual elements of a transmitter array;
• and
• the transmitter array, wherein each element of the transmitter array is configured to generate ultrasound in the solid object in response to the signal received from the switching array,
• wherein at least two elements of the transmitter array are configured to receive the signals from different pulser ports, and wherein a number of the pulser ports is smaller than a number of elements in the transmitter array.

A method for inspecting solid objects, comprising:

• sending electrical signals from pulser ports of a pulser;
• receiving the signals by M inputs of a switching array;
• routing the signals to N outputs of the switching array, wherein N is greater than M;
• receiving the signals from the switching array by individual elements of a transmitter array, wherein at least two elements of the transmitter array are configured to receive the signals from different pulser ports, and wherein at least two elements of the transmitter array are configured to receive the signals from the same pulser port;
• and
• in response to the received signals, generating ultrasound in the solid object by the elements of the transmitter.

A method for inspecting solid objects, comprising:

• sending electrical signals from a pulser port of a pulser;
• receiving the signals by inputs of a switching array;
• routing the signals to a plurality of outputs of the switching array, wherein the signals at the outputs of the switching array are mutually time-offset;
• receiving the signals from the switching array by individual elements of a transmitter array;
• and
• in response to the received signals, generating ultrasound in the solid object by the elements of the transmitter.