Flexible ultrasonic transducer assembly for inspecting flat and non-flat samples and related methods

Abstract

There is provided an ultrasonic transducer assembly for inspecting a sample. The assembly includes a support, a flexible printed circuit board having proximal and distal ends, the proximal end being affixed to the support and the distal end extending away from the support, one transducer or an array of transducers mounted on the support and positioned near or at the proximal end, each transducer being made from a flexible porous piezoelectric material and being operatively connected to the flexible printed circuit board, and a power unit mounted on the flexible printed circuit board and positioned near or at the distal end, the power unit being operatively connected to the flexible printed circuit board. The flexible printed circuit board comprises conductive channel(s). There are also provided methods for manufacturing the assembly and methods for inspecting the sample.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.