Aperture control and apodization in a micro-machined ultrasonic transducer
OwnerBernard J Savord, William J Ossmann +4inventors
InventorsBernard J Savord, William J Ossmann, Jie Chen, Michael P Anthony, Turuvekere R Gururaja, Stephen M Grenon
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Abstract
A micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) having aperture, elevation and apodization controlled by apparatus located on the same substrate as the transducer, or by bias voltage control applied to MUT elements, allows for an efficient and compact ultrasonic probe. The control apparatus may take the form of field effect transistors (FET's), micro-machined relays, or doped regions on the substrate, or any other apparatus that may be located on the same substrate as that of the transducer, or by bias voltage sources connected to the MUT elements.
Claims21
A micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) array, comprising:
- at least one MUT element, said MUT element including at least one MUT cell, said at least one MUT cell formed on a substrate;
- control means, located on said substrate and associated with said MUT element, for controlling said MUT array, wherein said control means further comprises a switching element;
- and
- wherein said switching element is a field effect transistor (FET).
A micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) array, comprising:
- at least one MUT element, said MUT element including at least one MUT cell, said at least one MUT cell formed on a substrate;
- control circuitry associated with said MUT element, said control circuitry configured to supply a bias voltage to said MUT element;
- and
- wherein said control circuitry further comprises a voltage source and decoupling circuitry located between said MUT element and said voltage source.
A method for controlling a micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) array, the array including at least one MUT element, the MUT element including a plurality of MUT cells, the method comprising the step of:
- varying a gain of each MUT cell such that the gain of MUT cells located toward a center of said MUT element is greater than the gain of said MUT cells located toward a periphery of said MUT element.
A micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) array, comprising:
- at least one MUT element, said MUT element including a plurality of MUT cells, each of said plurality of MUT cells having a variable gain, such that the gain of MUT cells located toward a center of said MUT element is greater than the gain of said MUT cells located toward a periphery of said MUT element.
A method for controlling a micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) array, the MUT array including at least one MUT element formed on a substrate, the MUT element including at least one MUT cell, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming control means on said substrate, said control means associated with said at least one MUT element;
- selectively energizing said at least one MUT element in said array by activating said control means;
- and
- energizing said control means in order to control an aperture of said MUT array.
A method for controlling a micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) array, the MUT array including at least one MUT element, each MUT element including a plurality of MUT cells, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming said MUT element on a substrate;
- supplying a bias voltage to said MUT element in order to control an acoustical profile of said MUT element;
- and
- adjusting a gain of said MUT element by applying a plurality of voltage sources to said MUT element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.