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US 8,723,399 B2Granted
Tunable ultrasound transducers
AssigneesMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology
InventorsFiras Sammoura, Sang-Gook Kim
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Abstract
A variety of micromachined structures are disclosed for use in DC-tunable ultrasound transducers.
Claims21
A micromachined device comprising:
- an ultrasonic transducer;
- a tunable structure coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the ultrasonic transducer and the tunable structure forming a resonator having a resonant frequency;
- and
- a piezoelectric material within the tunable structure that changes shape according to an applied direct current, wherein the piezoelectric material is responsive to a change in the applied direct current to vary the resonant frequency of the resonator, and wherein the piezoelectric material forms an annular ring between an inside perimeter of a first substrate for the tunable structure and an outside perimeter of a second substrate for the ultrasonic transducer.
1 more element
A micromachined device comprising:
- an ultrasonic transducer comprising a first piezoelectric material;
- a tunable structure coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the ultrasonic transducer and the tunable structure forming a resonator having a resonant frequency;
- and
- a second piezoelectric material within the tunable structure that changes shape according to an applied direct current, the second piezoelectric material responsive to a change in the applied direct current to vary the resonant frequency of the resonator, wherein the ultrasonic transducer and the tunable structure form two layers of a piezoelectric bimorph.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.