Rozprawy doktorskie na temat „Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasound Transducers”

The objective of this research is to develop large signal modeling and optimization methods for Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (CMUTs), especially when they are used in an array configuration. General modeling and optimization methods that cover a large domain of CMUT designs are crucial, as many membrane and array geometry combinations are possible using existing microfabrication technologies. Currently, large signal modeling methods for CMUTs are not well established and nonlinear imaging techniques utilizing linear piezoelectric transducers are not applicable to CMUTs because of their strong nonlinearity. In this work, the nonlinear CMUT behavior is studied, and a feedback linearization method is proposed to reduce the CMUT nonlinearity. This method is shown to improve the CMUT performance for continuous wave applications, such as high-intensity focused ultrasound or harmonic imaging, where transducer linearity is crucial. In the second part of this dissertation, a large signal model is developed that is capable of transient modeling of CMUT arrays with arbitrary electrical terminations. The developed model is suitable for iterative design optimization of CMUTs and CMUT based imaging systems with arbitrary membrane and array geometries for a variety of applications. Finally, a novel multi-pulse method for nonlinear tissue and contrast agent imaging with CMUTs is presented. It is shown that the nonlinear content can be successfully extracted from echo signals in a CMUT based imaging system using a multiple pulse scheme. The proposed method is independent of the CMUT geometry and valid for large signal operation. Experimental results verifying the developed large signal CMUT array model, proposed gap feedback and multi-pulse techniques are also presented.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009.
Committee Chair: Degertekin, F. Levent; Committee Member: Benkeser, Paul; Committee Member: Berhelot, Yves; Committee Member: Brand, Oliver; Committee Member: Hesketh, Peter. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

In this thesis, a measurement set-up has been developed to characterize high frequency medical ultrasound transducers using a pulse echo set-up. This work is a continuation of an earlier project. The aim of this project is to improve the instrumentation to get more reliable, repeatable and consistent results. The transducer used in this project was a 20MHz annular array transducer with 8 elements. Parameters such as the electroacoustic transfer function and reflection coefficients of element 1 and 2 have been found for a sinusoidal burst excitation and a Gaussian excitation, to give examples for the estimation of these parameters. Developing the right instrumentation for the pulse echo set-up and transducer for pulse echo measurements has been emphasised, where a transducer holder and reflector have been constructed for characterization of elements 1-5. A cylindrical water resistant reflector with a curved top was designed giving certain degrees of freedom as opposed to the pure spherical reflector concerning positioning of the reflector with respect to the transducer. A slanted bottom was included in the design of the reflector causing reflections from the bottom to diffract and thus stopping these from interfering with the reflections of interest happening at the top of the reflector surface. A transducer holder was also designed and custom made for the transducer used in the project, where both mechanical and electrical considerations have been taken, as the holder makes alignment of the transducer with respect to the reflector easier and coaxial cables have been introduced to get more control over the signals going to and from the transducer array. Coaxial cables were chosen as these are easy to model, and have clear specifications in addition to having the property of shielding noise signals. Alignment of the transducer has been emphasised to make radiation into the focus of the reflector easier, although the design of the reflector also allows the reflector to be tilted in the allocation of its focus point. By taking detailed lateral scans of echoes received by the transducer using a robot, in addition to varying the distance between the transducer and the reflector with an increment of 0.2 mm, the reflection coefficients were found to be very sensitive to lateral positioning, and to some extent sensitive to axial positioning of the transducer with respect to the reflector. The elimination of propagation delay due to the signals travel in waterpath and electrical transmission and reception chain leading to the transducer ports has also been compensated for, as these delays will effect the complex values of the transfer function. The electrical propagation delay is eliminated by using a simulation program, and analysis of the time between two consecutive echoes is done in order to find the physical time delay in the water path the pulses travelled. The electro acoustic transfer function has also been found for element 1 and element 2, but with a much greater time delay than what was expected. An uncertainty budget of the obtained parameters has also been done to see the impact of laboratory equipment on the meaurements. Estimation schemes to obtain reflection coefficients and the electro acoustic transfer function have been developed, which are repeatable for further characterization for the whole transducer array. Existing MATLAB codes have been modified in simulations and some new codes have been written for analyzing measurement based estimation of transfer functions, reflection coefficients and effects of various filters on their characteristics. Different types of filters have been used on the recorded echo signals to eliminate noise from the estimated reflection coefficients. A better control of the parasitic inductances due to the non coaxial cables in the system should perhaps be evaluated, and for further characterization of the transducer, the mechanical admittance can also be found by using the estimated reflection coefficients and electro acoustic transfer function.

The goal of this research was to develop acoustic sensors and actuators for microfluidic applications. To this end, capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (cMUTs) were developed which generate guided acoustic waves in fluid half-spaces and microchannels. An interdigital transducer structure and a phased excitation scheme were used to selectively excite guided acoustic modes which propagate in a single lateral direction. Analytical models were developed to predict the geometric dispersion of the acoustic modes and to determine the sensitivity of the modes to changes in material and geometric parameters. Coupled field finite element models were also developed to predict the effect of membrane spacing and phasing on mode generation and directionality. After designing the transducers, a surface micromachining process was developed which has a low processing temperature of 250C and has the potential for monolithically integrating cMUTs with CMOS electronics. The fabrication process makes extensive use of PECVD silicon nitride depositions for membrane formation and sealing. The fabricated interdigital cMUTs were placed in microfluidic channels and demonstrated to sense changes in fluid sound speed and flow rate using Scholte waves and other guided acoustic modes. The minimum detectable change in sound speed was 0.25m/s, and the minimum detectable change in flow rate was 1mL/min. The unique nature of the Scholte wave allowed for the measurement of fluid properties of a semi-infinite fluid using two transducers on a single substrate. Changes in water temperature, and thus sound speed, were measured and the minimum detectable change in temperature was found to be 0.1C. For fluid pumping, interdigital cMUTs were integrated into microchannels and excited with phase-shifted, continuous wave signals. Highly directional guided waves were generated which in turn generated acoustic streaming forces in the fluid. The acoustic streaming forces caused the fluid to be pumped in a single, electronically-controlled direction. For a power consumption of 43mW, a flow rate of 410nL/min was generated against a pressure of 3.4Pa; the thermodynamic efficiency was approximately 5x10-8%. Although the efficiency and pressure head are low, these transducers can be useful for precisely manipulating small amounts of fluid around microfluidic networks.

Ultrasonic transducers are used in many fields of daily life, e.g. as parking aids or medical devices. To enable their usage also for mass applications small and low- cost transducers with high performance are required. Capacitive, micro-machined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) offer the potential, for instance, to integrate compact ultrasonic sensor systems into mobile phones or as disposable transducer for diverse medical applications. This work is aimed at providing fundamentals for the future commercialization of CMUTs. It introduces novel methods for the acoustic simulation and characterization of CMUTs, which are still critical steps in the product development process. They allow an easy CMUT cell design for given application requirements. Based on a novel electromechanical model for CMUT elements, the device properties can be determined by impedance measurement already. Finally, an end-of-line test based on the electrical impedance of CMUTs demonstrates their potential for efficient mass production.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 84 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-84).

This thesis presents the development and microfabrication of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) with diamond membranes for the first time in the literature. Although silicon and silicon nitride (Si3N4) membranes have been generally used as the membrane material in CMUTs. These membrane materials have moderate properties that can cause damage during the operation of CMUTs. In this thesis, a new material for the membrane is introduced for CMUTs. Diamond has exceptional potential in the area of micro-nano technologies due to unrivalled stiffness and hardness, excellent tribological performance, highly tailorable and stable surface chemistry, high thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion, high acoustic velocity of propagating waves, and biocompatibility. Based on these excellent material properties, diamond is employed in the new generation CMUT structures for more robust and reliable operations. The microfabrication process of CMUT has been generally performed with either sacrificial release process or wafer bonding technique. High yield and low cost features of wafer bonding process makes it preferable for CMUT devices. In this thesis, plasma-activated direct wafer bonding process was developed for the microfabrication of 16-element 1-D CMUT arrays with diamond membranes. They were designed to operate at different resonance frequencies in the range of 1 MHz and 10 MHz with different cell diameters (120, 88, 72, 54, 44 &mu
m) and element spacing (250, 375 &mu
m). 1-D CMUT array devices can be used for focusing ultrasound applications. The electronic circuit for 1-D CMUT devices with diamond membranes was designed and implemented on PCB for the ultrasound focusing experiment. This electronic circuit generates continuous or burst AC signals of ±
15 V with different and adjustable phase shifting options at 3 MHz frequency. 16 elements of 72 &mu
m 1-D CMUT array were successfully tested. Fully functional 7 elements of 1-D CMUT array are focused at an axial distance of 5.81 mm on the normal to the CMUT center plane. The CMUT array was excited using 10 Vp&minus
p with 10 cycles sinusoidal signals at 3 MHz. The microfabrication process and focusing ultrasound of 1-D CMUT devices with diamond membranes are done successfully in this thesis.

This thesis is concerned with the fabrication and characterisation of lead free piezocomposites and transducers for use in high frequency medical ultrasound imaging applications. A water based gel casting and micro moulding approach has been developed to fabricate 1-3 composites with a random pillar structure in the lead free and lead based piezoelectric material. High frequency transducers incorporating the random composites as the active components have been fabricated, characterised and demonstrated in real tissue imaging environments. A water based gel casting system has been used incorporating Hydantoin Epoxy resin, amine hardener (Bis (3-aminoproply) amine) and dispersant. Viscosities of the 50BCZT and PZT systems were minimised by the addition of 2.4 and 1 wt% of dispersant respectively. The highest values of piezoelectric and dielectric properties corresponded to 50BCZT samples fabricated with a gel casting slurry incorporating 30 wt% resin and sintered at 1425 °C, with d33 and kp values of 330 pC/N and 0.43, respectively. 1-3 composites were successfully fabricated from the BCZT and PZT bristle block structures and only one resonance peak corresponding to the thickness mode was observed. PZT composites offered generally higher thickness coupling coefficients than 50BCZT composites, where the highest value of 0.78 was measured for samples sintered at temperature 1425 °C. Focused PZT, focused 50BCZT, unfocussed PZT and unfocussed 50BCZT transducers were successfully fabricated using the composites with randomised structure, and have operating frequencies of 35, 40, 50 and 35 MHz respectively.

The ability of a piezoelectric transducer in energy conversion is rapidly expanding in several applications. Some of the industrial applications for which a high power ultrasound transducer can be used are surface cleaning, water treatment, plastic welding and food sterilization. Also, a high power ultrasound transducer plays a great role in biomedical applications such as diagnostic and therapeutic applications. An ultrasound transducer is usually applied to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy and vice versa. In some high power ultrasound system, ultrasound transducers are applied as a transmitter, as a receiver or both. As a transmitter, it converts electrical energy to mechanical energy while a receiver converts mechanical energy to electrical energy as a sensor for control system. Once a piezoelectric transducer is excited by electrical signal, piezoelectric material starts to vibrate and generates ultrasound waves. A portion of the ultrasound waves which passes through the medium will be sensed by the receiver and converted to electrical energy. To drive an ultrasound transducer, an excitation signal should be properly designed otherwise undesired signal (low quality) can deteriorate the performance of the transducer (energy conversion) and increase power consumption in the system. For instance, some portion of generated power may be delivered in unwanted frequency which is not acceptable for some applications especially for biomedical applications. To achieve better performance of the transducer, along with the quality of the excitation signal, the characteristics of the high power ultrasound transducer should be taken into consideration as well. In this regard, several simulation and experimental tests are carried out in this research to model high power ultrasound transducers and systems. During these experiments, high power ultrasound transducers are excited by several excitation signals with different amplitudes and frequencies, using a network analyser, a signal generator, a high power amplifier and a multilevel converter. Also, to analyse the behaviour of the ultrasound system, the voltage ratio of the system is measured in different tests. The voltage across transmitter is measured as an input voltage then divided by the output voltage which is measured across receiver. The results of the transducer characteristics and the ultrasound system behaviour are discussed in chapter 4 and 5 of this thesis. Each piezoelectric transducer has several resonance frequencies in which its impedance has lower magnitude as compared to non-resonance frequencies. Among these resonance frequencies, just at one of those frequencies, the magnitude of the impedance is minimum. This resonance frequency is known as the main resonance frequency of the transducer. To attain higher efficiency and deliver more power to the ultrasound system, the transducer is usually excited at the main resonance frequency. Therefore, it is important to find out this frequency and other resonance frequencies. Hereof, a frequency detection method is proposed in this research which is discussed in chapter 2. An extended electrical model of the ultrasound transducer with multiple resonance frequencies consists of several RLC legs in parallel with a capacitor. Each RLC leg represents one of the resonance frequencies of the ultrasound transducer. At resonance frequency the inductor reactance and capacitor reactance cancel out each other and the resistor of this leg represents power conversion of the system at that frequency. This concept is shown in simulation and test results presented in chapter 4. To excite a high power ultrasound transducer, a high power signal is required. Multilevel converters are usually applied to generate a high power signal but the drawback of this signal is low quality in comparison with a sinusoidal signal. In some applications like ultrasound, it is extensively important to generate a high quality signal. Several control and modulation techniques are introduced in different papers to control the output voltage of the multilevel converters. One of those techniques is harmonic elimination technique. In this technique, switching angles are chosen in such way to reduce harmonic contents in the output side. It is undeniable that increasing the number of the switching angles results in more harmonic reduction. But to have more switching angles, more output voltage levels are required which increase the number of components and cost of the converter. To improve the quality of the output voltage signal with no more components, a new harmonic elimination technique is proposed in this research. Based on this new technique, more variables (DC voltage levels and switching angles) are chosen to eliminate more low order harmonics compared to conventional harmonic elimination techniques. In conventional harmonic elimination method, DC voltage levels are same and only switching angles are calculated to eliminate harmonics. Therefore, the number of eliminated harmonic is limited by the number of switching cycles. In the proposed modulation technique, the switching angles and the DC voltage levels are calculated off-line to eliminate more harmonics. Therefore, the DC voltage levels are not equal and should be regulated. To achieve this aim, a DC/DC converter is applied to adjust the DC link voltages with several capacitors. The effect of the new harmonic elimination technique on the output quality of several single phase multilevel converters is explained in chapter 3 and 6 of this thesis. According to the electrical model of high power ultrasound transducer, this device can be modelled as parallel combinations of RLC legs with a main capacitor. The impedance diagram of the transducer in frequency domain shows it has capacitive characteristics in almost all frequencies. Therefore, using a voltage source converter to drive a high power ultrasound transducer can create significant leakage current through the transducer. It happens due to significant voltage stress (dv/dt) across the transducer. To remedy this problem, LC filters are applied in some applications. For some applications such as ultrasound, using a LC filter can deteriorate the performance of the transducer by changing its characteristics and displacing the resonance frequency of the transducer. For such a case a current source converter could be a suitable choice to overcome this problem. In this regard, a current source converter is implemented and applied to excite the high power ultrasound transducer. To control the output current and voltage, a hysteresis control and unipolar modulation are used respectively. The results of this test are explained in chapter 7.

Orientador: Vera Lúcia da Silveira Nantes Button
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação
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Resumo: Para observar o efeito no campo acústico dos diversos parâmetros de configuração do projeto de um transdutor ultrassônico, foram simuladas várias configurações de transdutor de alta frequência (5 a 50 MHz), tipo array anular, com kerf e kerfless, de cerâmica PZT-5H e de filme de PVDF. Transdutores com configurações de três, quatro, cinco e seis anéis, em que os anéis possuíam a mesma largura foram simulados com elemento ativo de cerâmica. E transdutores com cinco, seis, sete, oito e dez anéis de mesma área, com separação física entre os elementos (kerf) e sem separação física entre os elementos (kerfless) foram simulados com elementos piezoelétricos de cerâmica PZT-5H e filme de PVDF. Também foram testados materiais de diferentes impedâncias acústicas nas camadas de retaguarda (epóxi, epóxi e Araldite, ferro, tungstênio, alumina e madeira), foram usadas diversas funções de excitação dos elementos piezoelétricos (Blackman, Wavelet, Gauss, Seno, Step) em frequências variadas, além de se acionar os diversos elementos anelares isoladamente, em grupos e com atraso temporal. O objetivo das simulações realizadas foi determinar a melhor configuração de um transdutor array anular, quanto ao número de anéis, espaçamento entre eles e necessidade ou não de separação física entre os elementos, levando-se em conta a complexidade de construção e as características do campo acústico gerado. Para isso, os parâmetros observados no campo acústico foram à amplitude do pico, a amplitude média de pressão, a profundidade do campo, a colimação do feixe principal e a presença de lóbulos laterais. Outros parâmetros observados foram à tensão e a carga nos elementos. Os resultados obtidos nas simulações dos transdutores arrays circulares, feitas com o programa PZFlex®, foram processados no Matlab® para visualização do campo acústico e extração de parâmetros. As funções de transferência do sinal de excitação e da resposta à estimulação foram calculadas com os dados obtidos. O transdutor kerfless foi simulado no PZFlex® e seus resultados processados no Matlab®, para comparar com os resultados do transdutor com kerf de mesma configuração. Os resultados das simulações mostraram que o campo acústico neste tipo de transdutor, array anular, tem a região de campo distante começando bem próximo à face do transdutor. A camada de retaguarda de epóxi e Araldite® apresentaram valores mais elevados de amplitude do campo acústico. A função de excitação foi Wavelet na frequência de 30 MHz devido às restrições da relação diâmetro / espessura da cerâmica PZT-5H. O transdutor kerfless apresentou um campo acústico com as mesmas características do transdutor com kerf, com a vantagem de sua construção ser mais simples
Abstract: In order to observe the effect of ultrasound transducers parameters configurations in an acoustic field, simulations were made in some different configuration of an annular array ultrasound transducer in high frequency (5 to 50 MHz), kerf and kerfless, with active element of PZT - 5H ceramic or PVDF. The transducers configurations simulated were three, four, five and six annulus, with the same width, and the active element was PZT-5H. And transducers with five, six, seven, eight and ten annulus, with the same area, with and without physical separation between the elements had been simulated with active element of PZT-5H ceramics or PVDF. The materials of backing layer (epoxy, epoxy and Araldite, iron, tungsten, alumina and wood dust) with different impedance were also be tested, and a variety of excited functions (Blackman, Wavelet, Gauss, Sine, Step), in different frequencies, and also with time delay in active elements. The objective of this simulation was to find out the better configuration of an annular array ultrasound transducer in high frequency, the number of annulus, spacing between them, the area, the transducer is kerf or kerfless, considering the build complexity and the characteristics of acoustic field. To do this, the peak amplitude, the depth and the average amplitude of the acoustic field was measured. The charge and the voltage in the elements were also observed. The results obtained in simulations in PZFlex® software were run in Matlab® to visualize the acoustic field and to extract parameter. The ultrasound kerfless transducer was simulated in PZFlex® and the data obtained runs in Matlab®, the results were compared with the results of a transducer with kerf in the same configuration. The simulation results showed that the acoustic field of this kind of transducer has Fraunhofer zone began near the transducer's face. The backing layer with epoxy and Araldite® showed high amplitude of acoustic field. The frequency 30 MHz was choice due to diameter/thickness relations. The excitation function was wavelet, as this present high values response in acoustic field. Kerfless transducer showed acoustic field characteristics the same as the kerf transducers, with the advantage of a simple construction
Doutorado
Engenharia Biomedica
Doutora em Engenharia Elétrica

Orientador: Eduardo Tavares Costa
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computação
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Resumo: O ultra-som na medicina tem passado por enorme evolução nas últimas décadas e ocupado posição de destaque cada vez maior como ferramenta para terapia e diagnóstico. Isso é devido principalmente ao fato de que os equipamentos de diagnóstico por ultra-som são de relativo baixo custo, o ultra-som é uma radiação não-ionizante e permite realização de exame por método não-invasivo e as imagens são geradas e visualizadas em tempo real. Na geração de imagens deste tipo, é comum a utilização de transdutores matriciais. Entretanto, o Brasil apresenta defasagem tecnológica com respeito à construção destes transdutores e à eletrônica envolvida em sua operação. O objetivo deste trabalho consistiu no desenvolvimento de circuitos eletrônicos com 12 canais de geração e de recepção de ondas ultra-sônicas para operação com transdutor matricial linear. O sistema é capaz de excitar transdutores piezoelétricos e receber ecos ultra-sônicos na faixa de 0,5 a 30 MHz e tem seus circuitos de recepção protegidos contra a alta tensão dos pulsos gerados para a excitação do transdutor. Os disparos dos elementos do transdutor e o tempo de corte dos sinais nos circuitos de recepção, para evitar receber sinais indesejáveis referentes ao período inicial de oscilação do transdutor, são controlados via circuito com microcontrolador PIC 16F877 que, juntamente com o programa de controle, foram desenvolvidos para conectar o sistema a um microcomputador. Os 12 canais foram caracterizados eletricamente e verificou-se seu funcionamento utilizando um transdutor piezoelétrico linear de 12 elementos com 1 MHz de freqüência central, especialmente desenvolvido para este trabalho. Os resultados mostraram que o sistema funciona adequadamente, gerando imagem de um phantom construído em nosso laboratório
Abstract: Ultrasound in medicine has gone through great evolution in the last few decades and has occupied important position as a tool for therapy and diagnosis. This is due to the ultrasound equipment be of relatively low-cost, ultrasound is a non-ionizing radiation, is a non-invasive imaging method, and the images are created and seen in real time. It is common the use of transducer arrays in order to generate this kind of image. There is a lack of know how in Brazil relative to the construction of these transducers and the involved electronics in their operation. The objective of this work was the development of a multi-purpose 12 channel pulser/receiver electronic circuitry to operate with linear transducer arrays. The system is able to fire ultrasound piezoelectric transducers and to receive ultrasound echo signals in the range 0.5-30 MHz. The system has reception circuits with protection against high voltage pulses. The firing of transducer elements and cutting time of the reception circuits, to avoid unwanted signals of natural initial transducer oscillations, can be controlled via PIC 16F877 hardware and software designed to connect the system to a microcomputer. The electrical characteristics of the 12 channel pulser/receiver and its use in firing a specially constructed 1 MHz 12 element PZT transducer array has been carried out and the images of a specially constructed phantom showed that it can be used in laboratory conditions
Mestrado
Engenharia Biomedica
Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Contactless ultrasonic power transfer (UPT), using piezoelectric transducers, is based on transferring energy using acoustic waves, in which the waves are generated by an acoustic source or transmitter and then transferred through an acoustic medium such as water or human tissue to a sensor or receiver. The receiver then converts the mechanical strain induced by the incident acoustic waves to electricity and delivers to an electrical load, in which the electrical power output of the system can be determined. The execution and efficiency of this technology can be significantly enhanced through patterning, focusing, and localization of the transmitted acoustic energy in space to simultaneously power pre-determined distributed sensors or devices. A passive 3D-printed acoustic hologram plate alongside a single transducer can generate arbitrary and pre-designed ultrasound fields in a particular distance from the hologram mounted on the transmitter, i.e., a target plane. This dissertation presents the use of these simple, cost-effective, and high-fidelity acoustic holograms in UPT systems to selectively enhance and pattern the electrical power output from the receivers. Different holograms are numerically designed to create single and multi-focal pressure patterns in a target plane where an array of receivers are placed. The incident sound wave from a transmitter, after passing through the hologram, is manipulated, hence, the output field is the desired pressure field, which excites the receivers located at the pre-determined focal points more significantly. Furthermore, multi-functional holograms are designed to generate multiple images at different target planes and driving frequencies, called, respectively, multi-image-plane and multi-frequency patterning holograms. The multiple desired pressure distributions are encoded on the single hologram plate and each is reconstructed by changing the axial distance and by switching the frequency. Several proof-of-concept experiments are performed to verify the functionality of the computationally designed holograms, which are fabricated using modern 3D-printers, i.e., the desired wavefronts are encoded in the hologram plates' thickness profile, being input to the 3D-printer. The experiments include measurement of output pressure fields in water using needle hydrophones and acquisition of receivers' voltage output in UPT systems. Another technique investigated in this dissertation is the implementation of acoustic impedance matching layers deposited on the front leading surface of the transmitter and receiver transducers. Current UPT systems suffer from significant acoustic losses through the transmission line from a piezoelectric transmitter to an acoustic medium and then to a piezoelectric receiver. This is due to the unfavorable acoustic impedance mismatch between the transducers and the medium, which causes a narrow transducer bandwidth and a considerable reflection of the acoustic pressure waves at the boundary layers. Using matching layers enhance the acoustic power transmission into the medium and then reinforce the input as an excitation into the receiver. Experiments are performed to identify the input acoustic pressure from a cylindrical transmitter to a receiver disk operating in the 33-mode of piezoelectricity. Significant enhancements are obtained in terms of the receiver's electrical power output when implementing a two-layer matching structure. A design platform is also developed that can facilitate the construction of high-fidelity acoustically matched transducers, that is, the material layers' selection and determination of their thicknesses. Furthermore, this dissertation presents a numerical analysis for the dynamical motions of a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)-excited microbubble or stable acoustic cavitation, which includes the effects of acoustic nonlinearity, diffraction, and absorption of the medium, and entails the problem of several biomedical ultrasound applications. Finally, the design and use of acoustic holograms in microfluidic channels are addressed which opens the door of acoustic patterning in particle and cell sorting for medical ultrasound systems.
Doctor of Philosophy
This dissertation presents several techniques to enhance the wireless transfer of ultrasonic energy in which the sound wave is generated by an acoustic source or transmitter, transferred through an acoustic medium such as water or human tissue to a sensor or receiver. The receiver transducer then converts the vibrational energy into electricity and delivers to an electrical load in which the electrical power output from the system can be determined. The first enhancement technique presented in this dissertation is using a pre-designed and simple structured plate called an acoustic hologram in conjunction with a transmitter transducer to arbitrarily pattern and shape ultrasound fields at a particular distance from the hologram mounted on the transmitter. The desired wavefront such as single or multi-focal pressure fields or an arbitrary image such as a VT image pattern can simply be encoded in the thickness profile of this hologram plate by removing some of the hologram material based on the desired shape. When the sound wave from the transmitter passes this structured plate, it is locally delayed in proportion to the hologram thickness due to the different speed of sound in the hologram material compared to water. In this dissertation, various hologram types are designed numerically to implement in the ultrasonic power transfer (UPT) systems for powering receivers located at the predetermined focal points more significantly and finally, their functionality and performances are verified in several experiments. Current UPT systems suffer from significant acoustic losses through the transmission from a transmitter to an acoustic medium and then to a receiver due to the different acoustic impedance (defined as the product of density and sound speed) between the medium and transducers material, which reflects most of the incident pressure wave at the boundary layers. The second enhancement technology addressed in this dissertation is using intermediate materials, called acoustic impedance matching layers, bonded to the front side of the transmitter and receiver face to alleviate the acoustic impedance mismatch. Experiments are performed to identify the input acoustic pressure from a transmitter to a receiver. Using a two-layer matching structure, significant enhancements are observed in terms of the receiver's electrical power output. A design platform is also developed that can facilitate the construction of high-fidelity acoustically matched transducers, that is, the material layers' selection and determination of their thicknesses. Furthermore, this dissertation presents a numerical analysis for the dynamical motions of a microbubble exposed to a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) field, which entails the problem of several biomedical ultrasound applications such as microbubble-mediated ultrasound therapy or targeted drug delivery. Finally, an enhancement technique involving the design and use of acoustic holograms in microfluidic channels is addressed which opens the door of acoustic patterning in particle and cell sorting for medical ultrasound systems.

Apresentam-se as bases teóricas do Método de Elementos Finitos (MEF) piezoelétrico, e a sua aplicação na modelagem de transdutores de ultra-som piezoelétricos, que consiste na determinação das características vibracionais (frequências de ressonância e anti-ressonância, modos de vibrar e coeficiente de acoplamento eletromecânico), obtenção da curva de admitancia, análise transiente da estrutura piezoelétrica sujeita a uma excitação pulsada e análise da influência da variação das constantes piezoelétricas do transdutor com o raio. Utilizando-se o MEF aplicado a acústica obteve-se o campo acústico gerado pelo transdutor operando em onda contínua, bem como iniciou-se o estudo da propagação de ondas num líquido, analisando-se as ondas geradas pela excitação pulsada de um pistão plano em contato com o fluido. Os modos de vibrar e os valores de frequências de ressonância obtidos para um transdutor, foram comparados com os resultados experimentais.
The theoretical basis of piezoelectric finite element method (FEM), and its application in piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer modelling is presented. Among these applications we have the calculation of resonance and antiresonance frequencies, vibration modes, piezoelectric coupling coefficient, admittance curve and transient analysis of piezoelectric structure excited by a short pulse. By means of piezoelectric FEM the influence of variation of piezoelectric constant with radius is analysed. It is discussed three kind of functions (linear, cosinoidal and Gaussian). This technique is called apodization. The acoustic filed generated by the transducer operating in continuous wave (CW) was calculated by using FEM applied to acoustic, considering the fluid-structure coupling. The study of wave propagation in liquids is started by using FEM, analyzing the waves generated by a plane piston in contact with the fluid, excited by a short pulse. For each case discussed above, all boundary conditions and hypothesis assumed in the construction of finite element models are discussed. Although the models considered are circular transducers, the concepts acquired can be expanded to other geometries. The vibrational modes were visualized by means of a laser interferometry technique (ESPI), and the admittance curves were measured by using an impedometer. These results were compared with the FEM results, and the models precision was discussed.

Les transducteurs ultrasonores capacitifs micro-usinés (cMUT : capacitive Micromachined Ultrasound Transducers) apparaissent, au vu de leur maturité croissante, comme une alternative de plus en plus viable à la technologie piézoélectrique. Caractérisés par une large bande passante et une large directivité, ces transducteurs sont des solutions intéressantes pour le développement de sondes ultrasonores « exotiques » dont les spécifications sont difficilement atteignables en technologie piézoélectrique. C'est dans ce contexte et fort de l'expérience acquise par notre laboratoire sur cette technologie pendant plus d'une dizaine d'années, que s'est inscrit ce travail de thèse. L'originalité du travail rapporté ici est d'aller de l'analyse du comportement général des barrettes cMUT jusqu'à un exemple précis de conception de sonde cMUT pour l'évaluation du tissu osseux. Des outils de modélisation précis et rapides, basés sur l'introduction de conditions de périodicité, ont été développés. Plusieurs modèles ont ainsi été mis en place afin d'adapter la stratégie de modélisation à la topologie du dispositif cMUT à modéliser : cellule isolée, colonne de cellules, matrice de cellules et élément de barrette. Ces modèles ont permis d'étudier le comportement des éléments de barrette cMUT et d'améliorer notre connaissance sur les mécanismes physiques mis en jeu. De cette façon, l'origine des effets de baffle, problème récurrent du comportement des barrettes cMUT, a clairement été interprété par l'intermédiaire d'une analyse modale. Des solutions ont ainsi été identifiées et proposées afin d'optimiser le comportement des barrettes cMUT, de façon à réduire la présence des effets de baffle et à augmenter leur bande passante. Le développement d'une barrette cMUT dédiée à l'évaluation du tissu osseux est présenté dans sa totalité, afin d'illustrer les différents aspects liés à la conception d'une sonde de cette technologie. Un travail original de caractérisation a été réalisé sur cette barrette, afin d'estimer l'homogénéité inter-cellules à l'échelle de l'élément et l'homogénéité inter-éléments à l'échelle de la barrette. Enfin, une confrontation a été réalisée avec une sonde PZT de même topologie sur plusieurs fantômes osseux. Il a ainsi été démontré que la sonde cMUT permettait la détection d'un plus grand nombre de modes guidés, et par conséquent, une meilleure évaluation du tissu osseux
Following recent advances, the capacitive Micromachined Ultrasound Transducers (cMUT) technology seems to be a good alternative to the piezoelectric technology. For specific applications, the requirements and specifications of the probe are sometimes difficult to obtain with the traditional PZT technology. The cMUT technology, with both large bandwidth and angular directivity, can be an interesting way to overcome these limitations. This PhD has been carried out in this context, in a laboratory which has nearly 10 years of experience in the field of cMUT technology. The originality of the work sustained in this PhD is that it covers the cMUT technology, from general aspects dealing of modeling and characterization up to a complete example of cMUT-based probe applied to the assessment of cortical bone. Fast and accurate modeling tools, based on periodicity conditions, have been developed. Several models have been proposed to match the modeling strategy to the topology of the cMUT array : isolated cell, columns of cells, 2-D matrix of cells and array element. These models have been used to analyze the cMUT array behavior and to understand how mutual couplings between cMUTs impact the response of one element. Origins of the baffle effect, well-known as a recurrent problem in cMUT probe, have been explained using an original method based on the normal mode decomposition of the radiated pressure field. Thus, solutions have been identified and tested to optimize the cMUT frequency response, i.e. to increase the bandwidth, and to suppress parasitic disturbances linked to baffle effect in the electroacoustic response. The development of a dedicated cMUT array for the assessment of bone tissue is accurately detailed in the manuscript, including description of the design rules, fabrication steps and packaging procedure. An original characterization work has been carried out in order to check the device homogeneity, first from cell to cell and then from element to element. Finally, a comparison with a PZT probe with the same topology has been performed on bone mimicking phantom. Nice results has been obtained, showing that cMUT probe allows detecting higher number of guided modes in the cortical shell, and consequently, improving the cortical bone assessment

Piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducer (pMUT) two-dimensional (2D) arrays have been proposed as an alternative to conventional bulk-PZT thickness-mode transducers for high frequency, forward-looking, catheter-based ultrasound imaging of the cardiovascular system. The appeal of pMUTs is based on several key advantages over conventional transducer technologies, including high operational frequencies, small element size, and low cost due to their microelectromechanical system (MEMS) silicon-based fabrication. While previous studies have demonstrated acoustic performance characteristics suitable for ultrasound image formation, pulse-echo B-mode imaging of tissue and tissue-like phantoms using 2D pMUT arrays small enough for forward-looking catheter-based applications have been demonstrated only at Duke University by Dausch et al.

Having demonstrated the suitability of 2D pMUT arrays for tissue imaging, an important step is to demonstrate effective design control. The frequency of operation is a fundamental component of transducer design. Previous modeling efforts for pMUT vibration have used classical/Kirchoff thin plate theory (CPT) or Mindlin thick plate theory, however pMUTs with geometric dimensions similar to those explored here, have not been modeled with experimental comparison to physical devices.

It is hypothesized that the frequency of vibration of pMUTs can be predictively modeled based on experimental data from various pMUT configurations. Experimental frequency results were acquired and used to develop an empirical model based on a modified Mindlin thick plate theory. This dissertation presents the development of the frequency design theory culminating in a set of predictive design equations for the frequency of vibration of 2D pMUT arrays aimed at improving their use in high-frequency, forward-looking, catheter-based ultrasound imaging applications.

Dissertation

Ultrasonic sensors are well known for various applications such as NDT, ultrasound imaging, and proximity sensing. Conventional ultrasound transducers are bulky, work at notoriously high voltages, and consume significant power. Microfabrication techniques are leading to a paradigm shift in the field of ultrasonics by enabling development of low power - small footprint ultrasound transducers. This work focuses on the development of piezoelectric type flexural mode micromachined ultrasound transducer also known as PMUTs. We start by establishing a system level analytical model of a PMUT and use it to offer insights into scaling of the performance of the transducer with respect to various design parameters. In this analysis we give special attention to residual stresses thus establishing a contrast between membrane type and plate type PMUTs. After going through various steps of material development and microfabrication, we obtain arrays of PMUTs with different designs. PZT thin films deposited by sol-gel method are used as the piezoelectric layer in the multilayer stack. Further, we present a thorough characterization of fabricated PMUTs which includes measurement of the piezoelectric properties of the embedded PZT thin film, electrical impedance of the electromechanical transducer, its vibrational charac-teristics and acoustic radiation from a single PMUT cell. We also develop a pre-amplifier circuit for a PMUT receiver and present its working as a simple proximity sensor. After establishing the repeatability and predictability of our PMUT sensors we delve into application development beyond ultrasound imaging. Experiments and analysis of PMUTs submerged in water show strong structural-acoustic coupling between the PMUT membrane and the surrounding fluid. We hypothesize the applicability of this feature to sense changes in the acoustic environment of a PMUT. To this end, we integrate an array of PMUTs with a micro-fluidic chip and study the changes in the vibrational behaviour of the PMUT in response to change in the air-water ratio in a closed cell around a PMUT membrane. We also present our preliminary results on presence of micro-bubbles in the closed cell around the PMUT.

Ultrasonic sensors are well known for various applications such as NDT, ultrasound imaging, and proximity sensing. Conventional ultrasound transducers are bulky, work at notoriously high voltages, and consume significant power. Microfabrication techniques are leading to a paradigm shift in the field of ultrasonics by enabling development of low power - small footprint ultrasound transducers. This work focuses on the development of piezoelectric type flexural mode micromachined ultrasound transducer also known as PMUTs. We start by establishing a system level analytical model of a PMUT and use it to offer insights into scaling of the performance of the transducer with respect to various design parameters. In this analysis we give special attention to residual stresses thus establishing a contrast between membrane type and plate type PMUTs. After going through various steps of material development and microfabrication, we obtain arrays of PMUTs with different designs. PZT thin films deposited by sol-gel method are used as the piezoelectric layer in the multilayer stack. Further, we present a thorough characterization of fabricated PMUTs which includes measurement of the piezoelectric properties of the embedded PZT thin film, electrical impedance of the electromechanical transducer, its vibrational charac-teristics and acoustic radiation from a single PMUT cell. We also develop a pre-amplifier circuit for a PMUT receiver and present its working as a simple proximity sensor. After establishing the repeatability and predictability of our PMUT sensors we delve into application development beyond ultrasound imaging. Experiments and analysis of PMUTs submerged in water show strong structural-acoustic coupling between the PMUT membrane and the surrounding fluid. We hypothesize the applicability of this feature to sense changes in the acoustic environment of a PMUT. To this end, we integrate an array of PMUTs with a micro-fluidic chip and study the changes in the vibrational behaviour of the PMUT in response to change in the air-water ratio in a closed cell around a PMUT membrane. We also present our preliminary results on presence of micro-bubbles in the closed cell around the PMUT.

Near-ultrasound refers to sound with frequencies just above the range of human hearing, from about 18 to 40 kHz. This band is rarely used for typical ultrasound applications and is ignored for all except the most demanding audio applications. We highlight the advantages of using this band and present a design study on the development of high-efficiency, resonant transducers for near-ultrasound. Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasound Transducers, or PMUTs, are MEMS resonators that are used to generate and receive ultrasound and acoustic waves. They are fabricated as multilayered diaphragms consisting of a passive structural layer coated with a piezoelectric material sandwiched between metal films. In this dissertation, we report the realization of a novel near-ultrasound PMUT system especially designed for Data-over-Sound (DoS) applications. This realization includes investigation of new transducer designs, innovation in fabrication processes, and a significant advance in acoustics and electronics integration. We use analytical and coupled finite element models of clamped circular plates with in-plane stresses to generate design maps for PMUTs. Residual tensile stresses generated during fabrication processes have the effect of stiffening the diaphragms and increasing their resonant frequencies. We experimentally estimate the magnitude of these stresses in sol-gel PZT-coated SOI wafers and fabricate transducers with dimensions optimized for near-ultrasound. The transducers are 50 times smaller and 20 times more efficient than conventional electrodynamic micro speakers in the near-ultrasound range. We then present a novel design for PMUTs with “bossed” diaphragms that allows further reduction in device footprint and power consumption while improving sensitivity and efficiency. The dimensions of the central boss structure are optimized using simulations. The fabricated devices are found to be up to 10 times smaller than conventional PMUTs for the same frequencies, and less sensitive to variations in residual stress. We have studied and optimized the effects of packaging and the acoustic environment on the performance of the transducers using finite element and boundary element acoustic simulations. The devices are packaged with 3D-printed acoustic resonators and horns designed to boost sensitivity, improve bandwidth, and widen the directivity of the transducers. The results of the simulations are experimentally verified by scanning the acoustic field of the transducers. The transducers are finally integrated into battery- and solar-powered DoS beacons and wireless sensor nodes, complete with a low-power microcontroller for modulation/demodulation, a low Q-current amplifier, a MEMS microphone, an acoustic resonator, and the near-ultrasound transducer — all in a compact package with a transmission range of up to 30 meters and a battery reserve of up to 4 weeks.

This thesis presents the design and analysis for development of a Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (CMUT), a novel sensor and actuator, aimed at replacing the conventional piezoelectric transducers for air-coupled ultrasonic imaging applications. These CMUTs are fabricated using the silicon micromachining technology wherein all fabrication is done on the surface of a silicon wafer by means of thin-film depositions, patterning with photolithography and etching. The main emphasis of this study is on developing analytical models that serve as effective design tools for the development of these devices. A desirable goal of such study is to create reasonable mathematical models, obtain analytical solutions, wherever possible, for various measures of transducer performance and provide design aids. A logical start is the lumped parameter modeling wherein the explicit dependence of the physical parameters on the spatial extent of the device is ignored. The system lumped parameters, such as the equivalent stiffness, the equivalent mass, and the equivalent damping are extracted from reasonable analytical or numerical models and subsequently used in the static and dynamic analysis of the device. Useful predictions are made with regard to the key transducer parameters, such as, the pull-in voltage, the static deflection, the dynamic response and the acoustic field produced. The modeling work presented embodies two main objectives: (i) it serves to provide direction in the design phase, and, (ii) it serves to aid in the extraction of critical parameters which affect the device behavior. Comparison of the results with the more rigorous FEM simulations as well as with those present in the existing literature assure that the developed models are accurate enough to serve as useful design tools. The distributed parameter modeling is presented next. Analysis of MEMS devices which rely on electrostatic actuation is complicated due to the fact that the structural deformations alter the electrostatic forces, which redistribute and modify the applied loads. Hence, it becomes imperative to consider the electro-elastic coupling aspect in the design of these devices. An approximate analytical solution for the static deflection of a thin, clamped circular plate caused by electrostatic forces which are inherently nonlinear, is presented. The model is based on the Kirchhoff-Love assumptions that the plate is thin and the deflections and slopes are small. The classical thin-plate theory is adequate when the ratio of the diameter to thickness of the plate is very large, a situation commonly prevalent in many MEMS devices, especially the CMUTs. This theory is used to determine the static deflection of the CMUT membrane due to a DC bias voltage. The thin-plate electro-elastic equation is solved using the Galerkin weighted residual technique under the assumption that the deflections are small in comparison to the thickness of the plate. The results obtained are compared to those obtained from ANSYS simulations and an excellent agreement is observed between the two. The pull-in voltage predicted by our model is close to the value predicted by ANSYS simulations. A simple analytical formula, which gives fairly accurate results (to within 3% of the value predicted by ANSYS simulations) for determination of the pull-in voltage, is also presented. As stated, this formula accounts for the elastic deflection of the membrane due to the coupled interaction with the electrostatic field. The effect of vacuum sealing the backside cavity of a CMUT is investigated in some detail. The presence or absence of air inside the cavity has a marked effect upon the system parameters, such as the natural frequency and the pull-in voltage. The possibility of using sealed CMUT cavities with air inside at ambient pressure is explored. In order to estimate the transducer loss due to the presence of air in the sealed cavity, the squeeze film forces resulting from the compression of the trapped air film are evaluated. Towards this end, the linearized Reynolds equation is solved in conjunction with the appropriate boundary conditions, taking the flexure of the membrane into account. From this analysis, it is concluded that, for a sealed CMUT cavity, the presence of air does not cause any squeeze film damping even when the flexure of the membrane is taken into account (the case of a rigid plate is already known). Although the emphasis of the study undertaken here is not on the physical realization of a working CMUT, a single cell as well as a linear array based on the design presented here, were fabricated (in a foundry elsewhere) in order to verify some of the most fundamental device parameters from experimental measurements. The fabricated devices have been characterized for their resonant frequency, quality factor, and structural integrity. These tests were conducted using the laser Doppler vibrometer and the Focused Ion Beam milling. Having investigated thoroughly the behavior of a single cell, we proceed to demonstrate how these cells can be arranged optimally in the form of an array to provide a comprehensive ultrasonic imaging system. A thorough analysis of the requirements for the array architecture is undertaken to determine the optimal configuration. The design constraints that need to be taken into account for CMUT arrays, especially for NDE applications, are presented. The main issue of designing an array consisting of a large number of CMUT cells required for producing a pressure wave of sufficient strength which is detectable upon reflection from the desired location even after suffering severe attenuation resulting from propagation in various media is addressed. A scalable annular array architecture of CMUT cells is recommended based on the analysis carried out.

This thesis presents the design and analysis for development of a Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (CMUT), a novel sensor and actuator, aimed at replacing the conventional piezoelectric transducers for air-coupled ultrasonic imaging applications. These CMUTs are fabricated using the silicon micromachining technology wherein all fabrication is done on the surface of a silicon wafer by means of thin-film depositions, patterning with photolithography and etching. The main emphasis of this study is on developing analytical models that serve as effective design tools for the development of these devices. A desirable goal of such study is to create reasonable mathematical models, obtain analytical solutions, wherever possible, for various measures of transducer performance and provide design aids. A logical start is the lumped parameter modeling wherein the explicit dependence of the physical parameters on the spatial extent of the device is ignored. The system lumped parameters, such as the equivalent stiffness, the equivalent mass, and the equivalent damping are extracted from reasonable analytical or numerical models and subsequently used in the static and dynamic analysis of the device. Useful predictions are made with regard to the key transducer parameters, such as, the pull-in voltage, the static deflection, the dynamic response and the acoustic field produced. The modeling work presented embodies two main objectives: (i) it serves to provide direction in the design phase, and, (ii) it serves to aid in the extraction of critical parameters which affect the device behavior. Comparison of the results with the more rigorous FEM simulations as well as with those present in the existing literature assure that the developed models are accurate enough to serve as useful design tools. The distributed parameter modeling is presented next. Analysis of MEMS devices which rely on electrostatic actuation is complicated due to the fact that the structural deformations alter the electrostatic forces, which redistribute and modify the applied loads. Hence, it becomes imperative to consider the electro-elastic coupling aspect in the design of these devices. An approximate analytical solution for the static deflection of a thin, clamped circular plate caused by electrostatic forces which are inherently nonlinear, is presented. The model is based on the Kirchhoff-Love assumptions that the plate is thin and the deflections and slopes are small. The classical thin-plate theory is adequate when the ratio of the diameter to thickness of the plate is very large, a situation commonly prevalent in many MEMS devices, especially the CMUTs. This theory is used to determine the static deflection of the CMUT membrane due to a DC bias voltage. The thin-plate electro-elastic equation is solved using the Galerkin weighted residual technique under the assumption that the deflections are small in comparison to the thickness of the plate. The results obtained are compared to those obtained from ANSYS simulations and an excellent agreement is observed between the two. The pull-in voltage predicted by our model is close to the value predicted by ANSYS simulations. A simple analytical formula, which gives fairly accurate results (to within 3% of the value predicted by ANSYS simulations) for determination of the pull-in voltage, is also presented. As stated, this formula accounts for the elastic deflection of the membrane due to the coupled interaction with the electrostatic field. The effect of vacuum sealing the backside cavity of a CMUT is investigated in some detail. The presence or absence of air inside the cavity has a marked effect upon the system parameters, such as the natural frequency and the pull-in voltage. The possibility of using sealed CMUT cavities with air inside at ambient pressure is explored. In order to estimate the transducer loss due to the presence of air in the sealed cavity, the squeeze film forces resulting from the compression of the trapped air film are evaluated. Towards this end, the linearized Reynolds equation is solved in conjunction with the appropriate boundary conditions, taking the flexure of the membrane into account. From this analysis, it is concluded that, for a sealed CMUT cavity, the presence of air does not cause any squeeze film damping even when the flexure of the membrane is taken into account (the case of a rigid plate is already known). Although the emphasis of the study undertaken here is not on the physical realization of a working CMUT, a single cell as well as a linear array based on the design presented here, were fabricated (in a foundry elsewhere) in order to verify some of the most fundamental device parameters from experimental measurements. The fabricated devices have been characterized for their resonant frequency, quality factor, and structural integrity. These tests were conducted using the laser Doppler vibrometer and the Focused Ion Beam milling. Having investigated thoroughly the behavior of a single cell, we proceed to demonstrate how these cells can be arranged optimally in the form of an array to provide a comprehensive ultrasonic imaging system. A thorough analysis of the requirements for the array architecture is undertaken to determine the optimal configuration. The design constraints that need to be taken into account for CMUT arrays, especially for NDE applications, are presented. The main issue of designing an array consisting of a large number of CMUT cells required for producing a pressure wave of sufficient strength which is detectable upon reflection from the desired location even after suffering severe attenuation resulting from propagation in various media is addressed. A scalable annular array architecture of CMUT cells is recommended based on the analysis carried out.

Ultrasound is a scientific miracle with its magical contributions in almost all the branches of modern-day technology. It all started with the discovery of the ‘piezoelectric effect’ by the Curie brothers, who demonstrated electromechanical coupling in cane sugar, as a result of which, it was possible to generate electricity from a typical sugar crystal by straining it. This led to the dawn of piezoelectric ultrasound transducers, which revolutionized the entire way sound was produced till then. Comprehensive research followed these initial developments, which transcended the worlds of non-destructive techniques, medical diagnosis and prognosis, medical therapeutics, ranging and security, etc. The next stage of reformation in this research progression was written by the hands of the VLSI micromachining technique, which ushered the development of low-cost, low-powered, compact, and above all, ‘little’ transducers which can actually fit inside the smallest veins found inside the human body. These transducers are the present and the future of ultrasound and bear the fate of the next big technological change that the world is likely to witness in the upcoming years. In this doctoral dissertation, we construct piezoelectric ultrasound transducers and put them to various novel applications. We divide the thesis into three parts, with the first part describing the designing and making of piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducer (PMUT) and applying them to real-time fluid density sensing in the macro-scale. We have described the various effects observed in the special kind of experimental arrangement, which was created to sense fluid density by using the transmission of ultrasound. Such an arrangement is called PMUT-Fluid-PMUT (PFP) and was observed to successfully sense fluid density over a broad density range. In the second part of the thesis, we make a special kind of PMUT, which is capable of self-sensing, while getting actuated. We apply this technique to fluid density sensing in a single platform, thereby eliminating the need for a thorough transmission arrangement as described in the first part. We subsequently progress and integrate such self-actuation sensing PMUTs into microfluidic channels, thereby creating an independent device to handle and analyze fluid samples mechanically in small volumes. Such integration is called the PMUT-Microfluidic-Integration (PMI) and is suitable for sensing changes in the blood density in the microscale. In the final part of the work, we explore a different branch of medical ultrasound, known as photoacoustics. We start off by fabricating flexible bulk ultrasound transducers, which will conform to objects of any geometries and thereby image any targets present inside them. This is of significant importance in designing wearables for continuous human health monitoring applications by photoacoustically imaging the tissues underneath. Next, we roll on to making an optofluidic integration by using a pulsed laser and microfluidic channel, and we demonstrate the use of such a system to sense the concentration of a solute in a solvent. Finally, we fabricated a typical variant of a 32 channel PMUT array and demonstrated its application in photoacoustic imaging, thereby proving that PMUTs can function successfully as photoacoustic detectors, hence leading to the creation of portable bedside health monitoring systems based on photoacoustics. In summary, the work describes in a comprehensive manner the creation of both bulk and thin-film piezoelectric material-based ultrasound transducers and demonstrates some of their novel applications in both industry and biomedical diagnosis and imaging.
Ministry of Education, National Institutes of Health

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) have proven themselves to be excellent candidates for medical ultrasonic imaging applications. The use of semiconductor fabrication techniques facilitates the fabrication of high quality arrays of uniform cells and elements, broad acoustic bandwidth, the potential to integrate the transducers with the necessary electronics, and the opportunity to exploit the benefits of batch fabrication. In this thesis, the design, fabrication and testing of one- and two-dimensional CMUT arrays using a novel wafer bonding process whereby the membrane and the insulation layer are both silicon nitride is reported. A user-grown insulating membrane layer avoids the need for expensive SOI wafers, permits optimization of the electrode size, and allows more freedom in selecting the membrane thickness, while also enjoying the benefits of wafer bonding fabrication. Using a row-column addressing scheme for an NxN two-dimensional array permits three-dimensional imaging with a large reduction in the complexity of the array when compared to a conventional 2D array with connections to all N2 elements. Only 2N connections are required and the image acquisition rate has the potential to be greatly increased. A simplification of the device at the imaging end will facilitate the integration of a three-dimensional imaging CMUT array into either an endoscope or catheter which is the ultimate purpose of this research project. To date, many sizes of transducers which operate at different frequencies have been successfully fabricated. Initial characterization in terms of resonant frequency and, transmission and reception in immersion has been performed on most of the device types. Extensive characterization has been performed with a linear 32 element array transducer and a 32x32 element row-column transducer. Two- and three-dimensional phased array imaging has been demonstrated.

碩士
國立成功大學
機械工程學系
88
Piezoelectric Polymer is suitable to fabricate immersion-type ultrasound transducers because of its low acoustic impedance, low acoustic quality factor and low dielectric constant. Low acoustic impedance can reduce reflection as ultrasound passing through material interfaces；low acoustic quality factor makes it possible to accomplish a broad-band transducer. Since the piezoelectric polymer has these advantages, this thesis will investigate several important factors that affect the performance of piezoelectric polymer transducers using Spice circuit simulation. The modeling of a piezoelectric acoustic transducer consists of two parts, namely acoustic part and electric part. Once the Spice simulation of both features of a piezoelectric transducer is established, one can easily analyze the ultrasound measurement system just by adding electric elements into the simulation circuit file. For a PVDF transducer studied in this work, it is found that, thickness of electrodes, elastic properties of backing materials, shapes of electric pulses, and the connecting circuits of transducers all affect transducers’ performance such as amplitude of signal, central frequency, and bandwidth. Finally, to obtain a high-frequency PVDF transducer and ultrasound system, the simulation results indicate that the following two requirements are important. 1. PVDF film thickness and selection of backing materials are the key issues for making high frequency PVDF transducers. 2. Connecting circuit with the transducer should match to 50Ω.

碩士
國立清華大學
動力機械工程學系
105
In recent years, people pay more attention to food safety. Traditional detection technology is expensive, complicated and time-consuming, so that it is impossible to do the real-time and on-site detection for the irregular additives in food samples. This study further investigate and improve the droplet-based piezoelectric polymer deposition. In addition, the deposited piezoelectric polymer deivces are integrated on a biochip for rapid detection of drug residue in foods. First, we changed the wire width of electrode to design and choose different area ratio of P(VDF-TrFE). In the electrodeposition process, we discussed the optimization parameter, including electrodeposition time, volume of droplet, supplying voltage, and the pre-treatment of relative humidity. In the examination of acoustic property, the maximum output power was 86.31 μW (10 kHz). Compare of past study, the signal strengthen was enhanced by 62 % (10 kHz), the output power was enhanced by 37 %, the efficiency was enhanced by 220 %. In the property of acoustic transceiver, the signal coefficient of variation was reduced to 0.38 % from 17.79 % by the pre-tunable treatment. The developed acoustic transceiver was applied to the detection of animal drugs residue in meat samples after the optimization process and pre-tunable treatment. The detection frequency was 10 kHz, and the target drugs were ractopamine、benzylpenicillin、doxycycline. The response, including fluid disturbance and steady tim) was 80 sec, and the SNR of steady signal was up to 29.03 dB. Linear range was 0 ~ 100 ppb, and sensitivity was up to 2.4 mV/ppb and the detection limit was 2.06 ppb (3 dB). Finally, the acoustic transceiver was integrated with MIP films on microfluidic chip, and 20 ppb pork sample was applied to our chip for drugs residue detection. The detection result was up to 23.7±1.15 ppb. The detection time was 4 min, including fluid operation and dynamic signal measurement. In this study, the developed high-sensitivity piezoelectric acoustic transceiver presented the advantages of low cost, simple steps and high integration. Besides the drugs residue detection, it also was applied as others biosensor in the future.

Ultrasonic transducers are used in many fields of daily life, e.g. as parking aids or medical devices. To enable their usage also for mass applications small and low- cost transducers with high performance are required. Capacitive, micro-machined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) offer the potential, for instance, to integrate compact ultrasonic sensor systems into mobile phones or as disposable transducer for diverse medical applications. This work is aimed at providing fundamentals for the future commercialization of CMUTs. It introduces novel methods for the acoustic simulation and characterization of CMUTs, which are still critical steps in the product development process. They allow an easy CMUT cell design for given application requirements. Based on a novel electromechanical model for CMUT elements, the device properties can be determined by impedance measurement already. Finally, an end-of-line test based on the electrical impedance of CMUTs demonstrates their potential for efficient mass production.

This dissertation covers the design of the transducers and electronics of a structural health monitoring (SHM) testbench system targeted at plate-like structures. The health inspection principle behind the system is the transmission and reception of guided-wave ultrasound along the structure under test, using piezoelectric transducers made of poled polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film. The aim of this work is the creation of a system with custom electronics that can serve as a versatile testbench for the research activities in the field of SHM of complex material, such as carbon and glass-fiber composites, and will eventually bridge the gap between research and the development of highly-integrated sensor networks to be used in industrial, automotive, and aerospace applications. While many guided-wave SHM techniques base their operation on monolithic elements, the proposed system moves in the direction of providing multichannel transmit/receive capabilities to each transducer, transforming them in small-scale phased arrays. Since different SHM applications require different topologies and number of transducers to effectively cover a structure, the system architecture is designed around the vision of a (wired) sensor network: each transducer is connected to its own dedicated electronics, emulating a sensor node. Multiple identical nodes can thus be placed on the target structure and interact to perform the required health monitoring functions in a distributed fashion. The transducers designed for this system are an improvement of the well-known interdigital transducer (IDT), where a few novelties are added: a circular sensor (intended for isotropic guided-wave reception) and a resistive temperature device. A different version of the IDT is also presented where every electrode (finger) has an independent connection that can be attached to different transmitters and receivers, thus creating an array. The electronics are designed to include multichannel transmission and data acquisition tailored to the proposed transducers. Guided-wave generation is performed by high-voltage, 5-level, differential class D amplifiers that can generate arbitrary signals up to 1MHz with inter-channel synchronization. The signal reception circuitry includes two swappable pre-amplifier stages (charge-mode and voltage-mode) in addition to a standard data acquisition chain. The electronics are completed by a system-on-chip (FPGA plus ARM processor) that operates the various components, performs signal analysis, and exchanges data with other nodes. The core contents of this dissertation include the development and testing of the transducers and a subset of the system electronics: the ultrasound transmission and reception modules. The remainder of the system is presented at the architectural level.

碩士
國立成功大學
電機工程學系碩博士班
101
In this study, the development of lead-free (1-x)(Na0.535K0.48)NbO3－xLiNbO3 (NKLN) ceramics were investigated and the phase transition behavior of material, sintering temperature and poling condition were discussed. In NKLN ceramics, it was observed that the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) not only contented the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases, but also had the formation of monoclinic phase. The best piezoelectric properties of NKLN ceramics with kp = 42%、kt = 52% were obtained at x = 0.05. In 0.95NKN-0.05LN ceramics, the sintering temperature was reduced from 1050oC to 900oC and the excellent piezoelectric properties were obtained under sintering at 950oC. Moreover, the 0.95NKN-0.05LN ceramics sintered at 950oC for different soak times was also investigated. The maximum values of kp (48%) and kt (52 %) were obtained at the optimum soak time of 4 h. In the present study, the electric properties of ceramics were significantly by the poling conditions, including poling temperature and poling electric field. The optimum poling conditions obtained were under the poling temperature of 90oC and poling electric field of 3 kV/mm. 　　Based on the properties of ceramics above, the ceramics with high kp and kt values were chose for fabrication of single-element ultrasound transducers. The acoustic impedances of the ceramics and backing layer were calculated. The pulse/echo response of the ultrasound transducers fabricated using the (Na0.5K0.5)NbO3 and 0.95(Na0.535K0.48)NbO3- 0.05LiNbO3 ceramics were examined and the performances of these two ultrasound transducers were compared. Effects of piezoelectric properties of ceramics on the performances of ultrasound transducer were also investigated.

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e Computadores
O objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver um sensor acústico capaz de medir correntes marítimas. Este projeto surge da necessidade de recolher alguns dados de interesse marítimo com o objetivo de criar modelos de funcionamento dos ecossistemas. Neste projeto pretende-se colocar vários sensores georreferenciados, a diferentes profundidades, a fazer medições e a armazenar os dados respetivos. Este sensor será responsável por medir a velocidade da água que flui num determinado nó do sistema. Este deverá ser capaz de medir a intensidade da corrente e a direção independentemente da sua posição no espaço, necessitando por isso de um magnetómetro (bússola digital) para utilizar o norte geográfico como referência. O sensor de corrente marítima que é apresentado utiliza transdutores piezoelétricos ultrassónicos pretendendo com isso tornar o sistema mais fiável e com maior robustez devido à ausência de partes móveis. A propriedade dos ultrassons explorada neste trabalho para obtenção da velocidade da corrente é o tempo de voo. O tempo de voo é o tempo que um determinado sinal demora a propagar-se num determinado meio entre dois pontos. No desenvolvimento do sensor será estudado o formato da estrutura, a posição e a orientação dos transdutores, de forma a melhorar a qualidade das medições em diferentes condições. Tal deverá ter em conta a robustez, dimensões razoáveis e evitar fenómenos de turbulência no volume de água a ser medido. O processamento dos sinais enviados e recebidos pelos transdutores será executado por um circuito integrado capaz de executar rotinas de medição de tempo de voo e de temperatura. Esse circuito integrado irá comunicar com um microcontrolador que irá interpretar os tempos de voo e converter na velocidade do fluido. Para além da comunicação com este circuito integrado, o microcontrolador, terá que comunicar com um relógio de tempo real, para obtenção de uma referência temporal, com um cartão de memória, para armazenamento de dados num ficheiro e com um magnetómetro, para obter uma referência de orientação ao norte geográfico já que o sensor não estará fixo. Com vários sensores destes é possível entender fenómenos de transporte à escala costeira, graças aos dados que é possível obter com um instrumento de medição desta escala.
The objective of this work is to develop an acoustic sensor capable of measuring sea currents. This project arises from the need to collect some data of maritime interest with the aim of creating models for the functioning of ecosystems. In this project, we intend to place several georeferenced sensors at different depths to make measurements and store the respective data. This sensor will be responsible for measuring the velocity of the water flowing in a particular node of the system. It should be able to measure the intensity of the current and direction independently of its position in space, thus necessitating a magnetometer (digital compass) to establish geographic north as a reference. The marine current sensor which is shown utilizes ultrasonic piezoelectric transducers in order to make the system more reliable and more robust due to the absence of moving parts. The property of the ultrasound explored in this work to obtain the velocity of the current is the flight time. Flight time is the time that a given signal takes to propagate in a certain medium between two points. In the development of the sensor will be studied the structure format, the position and the orientation of the transducers, in order to improve the quality of the measurements under different conditions. This should take into account the robustness, reasonable dimensions and avoid phenomena of turbulence in the volume of water to be measured. The processing of the signals sent and received by the transducers will be performed by an integrated circuit capable of performing flight time and temperature measurement routines. This integrated circuit will communicate with a microcontroller that will interpret flight times and convert to fluid velocity. In addition to communicating with this integrated circuit, the microcontroller must communicate with a real-time clock, to obtain a time reference, with a memory card, to store data in a file and with a magnetometer, to obtain a reference geographic north since the sensor will not be static. With several sensors of these it is possible to understand transport phenomena to the scale of the coast, thanks to the data that can be obtained with a measurement instrument of this scale.