Ultrasound transducer for improving resolution in imaging system
First Claim
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1. An ultrasound transducer array comprising a multiplicity of elements, each of said elements comprising:
- a layer of piezoelectric material having a first metallized surface; and
a first acoustic matching layer adjacent said first metallized surface of said layer of piezoelectric material;
said first acoustic matching layer is comprised of silicon.
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Abstract
An ultrasound transducer employs a silicon acoustic matching layer closest to the piezoelectric layer in order to achieve improved resolution. A silicon wafer, ground to an appropriate thickness, is included in the acoustic stack with other matching layer materials during transducer construction. The exact thickness is determined by the details of the design, but is nominally a quarter wavelength in the silicon.
46 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An ultrasound transducer array comprising a multiplicity of elements, each of said elements comprising:
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a layer of piezoelectric material having a first metallized surface; and
a first acoustic matching layer adjacent said first metallized surface of said layer of piezoelectric material;
said first acoustic matching layer is comprised of silicon. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of manufacturing an ultrasound transducer array, comprising the steps of:
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(a) metallizing a surface of a piezoelectric layer;
(b) applying a first acoustic matching layer to said metallized surface of said layer of piezoelectric material to form a stack of layers;
(c) applying a second acoustic matching layer to said first acoustic matching layer so as to enlarge said stack;
(d) applying a third acoustic matching layer to said second acoustic matching layer so as to further enlarge said stack; and
(e) dicing said stack to form an array of separate elements, wherein said first acoustic matching layer comprises a silicon wafer, said second acoustic matching layer has an acoustic impedance less than the acoustic impedance of said first acoustic matching layer, and said third acoustic matching layer has an acoustic impedance less than the acoustic impedance of said second acoustic matching layer. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. An ultrasound transducer array comprising a multiplicity of elements, each of said elements comprising:
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a layer of piezoelectric material having first and second surfaces;
a first electrode electrically coupled to said first surface of said layer of piezoelectric material; and
a first acoustic matching layer having first and second surfaces, said second surface of said first acoustic matching layer being acoustically coupled to said first surface of said layer of piezoelectric material;
wherein said first acoustic matching layer has an acoustic impedance in the range of about 18.6 to 19.6 MRayls and is comprised of a non-composite material. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of transmitting ultrasound wave energy into human tissue, comprising the steps of:
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electrically activating a layer of piezoelectric ceramic material to generate ultrasound wave energy; and
passing said ultrasound wave energy through a layer of silicon before it impinges on the human tissue.
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25. An ultrasound imaging system comprising:
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an array of transducer elements;
a beamformer including a multiplicity of pulsers for activating said transmitter elements to transmit ultrasound wave energy and further including a multiplicity of receive channels for receiving electrical receive signals from said transducer elements generated in response to ultrasound wave energy returning to said transducer elements;
a signal processor for processing said receive signals to form image data; and
a display subsystem for displaying an image which is a function of said image data, wherein each of said transducer elements comprises;
a layer of piezoelectric ceramic material having first and second surfaces;
an electrode electrically coupled to said first surface of said layer of piezoelectric material; and
an acoustic matching layer having first and second surfaces, said second surface of said first acoustic matching layer being acoustically coupled to said first surface of said layer of piezoelectric ceramic material, wherein said acoustic matching layer is comprised of silicon.
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Specification