Thick Film Transducer Arrays

• US 20140082907A1
• Filed: 04/15/2013
• Published: 03/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guided Therapy Systems Llc
• Original Assignee: Ardent Sound, Inc.
• Inventors: Barthe, Peter G
• Granted Patent: US 9,263,663 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 29/25.35
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/0622 on one surface
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/01 Manufacture or treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/06 Forming electrodes or interconnections, e.g. leads or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/42 Piezoelectric device making

Abstract

Various embodiments provide processes of fabrication to form acoustically and electrically isolated elements of a transducer array. For example, a cutting means such as use of a dicing saw, a laser, or etching, can be used on a cylindrically-focused transducer to form acoustically and electrically isolated elements of the transducer array.

Claims

1. A method of fabricating a transducer array, the method comprising:

creating a lens shaped depression having dimensions of radius of curvature, elevation, and length into a face of a block of backing material;

printing an electrode onto the depression and over an edge along the length of the depression;

printing a thick layer of PZT material into the depression and on the electrode;

printing a ground electrode into the depression and on the thick layer of PZT and over a distal edge along the length of the depression, wherein an electrode length over the edge is less than a ground length over the distal edge;

placing a plurality of equally spaced cuts into the depression and perpendicular to the length, wherein the plurality of equally spaced cuts electrically and mechanically isolate each element of the transducer array.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising creating isolated elements between the cuts.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in each of the plurality of equally spaced cuts is deeper than the electrode length and is shorter than the ground length.

4. The method according to claim 1, combining the transducer array with another transducer.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the another transducer is a second transducer array.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the another transducer is a single element transducer.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising creating a slot in the center of the single element transducer, and fixing the transducer array in the slot.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transducer array has a broad bandwidth.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising integrating a lens to the transducer array.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising coupling the transducer array to imaging electronics and displaying an image from the transducer array.