Ultrasonic transducer array and manufacturing method thereof
First Claim
1. An ultrasonic transducer array for testing a body, comprising:
- a plurality of transducer elements aligned along an array axis; and
a backing support that supports the plurality of transducer elements;
wherein each of the plurality of transducer elements in the array includesa piezoelectric layer having a front surface overlaid by a front electrode and a rear surface overlaid by a rear electrode, the front surface being concave along an axis perpendicular to the array axis, anda first acoustic matching layer having a front surface that is concave along an axis perpendicular to the array axis, a rear surface, and a uniform thickness, the rear surface of the acoustic matching layer being mounted to the concave front surface of the piezoelectric layer;
wherein each of the plurality of transducer elements in the array has its piezoelectric layer and at least a portion of its first acoustic matching layer spaced from the adjacent transducer elements in the array; and
wherein the concave shapes of the front surfaces of the piezoelectric and acoustic matching layers of each transducer element are selected to mechanically focus the transducer element in a plane perpendicular to the array axis.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasonic transducer array, and a method for manufacturing it, having a plurality of transducer elements aligned along an array axis in an imaging plane. Each transducer element includes a piezoelectric layer and one or more acoustic matching layers. The piezoelectric layer has a concave front surface overlayed by a front electrode and a rear surface overlayed by a rear electrode. The shape of each transducer element is selected such that it is mechanically focused into the imaging plane. A backing support holds the plurality of transducer elements in a predetermined relationship along the array axis such that each element is mechanically focused in the imaging plane.
193 Citations
38 Claims
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1. An ultrasonic transducer array for testing a body, comprising:
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a plurality of transducer elements aligned along an array axis; and a backing support that supports the plurality of transducer elements; wherein each of the plurality of transducer elements in the array includes a piezoelectric layer having a front surface overlaid by a front electrode and a rear surface overlaid by a rear electrode, the front surface being concave along an axis perpendicular to the array axis, and a first acoustic matching layer having a front surface that is concave along an axis perpendicular to the array axis, a rear surface, and a uniform thickness, the rear surface of the acoustic matching layer being mounted to the concave front surface of the piezoelectric layer; wherein each of the plurality of transducer elements in the array has its piezoelectric layer and at least a portion of its first acoustic matching layer spaced from the adjacent transducer elements in the array; and wherein the concave shapes of the front surfaces of the piezoelectric and acoustic matching layers of each transducer element are selected to mechanically focus the transducer element in a plane perpendicular to the array axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification