Micromachined ultrasound transducer and method for fabricating same
First Claim
1. A micro-machined ultrasonic transducer array, comprising:
- a substrate having an upper surface and an opposing lower surface and a thickness there between;
a recess formed in the substrate that projects upwardly into the substrate from the lower surface to an intermediate position within the substrate, the recess being substantially filled with a solid material having a predetermined acoustic property; and
at least one micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) supported by the upper surface of the substrate and positioned over the recess.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is directed towards improved structures for use with micro-machined ultrasonic transducers (MUTs), and methods for fabricating the improved structures. In one embodiment, a MUT on a substrate includes an acoustic cavity formed within the substrate at a location below the MUT. The cavity is filled with an acoustic attenuation material to absorb acoustic waves in the substrate, and to reduce parasitic capacitance. In another embodiment, the cavity is formed below a plurality of MUTs, and filled with an attenuation material. In still another embodiment, an attenuation material substantially encapsulates a plurality of MUTs on a dielectric layer. In yet other embodiments, at least one monolithic semiconductor circuit is formed in the substrate that may be operatively coupled to the MUTs to perform signal processing and/or control operations.
-
Citations
48 Claims
-
1. A micro-machined ultrasonic transducer array, comprising:
-
a substrate having an upper surface and an opposing lower surface and a thickness there between;
a recess formed in the substrate that projects upwardly into the substrate from the lower surface to an intermediate position within the substrate, the recess being substantially filled with a solid material having a predetermined acoustic property; and
at least one micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) supported by the upper surface of the substrate and positioned over the recess. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A micro-machined ultrasonic transducer array, comprising:
-
at least one micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) formed on a substrate which has been substantially entirely removed; and
an acoustic attenuation material of predetermined acoustic properties that substantially encapsulates the at least one MUT. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
-
-
27. A method for fabricating a micro-machined ultrasonic transducer array, comprising:
-
forming at least one micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) on a surface of a substrate;
removing a portion of the substrate to form a recess that underlies the at least one MUT; and
disposing solid acoustic attenuation material into the recess. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
-
-
40. A method for fabricating a micro-machined ultrasonic array, comprising:
-
forming at least one micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) on a substrate material;
depositing an acoustic attenuation material on the substrate that substantially encapsulates the at least one MUT; and
removing at least a substantial portion of the substrate material from the acoustic attenuation material and MUT. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44)
-
-
45. A micro-machined ultrasonic transducer array, comprising:
at least one micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) formed on a surface of a planar supporting layer that permits acoustic waves to be transferred to and from the at least one MUT in a direction approximately perpendicular to the surface while suppressing the propagation of acoustic waves laterally in the supporting layer. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48)
Specification