Curved micromachined ultrasonic transducer arrays and related methods of manufacture

• US 7,285,897 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2003
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Smith, Lowell Scott, Mills, David M., Lewandowski, Robert S., Fisher, Rayette A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Schuberg; Darren
• Assistant Examiner(s): ADDISON, KAREN B
• Application Number:
  US10/749,645
• Publication Number:
  US 20050146247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,392 Days
• Field of Search: 310/309, 310/330, 310334-335, 310/311, 310326-327, 310/329, 310/337, 310/328, 310/322, 310/325, 736/42, 600/459
• US Class Current: 310/334
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/0292 Electrostatic transducers, e.g. electret-type
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/2406 Electrostatic or capacitive probes, e.g. electret or cMUT-probes

Abstract

A curved sensor device, such as an ultrasonic transducer array, is fabricated from a flat micromachined sensor (such as cMUT or pMUT) array constructed using micromachined electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) techniques. The device comprises: a support structure comprising a spine having a profile that is generally curved and a multiplicity of teeth extending from one side of the curved spine; and a multiplicity of sensors built on the support structure. The spine can be bent forward or backward and attached to a curved front face of a support member, thereby causing the sensors to adopt a curved array.

Claims

1. A sensor device comprising:

a support structure comprising a spine having a profile that is generally curved and a multiplicity of teeth extending from one side of said curved spine; and

a multiplicity of micromachined sensors supported by said support structure in positions whereby a curved aperture is provided.

2. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein said sensors comprise MUT cells.

3. The device as recited in claim 2, wherein said MUT cells are built on said spine, and said support structure further comprises a support member to which the ends of said teeth are attached.

4. The device as recited in claim 3, wherein the portion of said spine on which said MUT cells are built is made of silicon, as is portions of said teeth contiguous with said spine.

5. The device as recited in claim 2, wherein said MUT cells are built and distributed on the ends of said teeth, and said support structure further comprises a support member to which said spine is attached.

6. The device as recited in claim 5, wherein the portions of said teeth on which said MUT cells are built are made of silicon.

7. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein said curved aperture is convex.

8. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein said curved aperture is concave.

9. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein said teeth have non-periodic spacing.

10. A sensor device comprising:

a continuous substrate comprising a front face and a multiplicity of spaced plateaus projecting rearward;

a multiplicity of micromachined sensors fabricated on or in said substrate at its front face;

a multiplicity of backing bodies, each backing body being attached to a rear face of a respective plateau;

a support member having a front face, respective rear faces of said backing bodies being attached to said front face of said support member,

wherein said sensors do not lie in the same plane.

11. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein said sensors comprise MUT cells.

12. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein said front face of said support member has a profile that is generally convex.

13. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein said front face of said support member has a profile that is generally concave.

14. The device as recited in claim 10, further comprising a multiplicity of circuits built on a level below said sensors.

15. The device as recited in claim 14, wherein said circuits comprise CMOS electronics.

16. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein said substrate is made of silicon.

17. The device as recited in claim 11, wherein said MUT cells are cMUT cells.

18. The device as recited in claim 11, wherein said MUT cells are pMUT cells.

19. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein said backing bodies have non-periodic spacing.

20. A sensor device comprising:

a support member having a front face;

a continuous layer of backing material comprising a rear face attached to said front face of said support member;

a multiplicity of backing bodies connected to and extending forward of said continuous layer of backing material;

a multiplicity of sections of a substrate, each substrate section comprising a rear face attached to a front face of a respective backing body, adjacent ones of said substrate sections being separated from each other by a respective acoustically isolating gap or filled space; and

a multiplicity of groups of sensors distributed over the front faces of said substrate sections, each group being built on a front face of a respective one of said substrate sections,

wherein said sensors do not lie in the same plane.

21. The device as recited in claim 20, wherein said sensors comprise MUT cells.

22. The device as recited in claim 20, wherein said front face of said support member has a profile that is generally convex.

23. The device as recited in claim 20, wherein said front face of said support member has a profile that is generally concave.

24. The device as recited in claim 20, further comprising a multiplicity of circuits distributed in said substrate sections on a level below said sensors.

25. The device as recited in claim 24, wherein said circuits comprise CMOS electronics.

26. The device as recited in claim 20, wherein said substrate sections are made of silicon.

27. The device as recited in claim 21, wherein said MUT cells are cMUT cells.

28. The device as recited in claim 21, wherein said MUT cells are pMUT cells.