Variable operating voltage in micromachined ultrasonic transducer
First Claim
1. A capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT) system, the system comprising:
- a bias signal port;
an input signal port;
at least a first cMUT element connected to the bias signal port and the input signal port;
a bias signal source connected with the bias signal port to apply a bias signal to the first cMUT element; and
an input signal source connected with the input signal port, the input signal source being operative to apply an input signal to the first cMUT element, the input signal including a first input signal component and a second input signal component, the first input signal component having primarily acoustic frequencies within a frequency response band of the first cMUT element, and the second input signal component having primarily frequencies substantially out of the frequency response band of the first cMUT element, and wherein the second input signal component and the bias signal together define an operation voltage applied on the first cMUT element, the operation voltage being different in a first operation mode than in a second operation mode.
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Abstract
A cMUT and a cMUT operation method use an input signal that has two components with different frequency characteristics. The first component has primarily acoustic frequencies within a frequency response band of the cMUT, while the second component has primarily frequencies out of the frequency response band. The bias signal and the second component of the input signal together apply an operation voltage on the cMUT. The operation voltage is variable between operation modes, such as transmission and reception modes. The cMUT allows variable operation voltage by requiring only one AC component. This allows the bias signal to be commonly shared by multiple cMUT elements, and simplifies fabrication. The implementations of the cMUT and the operation method are particularly suitable for ultrasonic harmonic imaging in which the reception mode receives higher harmonic frequencies.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT) system, the system comprising:
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a bias signal port; an input signal port; at least a first cMUT element connected to the bias signal port and the input signal port; a bias signal source connected with the bias signal port to apply a bias signal to the first cMUT element; and an input signal source connected with the input signal port, the input signal source being operative to apply an input signal to the first cMUT element, the input signal including a first input signal component and a second input signal component, the first input signal component having primarily acoustic frequencies within a frequency response band of the first cMUT element, and the second input signal component having primarily frequencies substantially out of the frequency response band of the first cMUT element, and wherein the second input signal component and the bias signal together define an operation voltage applied on the first cMUT element, the operation voltage being different in a first operation mode than in a second operation mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for operating a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT), the method comprising:
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providing a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT) including a bias signal port, an input signal port, at least a cMUT element connected to the bias signal port and the input signal port, a bias signal source connected with the bias signal port to apply a bias signal to the cMUT element, and an input signal source connected with the input signal port, the input signal source being operative to apply an input signal to the first cMUT element; and configuring the cMUT so that the input signal includes a first input signal component and a second input signal component, the first input signal component having primarily acoustic frequencies within a frequency response band of the cMUT element, and the second input signal component having primarily frequencies substantially out of the frequency response band of the cMUT element, and that the second input signal component and the bias signal together define an operation voltage applied on the cMUT element, the operation voltage being different in a first operation mode than in a second operation mode. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for operating a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT), the method comprising:
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providing a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT) including a bias signal port, an input signal port, at least a cMUT element connected to the bias signal port and the input signal port, a bias signal source connected with the bias signal port to apply a bias signal to the cMUT element, and an input signal source connected with the input signal port, the input signal source being operative to apply an input signal to the cMUT element; and configuring the cMUT so that an operation voltage is applied on the cMUT element in operation, the operation voltage being at least partially contributed by the bias voltage and/or the input signal, and the operation voltage being around zero in a transmission mode and nonzero in a reception mode. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A method for operating a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT), the method comprising:
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providing a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT) including a bias signal port, an input signal port, at least a cMUT element connected to the bias signal port and the input signal port, a bias signal source connected with the bias signal port to apply a bias signal to the cMUT element, and an input signal source connected with the input signal port, the input signal source being operative to apply an input signal to the cMUT element, so that an operation voltage at least partially contributed by the bias voltage and/or the input signal is applied on the cMUT element in operation; and adapting the cMUT for switchably operating in a first type imaging and a second type imaging, so that the operation voltage is different in transmission than in reception in the first type imaging but is the same in transmission and in reception in the second type imaging. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification