Disclosed is an ultrasonic transducer assembly comprising an ultrasonic transducer chip (100) having a main surface comprising a plurality of ultrasound transducer elements (112) and a plurality of first contacts (120) for connecting to said ultrasound transducer elements; a contact chip (400) having a further main surface comprising a plurality of second contacts (420); an backing member (300) comprising ultrasound absorbing and/or scattering bodies (310), said backing member comprising a first surface (302) on which the transducer chip is mounted and a second surface (306) on which the contact chip is mounted; and a flexible interconnect (200) extending over said backing member from the main surface to the further main surface, the flexible interconnect comprising a plurality of conductive tracks (210), each conductive track connecting one of said first contacts to a second contact. An ultrasound probe including such an assembly, an ultrasonic imaging system including such an ultrasound probes and manufacturing methods of such an assembly and probe are also disclosed.

A piezoelectric element, in which a piezoelectric material layer has a plurality of crystal particles and a plurality of void portions and, in at least one of two or more of the piezoelectric material layers, when the average thickness in the lamination direction of the piezoelectric material layer is defined as T.sub.P, the average circle-equivalent diameter of the plurality of crystal particles is defined as D.sub.G, the maximum length in the lamination direction of the plurality of void portions not contacting the electrode layers is defined as L.sub.V, and the average thickness of the electrode layers contacting the at least one piezoelectric material layer is defined as T.sub.E, 0.07T.sub.PD.sub.G0.33T.sub.P and T.sub.EL.sub.V0.3T.sub.P are established and the lead content is less than 1000 ppm.

A piezoelectric device and method of manufacturing the same and an inkjet head are described. In one embodiment, the inkjet print head comprises a plurality of jets, wherein each of the plurality of jets comprises a nozzle, a pressure chamber connected with the nozzle, a piezoelectric body coupled to the pressure chamber, and an electrode coupled to the piezoelectric body to cause displacement of the piezoelectric body to apply pressure to the pressure chamber in response to a voltage applied to the electrode; and wherein electrodes of two or more of the plurality of jets have different sizes to cause their associated piezoelectric bodies to have a uniform displacement amount when the voltage is applied to the electrodes.

A PZT microactuator such as for a hard disk drive has a restraining layer bonded on its side that is opposite the side on which the PZT is mounted. The restraining layer comprises a stiff and resilient material such as stainless steel. The restraining layer can cover most or all of the top of the PZT, with an electrical connection being made to the PZT where it is not covered by the restraining layer. The restraining layer reduces bending of the PZT as mounted and hence increases effective stroke length, or reverses the sign of the bending which increases the effective stroke length of the PZT even further. The restraining layer can be one or more active layers of PZT material that act in the opposite direction as the main PZT layer. The restraining layer(s) may be thinner than the main PZT layer.

The disclosed technology features methods for the manufacture of electrical components such as ultrasound transducers. In particular, the disclosed technology provides methods of creating an ultrasonic transducer by connecting one or more multi-layer printed circuits to an array of ultrasound transducer elements. In one embodiment, the printed circuits have traces in a single layer that are spaced by a distance that is greater than a pitch of the transducer elements to which the multi-layer printed circuit is to be connected. However the traces from all the layers in the multi-layer printed circuit are interleaved to have a pitch that is equal to the pitch of the transducer elements. The disclosed technology also features ultrasound transducers produced by the methods described herein.

A wafer scale ultrasonic sensor assembly includes a wafer substrate, an ultrasonic element, first and second protective layers, conductive wires, a transmitting material, an ASIC, a conductive bump, and a soldering portion. The wafer substrate includes a via. The ultrasonic element is exposed to the via. The conductive wires are on the first protective layer and connected to the ultrasonic element. The second protective layer covers the conductive wires, and the second protective layer has an opening corresponding to the ultrasonic element. The transmitting material contacts the ultrasonic element. The ASIC is connected to the wafer substrate, so that the via forms a space between the ASIC and the ultrasonic element. The conductive pillar is in a via defined through the ASIC, the wafer substrate, and the first protective layer, and the conducive pillar is respectively connected to the conductive wires and the soldering portion.

A piezoelectric device includes a body provided with a first region and a second region lined along a first direction. The first region deformably extends/contracts along the first direction. The second region deformably curves in such a manner that one or the other side in a second direction intersecting the first direction curves outward.

An ultrasound transducer used in an ultrasound system and a manufacturing method thereof includes: a backing block; a piezoelectric layer placed on the backing block; a matching layer placed on the piezoelectric layer; and a ground layer placed between the piezoelectric layer and the matching layer. The backing layer includes a connector that connects a transmitting unit and a receiving unit of an ultrasound system, and a wiring area that connects the piezoelectric layer and the connector. The wiring area is formed by etching and filling with metal material.

An ultrasonic element array includes a first piezoelectric element, a second piezoelectric element, a third piezoelectric element, and a fourth piezoelectric element each having a piezoelectric material sandwiched by a first electrode and a second electrode, a first wire connecting the second electrode of the first piezoelectric element and the second electrode of the second piezoelectric element, a second wire connecting the second electrode of the third piezoelectric element and the second electrode of the fourth piezoelectric element, a third wire connecting to the second wire over the first wire, and an insulating film located between the first wire and the third wire, wherein the insulating film has an inorganic insulating film made of an inorganic material and an organic insulating film made of an organic material, and the inorganic insulating film covers the piezoelectric elements.

A manufacturing method for an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is provided. The method may include: preparing a sintered ceramic element under incomplete sintering conditions; forming a processed ceramic element by cutting a first surface of the sintered ceramic element along a first direction in pre-designated intervals up to such a depth that leaves a remainder region at a second surface and cutting the second surface of the sintered ceramic element along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction in pre-designated intervals up to such a depth that leaves a remainder region at the first surface; sintering the processed ceramic element under complete sintering conditions; filling an insulation material into troughs formed in the processed ceramic element by the cutting processes; and polishing the first surface and second surface to remove the remainder regions such that piezoelectric rods are exposed while arranged in an array form.