An ultrasound-on-a-chip device has an ultrasonic transducer substrate with plurality of transducer cells, and an electrical substrate. For each transducer cell, one or more conductive bond connections are disposed between the ultrasonic transducer substrate and the electrical substrate. Examples of electrical substrates include CMOS chips, integrated circuits including analog circuits, interposers and printed circuit boards.

An ultrasound device includes a transducer array (404) formed on a first side of a substrate (402). A through via (406) passes through a thickness of the substrate between the first side and a second side, opposite the first side. A conductor (410) is electrically coupled to the through via on the second side to provide signals to and from the transducer array.

A Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT) device is provided. The PMUT includes a substrate and an edge support structure connected to the substrate. A membrane is connected to the edge support structure such that a cavity is defined between the membrane and the substrate, where the membrane configured to allow movement at ultrasonic frequencies. The membrane comprises a piezoelectric layer and first and second electrodes coupled to opposing sides of the piezoelectric layer. For operation in a Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (CMUT) mode, a third electrode is disposed on the substrate and separated by an air gap in the cavity from the second electrode. Also provided are an integrated MEMS array, a method for operating an array of PMUT/CMUT dual-mode devices, and a PMUT/CMUT dual-mode device.

An electronic device including an array of ultrasonic transducers, a temperature sensor for determining a temperature of the array of ultrasonic transducers, and a control module communicatively coupled to the array of ultrasonic devices and the temperature sensor. The control module is for receiving the temperature and for controlling operation of the array of ultrasonic transducers based at least in part on the temperature.

A system comprising a multi-modal ultrasound probe configured to operate in a plurality of operating modes associated with a respective plurality of configuration profiles; and a computing device coupled to the handheld multi-modal ultrasound probe and configured to, in response to receiving input indicating an operating mode selected by a user, cause the multi-modal ultrasound probe to operate in the selected operating mode.

A voice enabled device includes a transducer to capture multiple inaudible signals received from multiple ultrasonic speakers and audio recording electronics to process the multiple inaudible signals to generate digital output samples, which are recorded sound data comprising non-linearities from frequency-shifted versions of the multiple inaudible signals to within an audible frequency range. A processing device is to detect, within the recorded sound data, at least a portion of the non-linearities, e.g., via: comparison of the recorded sound data with expected patterns from an audible audio signal generated by human voice; and detection of non-linear variations within the recorded sound data as compared to the expected patterns. In response to the detection, the processing device is further to suppress an action programmed for response to a voice command corresponding to the recorded sound data.

A transducer in which electrical connections between electrode sheets and leading wires can be secured via an approach other than soldering or welding is provided. In a sheet body portion, a dielectric layer and a first electrode sheet are joined by a first main fusion layer formed of a fusion material. A first conductive portion of a first leading wire is fixed to the sheet body portion by a first clamp. The first clamp includes a plurality of first leg portions that penetrates the sheet body portion in a thickness direction, a first coupling portion that couples the proximal ends of the plurality of first leg portions and is disposed across the first conductive portion, and a plurality of first bent-back portions that is formed by bending the respective distal ends of the plurality of first leg portions and is locked with a second surface of the sheet body portion.

Aspects of this disclosure relate to a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) with a contoured electrode. In certain embodiments, the CMUT has a contoured electrode. The electrode may be non-planar to correspond to a deflected shape of the outer plate. A change in distance between the electrode and the plate after deflection may be greater than a minimum threshold across the width of the CMUT.

The invention provides a system (1) for determining an identification characteristic of a medical device (3) carrying at least an ultrasound emitter/sensor element (321). The identification characteristic is based on a detection signal from the ultrasound emitter/sensor element (321) upon a drive signal. The system (1) can identify the medical device from a database (211,511) of known medical devices. Furthermore, the system (1) can update the duration and frequency of use of the medical device (3) and it can prohibit further use of the medical device (3) when a predetermined limit of use is exceeded.

Micromachined ultrasonic transducers integrated with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) substrates are described, as well as methods of fabricating such devices. Fabrication may involve two separate wafer bonding steps. Wafer bonding may be used to fabricate sealed cavities in a substrate. Wafer bonding may also be used to bond the substrate to another substrate, such as a CMOS wafer. At least the second wafer bonding may be performed at a low temperature.