Articles of manufacture, including an apparatus for acoustic wave based agglomeration, are provided. The apparatus may include a well and an acoustic wave device. The well may be configured to hold a suspension that includes a plurality of particles. The acoustic wave device may be configured to generate a plurality of acoustic waves. The plurality of acoustic waves inducing acoustic streaming within the suspension. The acoustic streaming agitating the suspension to form an agglomerate comprising at least a portion of the plurality of particles. Methods for acoustic wave based agglomeration are also provided.

Articles of manufacture, including an apparatus for acoustic wave based agglomeration, are provided. The apparatus may include a well and an acoustic wave device. The well may be configured to hold a suspension that includes a plurality of particles. The acoustic wave device may be configured to generate a plurality of acoustic waves. The plurality of acoustic waves inducing acoustic streaming within the suspension. The acoustic streaming agitating the suspension to form an agglomerate comprising at least a portion of the plurality of particles. Methods for acoustic wave based agglomeration are also provided.

A waveform improvement method includes providing a piezoelectric material coupled to a matching material, generating a plurality of first grooves in a matching layer of at least one matching layer, packaging an isolation material into the plurality of first grooves, and providing two input voltages to the piezoelectric material for generating an ultrasonic signal by the piezoelectric material. The piezoelectric material includes at least one piezoelectric layer. The matching material includes at least one matching layer. The matching material is used to match acoustic impedance of the piezoelectric material. The plurality of first grooves in the matching layer are used to optimize the acoustic impedance and a vibration isolation effect.

Methods of treating tumors by administering compounds to a patient are provided. Compounds such as pro drugs, e.g., 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), may be administered to the patient orally, by injection, intravenously, or topically, which then accumulate preferentially as compounds such as protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) in tumor cells. After such accumulation, compounds such as PpIX are then activated in various aspects to treat tumors cells, thereby treating cancer. Cancers such as glioblastoma may be treated.

An array of piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducers (PMUTs) has a layer of piezoelectric material that requires poling during fabrication in order to properly align the piezoelectric dipoles to create a desired ultrasonic signal. The PMUT may have an interconnected set of lower electrodes that are fabricated between a processing layer of the PMUT and the piezoelectric layer. An upper electrode is fabricated overlaying the piezoelectric layer, and a poling voltage is applied between the upper electrode and the interconnected set of lower electrodes. After poling is complete, portions of the interconnected set of lower electrodes are removed to permanently isolate permanent lower electrodes from each other.

The present disclosure relates to an ultrasonic device for real-time and nondestructive assessment of extracellular matrix stiffness, and the method of making and using the novel ultrasonic device.

There are provided an ultrasonic transducer and methods for designing and manufacturing the same. The ultrasonic transducer includes a piezoelectric composite layer configured to be in acoustic communication with a sample and having at least partially decoupled acoustic impedance and electrical impedance properties. The piezoelectric composite layer includes an array of spaced-apart piezoelectric regions, each being made from a piezoelectric material, a filler material positioned between adjacent spaced-apart piezoelectric regions, the filler material comprising a polymer matrix and a non-piezoelectric material in contact with the polymer matrix. In some embodiments, the ultrasonic transducer includes an electrically insulating non-piezoelectric composite layer extending over the piezoelectric composite layer for electrically insulating the piezoelectric composite layer from the sample, the electrically insulating non-piezoelectric composite layer being acoustically matched to the piezoelectric composite layer and the sample.

A cooling system and method for using the cooling system are described. The cooling system includes a plurality of individual piezoelectric cooling elements spatially arranged in an array extending in at least two dimensions, a communications interface and driving circuitry. The communications interface is associated with the individual piezoelectric cooling elements such that selected individual piezoelectric cooling elements within the array can be activated based at least in part on heat energy generated in the vicinity of the selected individual piezoelectric cooling elements. The driving circuitry is associated with the individual piezoelectric cooling elements and is configured to drive the selected individual piezoelectric cooling elements.

A cooling system and method for using the cooling system are described. The cooling system includes a plurality of individual piezoelectric cooling elements spatially arranged in an array extending in at least two dimensions, a communications interface and driving circuitry. The communications interface is associated with the individual piezoelectric cooling elements such that selected individual piezoelectric cooling elements within the array can be activated based at least in part on heat energy generated in the vicinity of the selected individual piezoelectric cooling elements. The driving circuitry is associated with the individual piezoelectric cooling elements and is configured to drive the selected individual piezoelectric cooling elements.

According to one embodiment, a drive circuit includes a first circuit part. The first circuit part includes a first detecting part, a second detecting part, a first circuit, and a second circuit. The first detecting part is configured to detect a first piezoelectric element current flowing in a first piezoelectric element, and output a first detection signal corresponding to the first piezoelectric element current. The second detecting part is configured to detect a first capacitance element current flowing in a first capacitance element, and output a second detection signal corresponding to the first capacitance element current. The first circuit includes a first input terminal and a second input terminal. The first circuit is configured to apply a first drive signal to the first piezoelectric element and the first capacitance element. The second circuit is configured to supply a first differential signal to the second input terminal.