The present disclosure relates to circuitry for driving a piezoelectric transducer. The circuitry may be implemented as an integrated circuit and comprises driver circuitry configured to supply a drive signal to cause the transducer to generate an output signal and active inductor circuitry configured to be coupled with the piezoelectric transducer. The active inductor circuitry may be tuneable to adjust a frequency characteristic of the output signal.

An ultrasound array system has an array of transducer elements made from bias-sensitive material, each transducer element comprising at least a first sub-element and a second sub-element. A series of column electrodes is patterned in columns on a first surface of the array of transducer elements. A series of row electrodes is patterned in rows on a second surface of the array. The rows are at an angle relative to the columns, wherein, for each transducer element, the first sub-element and the second sub-element are connected to different row electrodes. A controller is connected to selectively apply voltage signals to the series of column electrodes and the series of row electrodes. The controller is programmed to apply a first voltage signal to the first sub-element and a second voltage signal to the second sub-element that is distinct from the first voltage signal.

Methods and systems are provided for an ultrasound probe including a piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer including a first top electrode, a second top electrode, and a bottom electrode. The ultrasound probe further includes a transmitter/receiver configured to apply a single drive signal to the bottom electrode and a bias circuit configured to apply a first voltage bias to the first top electrode and to apply a second voltage bias to the second top electrode.

An ultrasonic transducer is described that includes a stack of at least two membranes attached to a substrate. An electric circuit is coupled to the electrodes with a controller configured to apply a first electric signal to a first electrode on the first membrane, and a different, second electric signal to a second electrode on the second membrane. The first and second electric signals are configured to apply a varying voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode during a respective vibration cycle of the membranes. The first electrode on the first membrane is configured to interact with the second electrode on the second membrane by a varying electrostatic force during the respective vibration cycle depending on the varying voltage.

An acoustic-wave generating device includes a drive circuit and a power auxiliary circuit. The drive circuit includes a capacitor chargeable via a direct-current power supply, and a drive switch to cause power to be supplied from the capacitor to an acoustic-wave source which produces heat through energization to generate acoustic waves. The power auxiliary circuit is operable to supplies power to the drive circuit to avoid a decrease of power supplied to the acoustic-wave source in an operation of generating a series of acoustic waves from the acoustic-wave source through switching of the drive switch.

A capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer, CMUT, device in which integrated probe circuitry includes both the ultrasound transmission and reception circuitry and a DC-DC converter for generating a bias voltage for the CMUT cell. The high voltage pulses of a pulser circuit and a high voltage DC bias voltage are both generated by a single probe circuit, which is local to the CMUT cell.

An ultrasonic imaging system has a bias-switchable, ultrasonic transducer array and a bipolar voltage source. The array has a dielectric layer having a top surface and a bottom surface; top and bottom electrode strips in electrical contact with the top and bottom surface of the dielectric layer, the bottom electrode strips being oriented at a non-zero angle relative to the top electrode strips. There is an acoustic matching layer or multiplicity of matching layers on the front-side of the array and a leakage-current mitigation layer. The bipolar voltage source is connected to each of the top and bottom electrode strips to induce a polarization in the dielectric layer, the bipolar voltage source being capable of switching between a high voltage state and a low voltage state. A controller controls the bipolar voltage source, and pulsing to and receiving signals from the top and bottom electrode strips.

Various methods and systems are provided for increasing a fractional bandwidth of an ultrasound device, for use in both low and high frequency applications. In one example, where a transducer array includes one or more transducer elements comprising a plurality of capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers (cMUT), the fractional bandwidth may be advantageously increased by applying different bias voltages to different groupings of cMUTs within each transducer element. A ratio between the different bias voltages may be optimized to maximize the fractional bandwidth. In another example, the different bias voltages may be configured to operate a first grouping of cMUTs in a transmit mode, and a second grouping of cMUTs in a receive mode.

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes multiple transducer pixels. Each of the transducer pixels includes a sonic transducer, a demultiplexer electrically connected to the sonic transducer, a driving line electrically connected to the sonic transducer, a switching line electrically connected to the demultiplexer, and a reading line electrically connected to the demultiplexer. The driving line is used to provide a driving signal to the sonic transducer to emit sonic waves. The switching line is used to turn on the demultiplexer to output the sensing signal received by the sonic transducer to the reading line.

Methods, systems, and techniques for the contactless operation of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) and CMUT arrays. Contactless operations refers to both the contactless transfer of energy and information between the transducer(s) and the controlling subsystem. A system includes a CMUT, a first alternating current voltage source, a first inductor electrically coupled to the first voltage source, and a second inductor electrically coupled to the CMUT. The second inductor is physically decoupled from, and positioned to be wirelessly coupled to, the first inductor. A contactless configuration is useful for a wide range of applications, from wearable transducers to high-end ultrasound imaging systems.