An ultrasound system comprises a probe including an array of CMUT (capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducer) cells. Each cell comprises a substrate carrying a first electrode. The substrate is spatially separated from a flexible membrane including a second electrode. The flexible membrane comprises a mass element in a central region. The system also comprises a voltage supply adapted to, in a transmission mode provide, the respective electrodes with a bias voltage driving the CMUT cells into a collapsed state and a stimulus voltage having a set frequency for resonating the flexible membrane of the CMUT cells in said collapsed state The mass element of the CMUT cells forces the central region of the flexible membrane to remain in the collapsed state during said resonating. A pulse transmission method for such a system is also disclosed.

A circuit for driving ultrasound transducers uses a sample-and-hold circuit to sample multiple sample periods of a transducer driving waveform, and uses the samples to modify drive parameters. Use of multiple sample periods enables independent measurement and adjustment of different portions of the transducer driving waveform to ensure mirror symmetry.

An imaging catheter assembly is provided. The imaging catheter assembly includes an interposer including a multi-layered substrate structure, wherein the multi-layered substrate structure includes a first plurality of conductive contact pads coupled to a second plurality of conductive contact pads via a plurality of conductive lines; an imaging component coupled to the interposer via the first plurality of conductive contact pads; and an electrical cable coupled to the interposer via the second plurality of conductive contact pads and in communication with the imaging component.

A capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) and methods of forming the same are disclosed herein. In one implementation, the CMUT comprises a glass substrate having a cavity; a patterned metal bottom electrode situated within the cavity of the glass substrate; and a vibrating plate comprising at least a conducting layer, wherein the vibrating plate is anodically bonded to the glass substrate to form an air-tight seal between the vibrating plate and the substrate and wherein a pressure inside the cavity is less than atmospheric pressure (i.e., a vacuum). In another implementation, the CMUT comprises a glass substrate with Through-Glass-Via (TGV) interconnects, wherein a metal electrode is electrically connected to a TGV and wherein said metal electrode can be in the bottom of a cavity of the glass substrate or on the vibrating plate.

The use of power-efficient transmitters to establish acoustic wave energy having low undesirable harmonics is achieved by adjusting the transmitter output waveform to minimize the undesirable harmonics. In one embodiment, both the timing and slope of the waveform edges are adjusted to produce the desired output waveform having little or no second harmonics. In the embodiment, output waveform timing adjustments on the order of fractions of the system clock interval are provided. This then allows for very fine control of a coarsely produced waveform. In one embodiment, the user can select the fine tuning to match the transmitter output signal to a particular load transducer.

According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic probe includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers, a first substrate, and a plurality of electronic circuit modules. The plurality of ultrasonic transducers equally spaced and aligned at least in one direction. The first substrate to which the ultrasonic transducers are coupled. The plurality of electronic circuit modules provided at predetermined intervals one the first substrate and coupled to the first

A tactile stimulation interface comprising a surface explored by touch by means of a finger of a user, actuators applying forces on said surface, and control means of the actuators, said control means sending, to the actuators, signals corresponding to the forces to be applied to said surface, the forces being determined by a time reversal method, means for detecting the contact of the finger with the surface and for monitoring the movement of the finger on the surface. The control means are capable, in order to produce an acoustic lubrication effect in at least one given area of the surface, of generating a signal formed from a convolution of a pulsed response returned by a continuous function representative of the acoustic lubrication effect.

A multi-level pulser circuit comprises a set of first input pins for receiving respective positive voltage signals at different voltage levels, a set of second input pins for receiving respective negative voltage signals at different voltage levels, and a reference input pin configured to receive a reference voltage signal intermediate the positive voltage signals and the negative voltage signals. The circuit comprises an output pin configured to supply a pulsed output signal. The circuit further comprises control circuitry configured to selectively couple the output pin to one of the first input pins, the second input pins and the reference input pin to generate the pulsed output signal at the output pin. The control circuitry is further configured to selectively couple at least one of the second input pins and the reference input pin to the output pin during falling transitions of the pulsed output signal between two positive voltage levels, and selectively couple at least one of the first input pins and the reference input pin to the output pin during rising transitions of the pulsed output signal between two negative voltage levels.

An ultrasonic element includes an element substrate including a first surface, a second surface having a front-back relation with the first surface, an opening section piercing through the element substrate from the first surface to the second surface, and a partition wall section surrounding the opening section, a supporting film provided on the first surface of the element substrate to cover the opening section and including a third surface facing the opening section and a fourth surface having a front-back relation with the third surface, a piezoelectric element provided on the fourth surface of the supporting film and disposed in a region overlapping the opening section of the supporting film in a plan view from a film thickness direction extending from the third surface to the fourth surface, a sealing plate provided to be opposed to the fourth surface of the supporting film and joined to the supporting film by an adhesive member via a beam section projecting toward the supporting film, and a wall section provided on the fourth surface of the supporting film and provided to project toward the sealing plate between the beam section and the piezoelectric element.

An ultrasonic sensor includes an opening portion, vibrating plate covering the opening portion, piezoelectric element overlapping with the opening portion, and a coupling electrode coupled to the piezoelectric element, extended from a position overlapping the opening portion to a position not overlapping the opening portion, and having a line width smaller than a width of the piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric has a first and second line portion, and a corner portion coupling the first and second line portions, when an intersection point connects a center of gravity of the piezoelectric and the corner portion with a virtual circle inscribed in the outline of the piezoelectric is a first intersection point of a tangent line. The first intersection point with the first and second line portions are a second and third intersection points, the coupling electrode coupled to a corner portion from the second intersection point to the third intersection point.