Each conductor of a plurality of insulated conductors of a wiring harness extends between, and electrically connects, a corresponding terminal of a first electrical connector to either a corresponding terminal of an electrical connector jack of a plurality of electrical jacks located along the wiring harness, or to a corresponding terminal of a corresponding auscultatory sound-or-vibration sensor of the plurality of auscultatory sound-or-vibration sensors. The plurality of insulated conductors are organized in a plurality of distinct branches, each distinct branch originating either from the first electrical connector or from another portion of the wiring harness, and the locations of the plurality of distinct branches, in cooperation with the plurality of electrical jacks, if present, are implicitly suggestive of a corresponding location of the corresponding auscultatory sound-or-vibration sensor on a thorax of a test subject.

A piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducer (PMUT) array may comprise PMUT devices with respective piezoelectric layers and electrode layers. Parasitic capacitance can be reduced when an electrode layer is not shared across PMUT devices but may expose the devices to electromagnetic interference (EMI). A conductive layer located within the structural layer or on a shared plane with the electrode layers may reduce EMI affecting the PMUT array operation.

An active acoustic system includes a thin-film sheet having an array of piezoelectric microstructures embossed in the film. Each piezoelectric microstructure may act as a speaker and/or a microphone. A control circuit is configured to individually address the piezoelectric microstructures to provide a separate voltage signal to, or receive a separate voltage signal from, each piezoelectric microstructure.

A piezoelectric thin film includes a first piezoelectric layer and a second piezoelectric layer directly stacked on the first piezoelectric layer. The first piezoelectric layer contains a tetragonal crystal 1 of a perovskite-type oxide. The second piezoelectric layer contains a tetragonal crystal 2 of a perovskite-type oxide. A (001) plane of the tetragonal crystal 1 is oriented in a normal direction do of a surface of the piezoelectric thin film. A (001) plane of the tetragonal crystal 2 is oriented in the normal direction dn of the surface of the piezoelectric thin film. An interval of the (001) plane of the tetragonal crystal 1 is c1, an interval of a (100) plane of the tetragonal crystal 1 is a1, an interval of the (001) plane of the tetragonal crystal 2 is c2, an interval of a (100) plane of the tetragonal crystal 2 is a2, c2/a2 is more than c1/a1 and c1/a1 is from 1.015 to 1.050.

A method of forming an ultrasonic transducer device includes forming and patterning a film stack over a substrate, the film stack comprising a metal electrode layer and a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) stop layer formed over the metal electrode layer; forming an insulation layer over the patterned film stack; planarizing the insulation layer to the CMP stop layer; measuring a remaining thickness of the CMP stop layer; and forming a membrane support layer over the patterned film stack, wherein the membrane support layer is formed at thickness dependent upon the measured remaining thickness of the CMP stop layer, such that a combined thickness of the CMP stop layer and the membrane support layer corresponds to a desired transducer cavity depth.

A vibration structure that includes a film constructed to deform in a plane direction as voltage is applied thereto, a frame-shaped member, a vibration portion surrounded by the frame-shaped member in a plan view of the vibration structure, a support portion connecting the vibration portion and the frame-shaped member and supporting the vibration portion within the frame-shaped member, a first connection member that connects the film and the frame-shaped member, and a second connection member that connects the film to the vibration portion such that the vibration portion vibrates in the plane direction when the film is deformed in the plane direction. The support portion is disposed at a position closer to a center of gravity of the vibration portion than an end portion of the vibration portion when viewed in the plan view.

A medical instrument includes a printed ultrasound sensor, a surface, at least one non-conductive material, and at least one pair of contacts. The ultrasound sensor includes an array of ultrasound transducers printed on a non-conductive surface of the medical instrument. The medical instrument contains multiple conductive and nonconductive layers. The at least one pair of contacts are electrically coupled to the ultrasound sensor and operably coupled to the conductive layer, the conductive layer coupled to a measurement device, which converts electrical signals from the ultrasound sensor into images displayed on a display unit. The location of the medical instrument can be visualized in real time on the display unit.

A metallic diaphragm disk incorporating a piezoelectric material bonded thereto and operatively coupled to a base rim of a housing provides for closing an open-ended cavity at the first end of the housing. At least one inertial mass is either incorporated in or attached to the housing. A plastic film adhesively bonded to at least one of an outer rim of the housing or an outer-facing surface of the disk provides for receiving an adhesive acoustic interface material to provide for coupling the housing to the skin of a test subject.

Some disclosed implementations include an ultrasonic sensor stack and an acoustic resonator. The acoustic resonator may be configured to enhance ultrasonic waves transmitted by the ultrasonic sensor stack in an ultrasonic frequency range that is suitable for ultrasonic fingerprint sensors. In some examples, the acoustic resonator may include one or more low-impedance layers residing between a first higher-impedance layer and a second higher-impedance layer. Each of the one or more low-impedance layers may have a lower acoustic impedance than an acoustic impedance of the first higher-impedance layer or an acoustic impedance of the second higher-impedance layer. At least one low-impedance layer may have a thickness corresponding to a multiple of a half wavelength at a peak frequency of the acoustic resonator. The peak frequency may be within a frequency range from 1 MHz. to 20 MHz.

An interface structure for a biological environment including at least one composite electrical impulse generating layer comprising a matrix phase of a piezo polymer material, a first dispersed phase of piezo nanocrystals, and second dispersed phase of carbon nanotubes, the first and second dispersed phase presented through the matrix phase. The piezo polymer material and piezo nanocrystal convert mechanical motion into electrical impulses and accept electrons to charge the composite impulse generating layer. The carbon nanotubes provide pathways for distribution of the electrical impulses to a surface of the composite impulse generating layer contacting the biological environment. The carbon nanotubes further provide for the delivery of the byproducts of the free radical degradation from the biological environment to both piezo-nanocrystals and piezo-polymer.