An ultrasonic transducer device comprises a piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT), a transmitter with first and second differential outputs, and a controller. The PMUT includes a membrane layer. A bottom electrode layer, comprising a first bottom electrode and a second bottom electrode, is disposed above the membrane layer. The piezoelectric layer is disposed above the bottom electrode layer. The top electrode layer is disposed above the piezoelectric layer and comprises a segmented center electrode disposed above a center of the membrane layer and a segmented outer electrode spaced apart from the segmented center electrode. The controller, responsive to the PMUT being placed in a transmit mode, is configured to couple the first and second segments of the bottom electrode layer with ground, couple the first output of the transmitter with the segments of the segmented center electrode, and couple the second output with the segments of the segmented outer electrode.

Ultrasound devices and systems are disclosed in which cooling of an active acoustic element of an ultrasound transducer is achieved via an electrically conductive member that extends beyond a proximal side of the active acoustic element to contact a heat exchanger. The electrically conductive member delivers electrical driving signals to the active acoustic element while conducting heat to the heat exchanger. A region of the proximal surface of the active acoustic element that is free from contact with the electrically conductive member may also absent from contact with a liquid or a solid, thereby facilitating reflection of ultrasound energy. The heat exchanger may include an electrically insulating fluid that contacts the electrically conductive member to remove the heat conducted through the electrically conductive member. The active acoustic element may be a multilayer lateral mode element, and the electrically conductive member may form an electrode of the lateral mode element.

A membrane hydrophone for analyzing high frequency ultrasound transducers has a piezoelectric membrane with electrode patterns created on the surface of the membrane. In one embodiment, the electrode patterns are doubled on each side of the membrane except for an active area of the hydrophone. In one embodiment, the electrodes are formed by removing a conductive coating on the membrane with laser pulses. The laser is set to remove the conductive coating from the piezoelectric membrane from the same side of the membrane in order to accurately align the electrodes in the active area. In one embodiment, the active area of the hydrophone has an area in a range of 900-10,000 square microns.

An ultrasonic inspection probe assembly includes a flexible ultrasonic transducer array located between a backing block and a face layer. The flexible ultrasonic transducer array can be located in the opening of a flexible ultrasonic transducer array frame.

A device for contactless, damage-free, high-precision cell and/or particle extraction and transfer through acoustic droplet ejection includes a substrate having a first surface and a second surface and a focused ultrasonic transducer positioned to focus an acoustic wave onto the substrate such that a droplet that includes at least one cell or particle is ejected from the bulk or from the first surface per each actuation of the focused ultrasonic transducer through droplet ejection. The substrate includes cells or particles inside the substrate or on top of the substrate. The focused ultrasonic transducer includes a piezoelectric substrate having a top face and a bottom face, a Fresnel acoustic lens including a plurality of annular rings of air cavities disposed on the top face, and a first patterned circular electrode disposed over the top face and a second patterned circular electrode disposed over the bottom face. The first patterned circular electrode overlaps the second patterned circular electrode.

A piezoelectric thin-film suspended above a carrier substrate. An input interdigital transducer (IDT) having first interdigitated electrodes is disposed at different locations along the horizontal axis and on the first side of the piezoelectric thin-film. Each opposing pair of the first interdigitated electrodes is to selectively transduce a particular frequency range of an input electrical signal that varies in frequency over time into an acoustic wave of a laterally vibrating mode based on a pitch between electrodes of the opposing pair. An output IDT that includes second interdigitated electrodes is disposed at different locations along the horizontal axis and on the second side of the piezoelectric thin-film. Each opposing pair of the second interdigitated electrodes is to convert the acoustic wave transduced by the respective opposing pair of the first interdigitated electrodes into a compressed pulse.

An ultrasonic inspection probe assembly includes a flexible ultrasonic transducer array located between a backing block and a face layer. The flexible ultrasonic transducer array can be located in the opening of a flexible ultrasonic transducer array frame.

Ultrasound devices and systems are disclosed in which cooling of an active acoustic element of an ultrasound transducer is achieved via an electrically conductive member that extends beyond a proximal side of the active acoustic element to contact a heat exchanger. The electrically conductive member delivers electrical driving signals to the active acoustic element while conducting heat to the heat exchanger. A region of the proximal surface of the active acoustic element that is free from contact with the electrically conductive member may also absent from contact with a liquid or a solid, thereby facilitating reflection of ultrasound energy. The heat exchanger may include an electrically insulating fluid that contacts the electrically conductive member to remove the heat conducted through the electrically conductive member. The active acoustic element may be a multilayer lateral mode element, and the electrically conductive member may form an electrode of the lateral mode element.

A display apparatus includes a first substrate; a pixel array layer disposed on the first substrate and defining a display area and a non-display area, and the pixel array layer including a pixel signal line; a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate; a display medium disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate; and an ultrasonic element (UE) layer, disposed on the second substrate and including an ultrasonic signal line. Within at least parts of the display area corresponding to the ultrasonic element layer, a projection area on the first substrate by projecting the ultrasonic signal line along the normal direction of the first substrate at least partially overlaps with another projection area on the first substrate by projecting the pixel signal line along the normal direction of the first substrate.

Provided is an ultrasonic actuator on which tuning that has little effect on vibration characteristics of a vibrator is performed. The ultrasonic actuator includes an ultrasonic vibrator (12), a housing (16) that rotates with vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator, and pantograph preload mechanisms (150, 151) that hold the ultrasonic vibrator at a node of vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator and generate pressure with which the ultrasonic vibrator is pressed against the housing.