Microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices and associated methods are disclosed. Piezoelectric MEMS transducers (PMUTs) suitable for integration with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit (IC), as well as PMUT arrays having high fill factor for fingerprint sensing, are described.

A composition for an acoustic lens contains the following components (A) to (C): (A) a polysiloxane having a vinyl group; (B) a polysiloxane having two or more Si—H groups in a molecular chain thereof; and (C) zinc oxide surface-treated with at least one surface treatment agent of an aminosilane compound, a mercaptosilane compound, an isocyanatosilane compound, a thiocyanatosilane compound, an aluminum alkoxide compound, a zirconium alkoxide compound, or a titanium alkoxide compound, provided that the aminosilane compound does not have a Si—N—Si structure.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasonic wave amplifying unit which can improve ultrasonic power in air, wherein the ultrasonic wave amplifying unit includes multiple rings having a concentric axis and each having a first width, and a slit having a second width is formed between the rings and an air layer is formed between the multiple rings and an ultrasonic wave generator generating ultrasonic waves or a transfer medium transferring the ultrasonic waves.

A cervical probe, outfitted with a tactile sensor array and an ultrasound transducer, is designed for simultaneous collection of stress and ultrasound strain data from the same cervical sector. The gathered stress and strain data from multiple cervical sectors are sent to a data processor, which calculates cervical elasticity as a strain-to-stress ratio. Subsequently, an average stress-to-strain ratio is compared to a predetermined cutoff value to predict preterm birth at 24-28 gestational weeks.

An ultrasonic transducer positionable in a wellbore environment may include a piezoelectric material layer, a protective layer, and connecting plate positioned between the piezoelectric material layer and the protective layer. The piezoelectric material layer may be formed as a plurality of columns of piezoelectric material for detecting a characteristic of the wellbore environment during a drilling operation. The protective layer may be positionable between the piezoelectric material layer and an acoustic medium in the wellbore environment. The connecting plate may be positioned between the piezoelectric material layer and the protective layer. The connecting plate may have a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) in a range between the CTE of the piezoelectric material layer and that of the protective layer, and an acoustic impedance in a range between the acoustic impedance of the piezoelectric material layer and that of the protective layer.

Described are transducer assemblies and imaging devices comprising: a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) die including a plurality of piezoelectric elements; a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) die electrically coupled to the MEMS die by a first plurality of bumps and including at least one circuit for controlling the plurality of piezoelectric elements; and a package secured to the CMOS die by an adhesive layer and electrically connected to the CMOS die.

A backing panel for a transducer of an ultrasound scanner probe, comprising a core layer sandwiched by a first skin layer and a second skin layer. The transducer may comprise a front portion and a rear portion, where the front portion points to a direction of a target for the ultrasound scanner probe, and the first skin layer is adjacent to the rear portion of the transducer.

Provided is a stethoscope including: a support base that has an opening portion; a piezoelectric film that is supported by the support base in a state in which a surface exposed from the opening portion is convexly curved, and that detects a vibration caused by a sound which is generated from an object to be measured; and a protective layer that is disposed on a surface of the piezoelectric film on a side which comes into contact with the object to be measured, and that has an acoustic impedance between an acoustic impedance of the object to be measured and an acoustic impedance of the piezoelectric film.

An acoustic matching layer material contains an epoxy resin component, a metal particle, and a ceramic particle, in which the acoustic matching layer material has an acoustic velocity of less than 3500 m/sec, and has an acoustic impedance of 18 Mrayl or more.

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.