MEMS ultrasonic transducer, MUT, device, comprising a semiconductor body with a first and a second main surface and including: a first chamber extending into the semiconductor body at a distance from the first main surface; a membrane formed by the semiconductor body between the first main surface and the first chamber; a piezoelectric element on the membrane; a second chamber extending into the semiconductor body between the first chamber and the second main surface; a central fluidic passage extending into the semiconductor body from the second main surface to the first chamber and traversing the second chamber; and one or more lateral fluidic passages extending into the semiconductor body from the second main surface to the second chamber. The one or more lateral fluidic passages, the central fluidic passage and the second chamber define a fluidic recirculation path that fluidically connects the first chamber with the outside of the semiconductor body.

An ultrasonic transducer includes a piezoceramic element with a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other through the piezoceramic element and a lateral surface connecting the first surface and the second surface, an acoustic matching layer with a third surface and a fourth surface opposite to each other through the acoustic matching layer and the third surface connecting with the second surface of the piezoceramic element, a first damping element with a fifth surface and a sixth surface opposite to each other through the first damping element and the sixth surface connecting with the first surface of the piezoceramic element, and a second damping element encapsulating the first damping element and the lateral surface of the piezoceramic element.

An acoustic device includes a micro-machined acoustic transducer element, an acoustically attenuating region, and an acoustic matching region arranged between the acoustic transducer element and the acoustically attenuating region. The acoustic transducer element is formed in a first substrate housing a cavity delimiting a membrane. A second substrate of semiconductor material integrating an electronic circuit is arranged between the acoustic transducer element and the acoustically attenuating region. The acoustic matching region has a first interface with the second substrate and a second interface with the acoustically attenuating region. The acoustic matching region has an impedance matched to the impedance of the second substrate in proximity of the first interface, and an impedance matched to the acoustically attenuating region in proximity of the second interface.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, systems and methods for improving performance of ultrasonic transducers, particularly those used in borehole environments, are provided. The disclosed ultrasonic transducers all feature a backing element that is a ceramic backing material. The ceramic backing material may include a solid piece of ceramic material that is disposed on a back end of a piezoelectric element used in the ultrasonic transducer. The disclosed ceramic backing material may be used to mechanically match the backing element to the piezoelectric source element, while minimizing the amplitude of reflections of the ultrasonic pulse generated by the piezoelectric element and reflected at the far end of the backing element. This ceramic backing material may provide consistent performance regardless of the surrounding pressure and temperature, making it particularly useful in borehole applications.

Acoustophoretic devices for separating particles from a non-flowing host fluid are disclosed. The devices include a substantially acoustically transparent container and a separation unit, with the container being placed within the separation unit. An ultrasonic transducer in the separation unit creates a planar or multi-dimensional acoustic standing wave within the container, trapping particles disposed within the non-flowing fluid and causing them to coalesce or agglomerate, then separate due to buoyancy or gravity forces.

A sonic device in an embodiment includes a sonic transducer unit and a sonic propagation unit. The sonic transducer unit performs at least one of transmitting and receiving a sonic wave, and has a sonic function surface to configure at least one of a wave transmitting surface and a wave receiving surface. The sonic propagation unit includes: a substrate having a pair of electrodes; an electroadhesive element expressing body including a resin crosslinked body arranged on the substrate, and particles dispersed in the resin crosslinked body; and a power supply to apply voltage to the pair of electrodes. The sonic propagation unit is provided on the sonic function surface of the sonic transducer unit, and the electroadhesive element expressing body in the sonic propagation unit comes into contact with a test object.

The present invention provides a flexible ultrasound transducer (1) for an ultrasound monitoring system for examining a curved object. The ultrasound transducer (1) comprises an integrated circuit structure (7) and a multi-layered structure (2), said multi-layered structure (2) comprising an array (3) of ultrasound transducing elements (3a) arranged in a first layer structure (4) and configured for generating ultrasonic energy propagating along a main transducer axis Z and an array (5) of control circuits (5a) arranged in a second layer structure (6), and wherein the array (5) of control circuits and the integrated circuit structure (7) are configured for operating the array (3) of ultrasound transducing elements in said first layer structure (4), Further, the multi-layered structure (2) comprises at least one flexible layer (8, 9) arranged so that the bending flexibility of the multi-layered structure (2) permits the ultrasound transducer (1) to form a continuous contact with said curved object during operation.

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.

For direct chip-on-array for a multi-dimensional transducer array, the generally rigid and conductive dematching layer is extended beyond a footprint of the transducer array. The ASIC is directly connected to the dematching layer on one side, while the other side provides for electrical connection to the elements of the array and I/O pads for connections (e.g., flex-to-dematching layer) to the ultrasound imaging system. By using the dematching layer rigidity, the ASIC may be protected during formation of the acoustic stack. By using the dematching layer conductivity, any mis-alignment is compensated by the routing through the dematching layer, and/or a large flat region is provided for I/O, allowing for good low temperature asperity contact connections with larger area than flip-chip solder bumps. By providing the I/O for the system connections on a different side of the dematching layer than the ASIC, a large keep-out distance due to underfill may be avoided.

Various methods and systems are provided for fabricating a backing material for an acoustic probe. In one example, the backing material may include an additively manufactured meta-structure formed from layers of a tessellation pattern. A geometry of the tessellation pattern and an alignment of the layers may affect acoustic properties of the backing material.