A drive control device is provided that vibrates a vibrating body by applying signals having mutually different phases to a plurality of electrodes provided at a piezoelectric element on the vibrating body. The drive control device includes a signal application unit that selectively applies a signal to an electrode of the plurality of electrodes; an amplitude detection unit that receives a feedback signal from an electrode different from the electrode to which the signal application unit has performed selective application; and a signal condition control unit that controls a condition of a signal to be applied by the signal application unit based on the feedback signal.

Described herein is mechanically decoupling of an electromechanical transducer from a common substrate, enabling multiple transducers to be surface mounted to a common substrate such as a printed circuit board (PCB) without experiencing mechanical cross-coupling. The decoupling of the transducer from the substrate enables the transducers to be attached without reducing the efficiency of acoustic transduction. The design of the mount enables it to be assembled in an automated manner with pick and place tools.

To provide a probe including a TGC circuit therein. The probe includes a plurality of receive circuits. Each receive circuit includes: an ultrasound transducer; a transmit/receive switch; a variable attenuator; a first capacitor; and an amplifier. The ultrasound transducer converts the receive signal into a ground level electric signal and outputs the ground level electric signal as a first output signal. The transmit/receive switch is connected to a first signal line, and switches depending on whether to output the first output signal output from the ultrasound transducer to the first signal line. The variable attenuator includes a control terminal and two terminals, and changes a resistance value between the two terminals other than the control terminal based on a control signal input to the control terminal. The amplifier has an input terminal connected to the first capacitor and includes at least an amplifier circuit configured to amplify an electric signal of the first signal line and output the amplified electric signal to a second signal line. In the variable attenuator, one of the two terminals other than the control terminal is connected to the first signal line, and the other terminal is connected to the ground via a second capacitor different from the first capacitor.

An ultrasonic generator has a speaker element having a first resonance frequency and a speaker element having a second resonance frequency. The first resonance frequency and the second resonance frequency are adjacent resonance frequencies in the speaker. The distance between the elements is set so that the sound from the first speaker element and the sound from the second speaker element have a predetermined relationship at a target position. The target position is two or more positions on the object located in the target space. A predetermined relationship is a relationship in which a sound from the first speaker element and a sound from the second speaker element strengthen each other at an intermediate frequency between the first resonance frequency and the second resonance frequency.

A piezoelectric element includes a piezoelectric body including a piezoelectric material, and a first electrode and a second electrode provided on the piezoelectric body. The piezoelectric body includes a base and a plurality of drivers. The base includes a first main surface and a second main surface opposing each other. The plurality of drivers is arranged on the first main surface in such a way as to be separate from each other. Each of the plurality of drivers includes a third main surface contacting the first main surface and a fourth main surface opposing the third main surface. The base includes a plurality of first regions in which the plurality of drivers is provided and a second region provided between the first regions adjacent to each other. The base is curved.

An ultrasonic transducer device for use in an acoustic biometric imaging system, the ultrasonic transducer device comprising: a first piezoelectric element having a first face, a second face opposite the first face, and side edges extending between the first face and the second face; a first transducer electrode on the first face of the first piezoelectric element; a second transducer electrode on the second face of the first piezoelectric element; and a spacer structure leaving at least a portion of the first transducer electrode of the first piezoelectric element uncovered.

An ultrasound transducer unit including a plurality of ultrasound transducers transmits and receives ultrasound waves to and from an inside of a subject. In a case where a checking operation unit is operated, a controller controls a driving voltage supply unit such that a driving voltage is supplied with all of the plurality of ultrasound transducers as driving target transducers. In a case where the checking operation unit is operated, a depolarization determination unit calculates, for each ultrasound transducer, a reception sensitivity in a case where an ultrasound wave is received by driving all of the plurality of ultrasound transducers as the driving target transducers, and determines whether or not a depolarization determination value calculated from the reception sensitivity of each ultrasound transducer satisfies numerical conditions. If the numerical conditions are satisfied, a polarization voltage supply unit supplies a polarization voltage to each of the plurality of ultrasound transducers.

An ultrasonic imaging system has a bias-switchable, ultrasonic transducer array and a bipolar voltage source. The array has a dielectric layer having a top surface and a bottom surface; top and bottom electrode strips in electrical contact with the top and bottom surface of the dielectric layer, the bottom electrode strips being oriented at a non-zero angle relative to the top electrode strips. There is an acoustic matching layer or multiplicity of matching layers on the front-side of the array and a leakage-current mitigation layer. The bipolar voltage source is connected to each of the top and bottom electrode strips to induce a polarization in the dielectric layer, the bipolar voltage source being capable of switching between a high voltage state and a low voltage state. A controller controls the bipolar voltage source, and pulsing to and receiving signals from the top and bottom electrode strips.

An ultrasound system has a set of CMUT ultrasound transducer devices and a drive circuit for operating the ultrasound transducer devices, for delivering an AC drive signal and receiving a reflected signal. An intermediate circuit is between the drive circuit and the set of ultrasound devices in the form of an array of coupling circuits, each coupling circuit between the drive circuit and an associated at least one ultrasound transducer device. Each coupling circuit comprises a buffer element connected between a bias voltage and a device terminal and as series capacitor. The intermediate circuit serves as a connection link between the set of CMUT transducer elements and the driving/sensing electronics, and is formed as a passive integrated technology circuit. The buffer element prevents a low-impedance short between the CMUT cell bias node and the counter electrode in the case of a CMUT cell drum short circuit. In this way, failure of an individual cell will not cause a breakdown of the whole CMUT array nor a breakdown of the driving electronics.

An ultrasound-on-a-chip device has an ultrasonic transducer substrate with plurality of transducer cells, and an electrical substrate. For each transducer cell, one or more conductive bond connections are disposed between the ultrasonic transducer substrate and the electrical substrate. Examples of electrical substrates include CMOS chips, integrated circuits including analog circuits, interposers and printed circuit boards.