Ultrasonic device including acoustically matched regions therein

Abstract

Ultrasonic devices include a transducer having a piezoelectric element therein that may operate as an acoustic signal receiving surface and/or an acoustic signal generating surface. At least one acoustic matching layer is provided on the piezoelectric element. This at least one acoustic matching layer may be configured as a composite of N acoustic matching layers, with a first of the N acoustic matching layers contacting the primary surface of the piezoelectric element. This first acoustic matching layer may have an acoustic impedance equivalent to Z.sub.L1, where N is a positive integer greater than zero. In some embodiments of the invention, the magnitude of Z.sub.L1 may be defined as: 0.75 ((Z.sub.p).sup.N+1(Z.sub.g)).sup.1/(N+2)Z.sub.L11.25 ((Z.sub.p).sup.N+1(Z.sub.g)).sup.1/(N+2), where Z.sub.p is the acoustic impedance of the piezoelectric element (e.g., lead zirconate titanate (PZT)) and Z.sub.g is the acoustic impedance of a compatible gas.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic device, comprising: a transducer having a piezoelectric element therein; at least one acoustic matching layer on the piezoelectric element, said at least one acoustic matching layer comprising a composite of N acoustic matching layers, with a first of the N acoustic matching layers contacting the piezoelectric element and having an acoustic impedance equivalent to Z.sub.L1, where N is a positive integer greater than zero and Z.sub.L1 is defined as:
0.75((Z.sub.p).sup.N+1(Z.sub.g)).sup.1/(N+2)Z.sub.L11.25((Z.sub.p).sup.N+1(Z.sub.g)).sup.1/(N+2), where Z.sub.p is the acoustic impedance of the piezoelectric element and Z.sub.g is the acoustic impedance of a compatible gas; and a protective layer on said at least one acoustic matching layer.

2. The ultrasonic device of claim 1, wherein said protective layer has an acoustic impedance equivalent to Z.sub.pl, where:
0.5((Z.sub.p)(Z.sub.g).sup.N+1).sup.1/(N+2)Z.sub.pl1.5((Z.sub.p)(Z.sub.g).sup.N+1).sup.1/(N+2).

3. The ultrasonic device of claim 2, wherein said protective layer comprises polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

4. The ultrasonic device of claim 3, where N equals two and a second of the N acoustic matching layers, which extends between said protective layer and the first of the N acoustic matching layers, has an acoustic impedance equivalent to Z.sub.L2, where Z.sub.L2 is defined as:
0.75((Z.sub.p).sup.2(Z.sub.g).sup.2).sup.0.25Z.sub.L21.25((Z.sub.p).sup.2(Z.sub.g).sup.2).sup.0.25.

5. The ultrasonic device of claim 4, wherein the second of the N acoustic matching layers comprises polyethersulfone (PES).

6. The ultrasonic device of claim 5, wherein the piezoelectric element comprises lead zirconate titanate (PZT).

7. The ultrasonic device of claim 2, where N equals two and a second of the N acoustic matching layers, which extends between said protective layer and the first of the N acoustic matching layers, has an acoustic impedance equivalent to Z.sub.L2, where Z.sub.L2 is defined as:
0.75((Z.sub.p).sup.2(Z.sub.g).sup.2).sup.0.25Z.sub.L21.25((Z.sub.p).sup.2(Z.sub.g).sup.2).sup.0.25.

8. The ultrasonic device of claim 1, where N equals two and a second of the N acoustic matching layers, which extends between said protective layer and the first of the N acoustic matching layers, has an acoustic impedance equivalent to Z.sub.L2, where Z.sub.L2 is defined as:
0.75((Z.sub.p).sup.2(Z.sub.g).sup.2).sup.0.25Z.sub.L21.25((Z.sub.p).sup.2(Z.sub.g).sup.2).sup.0.25.

9. The ultrasonic device of claim 2, wherein said protective layer comprises a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer metalized with aluminum (Al).

10. The ultrasonic device of claim 9, wherein the first of the N acoustic matching layers is a PET layer.

11. The ultrasonic device of claim 2, wherein said protective layer is a polymer layer having a thickness of less than about 20 microns.

12. The ultrasonic device of claim 2, wherein the first of the N acoustic matching layers comprises polyethersulfone (PES).

13. The ultrasonic device of claim 1 further comprising: a second of the N acoustic matching layers comprising PET extending between said first of the N acoustic matching layers and the piezoelectric element.

14. The ultrasonic device of claim 13, wherein said second of the N acoustic matching layers is bonded to the piezoelectric element and said protective layer is bonded to said first of the N acoustic matching layers.

15. The ultrasonic device of claim 14, wherein said protective layer is metalized with aluminum.

16. The ultrasonic device of claim 1, wherein the first of the N acoustic matching layers comprises a first acoustic matching layer bonded to the piezoelectric element and the protective layer is bonded to said first of the N acoustic matching layers.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIGS. 1A-1B are cross-sectional views of ultrasonic transducers according to embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(2) The present invention now will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

(3) It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

(4) The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms a, an and the are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms comprising, including, having and variants thereof, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. In contrast, the term consisting of when used in this specification, specifies the stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, and precludes additional features, steps, operations, elements and/or components.

(5) Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

(6) Referring now to FIG. 1A, an ultrasonic device 10 according to an embodiment of the invention is illustrated as including an ultrasonic transducer 12 (e.g., thickness-mode transducer) having a piezoelectric element therein. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, because an ultrasonic transducer can convert acoustic signals (e.g., ultrasound waves) to electrical signals and/or vice versa, the piezoelectric element may operate as an acoustic signal generating/receiving surface 13. When the piezoelectric element is used as an acoustic signal receiving surface, the device 10 may operate as an ultrasonic sensor.

(7) As shown by FIG. 1A, at least one acoustic matching layer 14 is provided on the piezoelectric element of the transducer 12. This at least one acoustic matching layer 14 may be configured as a composite of N acoustic matching layers (e.g., of different materials, densities, etc.), with a first of the N acoustic matching layers contacting the primary surface of the piezoelectric element within the transducer 12. This first acoustic matching layer may have an acoustic impedance equivalent to Z.sub.L1, where N is a positive integer greater than zero. In some embodiments of the invention, the magnitude of Z.sub.L1 may be defined as: 0.75 ((Z.sub.p).sup.N+1(Z.sub.g)).sup.1/(N+2)Z.sub.L11.25 ((Z.sub.p).sup.N+1(Z.sub.g)).sup.1/(N+2), where Z.sub.p is the acoustic impedance of the piezoelectric element (e.g., lead zirconate titanate (PZT)) and Z.sub.g is the acoustic impedance of a compatible gas 18 (e.g., methane).

(8) A protective layer 16, which may be directly exposed to a compatible gas 18 during operation of the ultrasonic device 10, is provided on the at least one acoustic matching layer 14. In particular, a protective layer 16 may be provided, which has an acoustic impedance equivalent to Z.sub.pl, where: 0.5 ((Z.sub.p)(Z.sub.g).sup.N+1).sup.1/(N+2)Z.sub.pl1.5((Z.sub.p)(Z.sub.g).sup.N+1).sup.1/(N+2). In some embodiments of the invention, the protective layer 16, which may be provided as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer, may be metalized with a metal such as aluminum and have a thickness of less than about 20 microns, for example. Preferably, a thickness is chosen so that the protective layer 16 inhibits chemical and/or mechanical damage to an underlying acoustic matching layer 14, yet enables sufficient fine-tuning of an acoustic matching frequency within the ultrasonic device 10.

(9) As shown by FIG. 1B, an ultrasonic device 10, which can operate as an ultrasonic sensor or acoustic signal generator, may have two acoustic matching layers (i.e., N=2) and a second of the N acoustic matching layers 14b may extend between the protective layer 16 and the first of the N acoustic matching layers 14a, which may be configured to improve the bandwidth and sensitivity of the ultrasonic device 10. This second acoustic matching layer 14b may have an acoustic impedance equivalent to Z.sub.L2, where Z.sub.L2 is defined as: 0.75 ((Z.sub.p).sup.2(Z.sub.g).sup.2).sup.0.25Z.sub.L21.25 ((Z.sub.p).sup.2(Z.sub.g).sup.2).sup.0.25. The first acoustic matching layer 14a may be formed as a PET layer and the second acoustic matching layer 14b may be formed as a polyethersulfone (PES) layer, for example. In this manner, the first and second acoustic matching layers 14a, 14b and protective layer 16 may collectively operate as a multi-layered acoustic matching layer (AML) structure.

(10) In some embodiments of the invention, the AML structure may be configured as a PES filter membrane sandwiched between sheets of polymer material (e.g., PET). This filter membrane can operate as a relatively low density, low stiffness and low acoustic impedance material to provide a high degree of acoustic matching, whereas the first acoustic matching layer 14a, with intermediate density, stiffness and acoustic impedance, may improve acoustic bandwidth and transducer sensitivity. Referring again to FIG. 1B, an exemplary matching layer structure for operation at 400 kHz may include a filter membrane acoustic matching layer 14b formed of polyethersulfone, with a pore size of 0.8 microns and thickness of 150 microns. The front protective layer 16 may be a less than 20 micron thick polyethylene terephthalate layer (e.g., 10 microns) and the first acoustic matching layer 14a may be a 700 micron thick polyethylene terephthalate layer. The thickness of the protective layer 16 may be sufficient to inhibit chemical and/or mechanical damage to an underlying acoustic matching layer, yet thin enough to enable adequate fine-tuning of an acoustic matching frequency. The protective layer 16 may also be metalized with a metal such as aluminum to provide additional chemical/mechanical protection without significantly reducing frequency tuning capability.

(11) Ultrasonic transducers were created for testing using acoustic matching layers derived from commercially available membrane disk filters, including 150 m thick polyethersulfone (PES) disk filters with pore size of 0.8 m and filter disc diameter of 47 mm, as manufactured by Pall Corporation. A strip of filter membrane material was cut from a circular filter disc and then secured under slight tension (to maintain flatness) to a glass slide. A spray-on adhesive, such as ReMount, manufactured by the 3M Corporation, was sprayed onto the filter membrane strip for about 0.5 seconds at a distance of 30 cm and at an angle of 45 degrees to vertical. A transducer was placed on the adhesive side of the filter membrane strip and compressed for 60 seconds with a pressure of 0.5 bar. A 250 gram weight was used for a lower frequency transducer having a front face with dimensions of 77 mm and a 125 gram weight was used for a higher frequency transducer having a front face with dimensions of 55 mm. The filter membrane strip was trimmed with a scalpel to remove material outside the area of the transducer front face (i.e., PZT surface). These cut, adhesive and trimming steps were then repeated to build up additional layers of membrane material, as needed.

(12) During performance testing, transducers were mounted using two pairs of spring probes contacting the sides of an aluminum front plate and stainless steel back plate, to provide mechanical and electrical contact. An acoustic output in response to a 5 Volt (peak-to-peak) sinusoidal input signal with 16-cycle bursts, was measured using an ultrasonic condenser microphone, such as a model CM16/CMPA40-5V microphone manufactured by Avisoft Bioacoustics. The transmission distance was 15 cm for the low frequency transducers and 8.5 cm for the high frequency transducers. The gain setting on a microphone preamplifier was set to a minimum for low frequency tests and an intermediate value (gain control rotated 180 degrees) for high frequency tests. Transmit-receive performance was measured by selecting a pair of transducers connected by an acrylic tube (inner diameter 18 mm and length 15 cm (for low frequency tests) or length 8.5 cm (for high frequency tests). A digital oscilloscope was used to capture outputs from laser vibrometer, ultrasonic microphone and transducer transmit-receive tests. In the case of the high frequency transducer tests using a 150 micron thick polyethersulfone membrane as an acoustic matching layer, a 20 dB improvement in transmit-receive gain was achieved, relative to an otherwise equivalent transducer with no matching layer.

(13) In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.