Design and analysis of MEMS based PVDF ultrasonic transducers for vascular imaging.

Polyvinilidene fluoride (PVDF) single-element transducers for high-frequency (>30 MHz) ultrasound imaging applications have been developed using MEMS (Micro-electro-Mechanical Systems) compatible techniques. Performance of these transducers has been investigated by analyzing the sources and effects of on-chip parasitic capacitances on the insertion-loss of the transducers. Modeling and experimental studies showed that on-chip parasitic capacitances degraded the performance of the transducers and an improved method of fabrication was suggested and new devices were built. New devices developed with minimal parasitic effects were shown to improve the performance significantly. A 1-mm aperture PVDF device developed with minimal parasitic effects has resulted in a reduction of insertion loss of 21 dB compared with devices fabricated using a previous method.

Orthogonal-coil RF probe for implantable passive sensors.

A versatile orthogonal-coil radio frequency (RF) probe suitable for detecting the resonant frequency of miniature implantable passive sensors has been designed and tested. The probe sensitivity has been tested using printed-circuit spiral inductors of various sizes (3-15 mm) in series with discrete surface-mount capacitors designed to resonate over a range of frequencies (50-200 MHz). Close agreement between theoretical calculations and experimental results has been obtained. An equation is derived for transmit/receive (T/R) isolation that agrees with experimental measurements over the frequency range 1-500 MHz. The probe includes an additional coil to compensate for the effect of eddy currents in the human body on the probe. T/R isolation of at least 90 dB over the frequency range 1-100 MHz can be achieved when the probe is placed in close proximity to the human body.

Unit-delay focusing architecture and integrated-circuit implementation for high-frequency ultrasound.

High-frequency ultrasound (above 10 MHz) has been used successfully in many medical applications, including eye, skin, gastrointestinal, intravascular, and Doppler flow imaging. Most of these applications use single-element transducers, thereby imposing a tradeoff between resolution and depth of field. Fabrication difficulties and the need for high-speed electronic beamformers have prevented widespread use of arrays at high frequencies. In this paper, a unit-delay focusing architecture suitable for use with high-frequency ultrasound annular arrays is described. It uses a collection of identical, active delay cells that may be simultaneously varied to accomplish focusing. Results are presented for an analog integrated circuit intended for use with a five-element, 50-MHz planar annular array. Focusing is possible over an axial range for which the ratio of maximum to minimum f-number is 2.1. Unit-delay architectures also are described for curved annular arrays and linear arrays.