3D MEMS piezoelectric ultrasound transducer technology

Abstract

Here we present a high performance 3D MEMS ultrasound transducer technology called Clarinet™ based on a combination of micromachined dome-shaped piezoelectric resonators arranged in a flexible architecture. In a drastic departure from typical PMUT membranes, our high performance PZNT thin film is integrated into a 3D dome-shaped membrane as the transducer's building block. Three different types of ultrasound array are presented as an example of this flexible architecture in which the frequency response has been tailored by mixing these basic cells and modifying their dimensions by lithography. These demonstrate customizable performance capabilities such as an acoustic intensity up to 300 W/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> , one-way insertion loss as low as -4.2 dB, and ultra wide-bandwidth suitable for both therapeutic and imaging applications. In addition, low electrical impedance, and a low operating voltage compatible with ordinary integrated circuitry are characteristics of all the designs.