Broadband time reversed acoustic focusing and steering system

Abstract

We present results of experimental testing and theoretical modeling of a time reversal acoustic (TRA) focusing system based on a multifaceted aluminum resonator with 15 piezoceramic transducers glued to the resonator facets. One of the facets of the resonator, a pentagon with characteristic dimension of about 30 mm, was submerged into a water tank and served as a virtual phased array which provided ultrasound focusing and beam steering in a wide frequency band (0.7–3 MHz). Ultrasonic pulses with different carrier frequencies and various complex waveforms were focused; the focal length was varied in the range of 10–55 mm and the focused beam was steered in a range of angles of ±60 deg. The amplitude of the signal in the focal region reached 40 MPa. A theoretical model was based on an assumption that the radiating part of the resonator works as a phase conjugation screen for a spherical wave radiated from the focal point. Theoretical dependencies of the field structure on the position of the focus point and ultrasound frequency are in a good agreement with experimental results. TRA based focusing of ultrasound has numerous applications in medical diagnostics, surgery and therapy. [Work supported by NIH grant.]