Conventional Ultrasonic Transducers Research Articles

Development of PMUT based ultrasonic gas flowmeter with conical transducer cavities for the validation of industrial standards

The recessed installation of transducers in ultrasonic gas flowmeters (USFMs) creates cylindrical transducer cavities that induce local flow distortions and vortex formations, resulting in significant measurement uncertainty. Currently, USFMs with small diameters predominantly rely on conventional bulk-PZT ultrasonic transducers, which are relatively large and hinder the optimization of vortices. Miniaturized piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs) present an effective solution for mitigating vortex effects; however, their acoustic performance is constrained by the sensor area, resulting in PMUT-based USFMs that fail to meet industrial measurement requirements. This article introduces a small-diameter USFM utilizing a single PMUT element integrated with the specially designed conical transducer cavity. This design effectively reduces the half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of the single PMUT element to one-fifth of its original size and increases the transmit signal amplitude by 7.2 dB. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations demonstrate that the conical transducer cavity optimizes vortex distribution within the cavity, reducing vortex intensity. The experimental result demonstrates that the proposed USFM achieves an indicated error of less than ±1 % and repeatability of less than 0.5 %, which meets the class 1.5 accuracy level. This design fully complies with the accuracy standards set in GB/T 39841–2021, validating the PMUT-based USFM for industrial flow measurement.

Design of a bulk-lead zirconate titanate ultrasonic transducer array addressing specific excitation modes

Conventional ultrasonic transducer arrays generally use simultaneous or delayed excitation methods to generate various types of wave fronts in ultrasonic testing. Such array excitation modes are relatively simple and unable to maximize the functions of the array elements or element apertures. Accordingly, this study developed a novel excitation ultrasonic transducer array with flexible excitation aperture. A minimum row-column-addressing planar array structure for ultrasonic transducers based on bulk lead zirconate titanate (PZT) was designed for industrial ultrasonic testing. In addition, a transducer structure design scheme and truth table for array addressing with excitation logic were provided. By performing an acoustic field simulation, this study analyzed the relationship between the longitudinal amplitude and resonant frequency of the array elements and the impedance distribution. The transducer was fabricated and packaged using a circuit board and bulk PZT array elements. Testing revealed that the resonant frequency of the array was 1.07 MHz, the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient was 0.40, and the fractional bandwidth of the pulse echo response and spectrum was 38.46%. Using an aluminum block, performance in single-element, row-, column-, and full-array excitation was tested, and echo curves were obtained for multiple apertures. Using a single-circuit module, the transducer realized flexible gating and excitation of the array elements. The research provided a new method for industrial ultrasonic transducer array design.

An alternative Rayleigh wave excitation method using an ultrasonic phased array

Ultrasonic Rayleigh waves have been employed for in-service NDT inspection in a wide range of industries for years. The excitation of Rayleigh waves can be achieved using a variety of methods, with the so-called wedge technique being the most widely used. Recent years have seen considerable research interest in surface crack detection and sizing using Rayleigh waves excited and detected with the wedge technique. However, in this method, Rayleigh waves experience transmission loss at the wedge interfaces. Moreover, the flexibility to generate Rayleigh waves on different waveguides using the same wedge is limited, as the wedge angle depends on the Rayleigh wave wavelength. This work demonstrates a method that provides an alternative Rayleigh wave excitation method. In this, a conventional ultrasonic phased array transducer is used. As there is an appropriate excitation delay between each piezoelectric element of the array transducer, Rayleigh waves can be generated in a wide range of materials using the same phased array transducer. The delay can be estimated based on the elementary pitch of the transducer and the Rayleigh wave velocity of the waveguide. The proposed Rayleigh wave excitation method is demonstrated through both experiments and FE simulations. Furthermore, a finite element model is used to better understand the features of the generated waves and to validate them through their characteristics as Rayleigh wave. A quantitative comparison between the proposed and existing methods is also presented. The directivity and beam divergence of the generated Rayleigh waves are quantified. The results obtained from experiments are in agreement with finite element simulations and demonstrate the possibility of unidirectional and selective excitation of Rayleigh waves through the proposed method. They also highlight the potential for this new excitation method to be used to develop new Rayleigh wave-based inspection methods.

Far-field ultrasonic imaging using hyperlenses

Hyperlenses for ultrasonic imaging in nondestructive evaluation and non-invasive diagnostics have not been widely discussed, likely due to the lack of understanding on their performance, as well as challenges with reception of the elastic wavefield past fine features. This paper discusses the development and application of a cylindrical hyperlens that can magnify subwavelength features and achieve super-resolution in the far-field. A radially symmetric structure composed of alternating metal and water layers is used to demonstrate the hyperlens. Numerical simulations are used to study the performance of cylindrical hyperlenses with regard to their geometrical parameters in imaging defects separated by a subwavelength distance, gaining insight into their construction for the ultrasonic domain. An elegant extension of the concept of cylindrical hyperlens to flat face hyperlens is also discussed, paving the way for a wider practical implementation of the technique. The paper also presents a novel waveguide-based reception technique that uses a conventional ultrasonic transducer as receiver to capture waves exiting from each fin of the hyperlens discretely. A metallic hyperlens is then custom-fabricated, and used to demonstrate for the first time, a super-resolved image with 5X magnification in the ultrasonic domain. The proposed hyperlens and the reception technique are among the first demonstrations in the ultrasonic domain, and well-suited for practical inspections. The results have important implications for higher resolution ultrasonic imaging in industrial and biomedical applications.

Flexible acoustic lens-based surface acoustic wave device for manipulation and directional transport of micro-particles

Microfluidics is an emerging technology that is playing increasingly important roles in biomedical and pharmaceutical research and development. Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) have been combined with microfluidics technology to establish a SAW-based microfluidics technology that uses the unique interaction between the two techniques to manipulate substances effectively in fluids on the surface of a substrate. This paper reports a method to generate SAWs using conventional planar ultrasonic transducers and acoustic lenses. Additionally, this method is introduced to manipulate particles effectively on a substrate surface. It is demonstrated that the particle positions can be manipulated precisely in any direction on the substrate surface, thus enabling high-precision particle manipulation. We also proposed the generation of nonplanar SAWs via appropriate design of the acoustic lens and realized directional particle transport. In addition, structures to enhance forward-propagating acoustic beams are proposed. The proposed method has potential for use in microfluidics and biomedical applications, allowing tasks such as flexible cell manipulation on a chip to be performed without complex design or micromachining.

Design and Implementation of Low-Voltage Tunable Capacitive Micro-Machined Transducers (CMUT) for Portable Applications.

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) are MEMS-based transducers with advantages over conventional ultrasonic transducers, such as their small size, the ease of integration with semiconductor electronics, and batch fabrication. In this study, the effect of different membrane topologies on the displacement, resonant frequency, and output pressure of the CMUT membrane is investigated in the transmission mode in an air environment. A novel structural-support feature, the rocker stem, is introduced, where the membrane is weakly held to the substrate in order to minimize mechanical constraints. Four different CMUT topologies are designed and assessed to analyze the impacts of topological variations. A new CMUT array configuration is also designed to provide an approach for maximizing CMUT density. This study aims to contribute to efficient CMUT design and the determination of optimum structural parameters for portable applications in air.

Implantable acousto-optic window for monitoring ultrasound-mediated neuromodulation in vivo.

.SignificanceUltrasound has recently received considerable attention in neuroscience because it provides noninvasive control of deep brain activity. Although the feasibility of ultrasound stimulation has been reported in preclinical and clinical settings, its mechanistic understanding remains limited. While optical microscopy has become the “gold standard” tool for investigating population-level neural functions in vivo, its application for ultrasound neuromodulation has been technically challenging, as most conventional ultrasonic transducers are not designed to be compatible with optical microscopy.AimWe aimed to develop a transparent acoustic transducer based on a glass coverslip called the acousto-optic window (AOW), which simultaneously provides ultrasound neuromodulation and microscopic monitoring of neural responses in vivo.ApproachThe AOW was fabricated by the serial deposition of transparent acoustic stacks on a circular glass coverslip, comprising a piezoelectric material, polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene, and indium-tin-oxide electrodes. The fabricated AOW was implanted into a transgenic neural-activity reporter mouse after open craniotomy. Two-photon microscopy was used to observe neuronal activity in response to ultrasonic stimulation through the AOW.ResultsThe AOW allowed microscopic imaging of calcium activity in cortical neurons in response to ultrasound stimulation. The optical transparency was over the visible and near-infrared spectra, and the ultrasonic pressure was 0.035 MPa at 10 MHz corresponding to . In anesthetized Gad2-GCaMP6-tdTomato mice, we observed robust ultrasound-evoked activation of inhibitory cortical neurons at depths up to .ConclusionsThe AOW is an implantable ultrasonic transducer that is broadly compatible with optical imaging modalities. The AOW will facilitate our understanding of ultrasound neuromodulation in vivo.

A new on-line ultrasonic thickness monitoring system for high temperature pipes

On-line thickness monitoring of pipe wall is very important in petrochemical and power generation industries. There are two main reasons that the conventional ultrasonic transducers cannot withstand long-term on-line monitoring in high temperature. One is that the piezoelectric elements within transducers depolarize causes them to fail, the other is that the working medium inside the pipeline interferes with the ultrasonic wave results in the decline of measurement accuracy. In order to overcome these problems, an ultrasonic thickness gauge using a waveguide that can sustain a large temperature drop and effectively transmit the quasi-fundamental shear horizontal (SH0*) wave without causing dispersion is designed. The waveguide can isolate the vulnerable piezoelectric sensor from the high-temperature measurement zone, and the SH0* wave can avoid interfere of the working medium. Moreover, a monitoring system applying this ultrasonic thickness gauge is discussed and the application method of this system is introduced. The high temperature long-term reliability experiments carried out both in laboratory and on-site, and wall thinning measurement by corrosion experiments show that the designed thickness gauge has good accuracy and long-term stability, which can meet the needs of long-term on-line monitoring of high temperature pipes.

Beam-Membrane Coupled Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers with Enhanced Transmitting Sensitivity.

Piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs) are a promising alternative to conventional bulk piezoelectric ceramic-based ultrasonic transducers. However, the transmitting sensitivity of the reported PMUTs is far from satisfactory. In this paper, we report a beam-membrane coupled PMUT (BM-PMUT), which enhances the transmitting sensitivity via simultaneously increasing the acoustic emission areas and maintaining the comparable vibration amplitude. Experimental results show that the center and edge transmitting sensitivities of the BM-PMUT are 108.1 and 96 nm/V at 370 kHz, which are 109.9 and 49.6 nm/V at 677 kHz for the traditional PMUT (T-PMUT). Thus, the BM-PMUT realizes piston-like mode shapes and achieves around twofold improvement in the effective acoustic emission area relative to the traditional T-PMUT of the same size. Due to the larger acoustic emission areas and comparable vibration amplitudes, the normalized far-field sound pressure level of the BM-PMUT is 8.5 dB higher than that of the T-PMUT.

Numerical and experimental analysis of focused air-coupled ultrasonic transducer based on cross-linked polypropylene film

Air-coupled ultrasonic transducers based on novel piezoelectrets with extremely small acoustic impedance have some distinctive advantages including no coupling agent, flexibility, and eco-friendliness, compared to conventional ultrasonic transducers. Such advantages make them unique in the applications of nondestructive testing. In this study, a focused air-coupled ultrasonic transducer featuring a sphere-shaped transduction surface is designed by introducing flexible irradiated cross-linked polypropylene (IXPP) films. The characteristic of focusing is evaluated by numerical and experimental analysis. The results show that, by bending the IXPP film into a sphere, the ultrasonic energy can be concentrated to a certain small area to achieve better sensitivity and higher resolution. Furthermore, the IXPP focusing transducer has an obvious focusing effect when the opening radius D of the transducer is increased. Meanwhile, with the reducing radius R of the spherical surface and increasing frequency f of excitation, the value of the deviation coefficient α can be made smaller so that the transducer designed in this way can obtain a better focusing effect.

Structural health monitoring of fastener hole using ring-design direct-write piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer

Fatigue cracks initiated from fastener holes are common in aircraft structures. Implementation of effective structural health monitoring (SHM) system to detect or monitor fatigue cracks near fastener holes is desired for realizing condition-based maintenance with improved aircraft safety at reduced cost. In this work, direct-write piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers were used for monitoring crack near fastener hole. Made of poly (vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] film and annular array electrodes, the direct-write piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers were both directly coated and patterned around the fastener holes. A novel ring-design using annular array electrodes with small footprint was proposed to detect fatigue crack initiated in the vicinity of a fastener hole using pulse-echo and pitch-catch methods. The ring-design direct-write piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers were designed to operate with Lamb wave modes at 1.5 MHz. A numerical simulation study was conducted to investigate the interaction of Lamb wave modes with the fatigue crack. Experimental ultrasonic testing was performed with signal gates determined using wavelet analysis. Fatigue crack detection was demonstrated using an energy ratio method by comparing energy parameter of gated ultrasonic signal with baseline signal. Using the pulse-echo method, the direction of the fatigue crack was able to be determined. The pitch-catch method was found to have higher sensitivity in fatigue crack detection but could not determine the direction of the fatigue crack. These transducers made of thin films promise high conformability even on curved surface and around irregular objects with limited space, compared to conventional discrete ultrasonic transducers. The analysis and results showed that the ring-design direct-write piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers have great potential for fastener hole SHM.

Planar ultrasonic transducer based on a metasurface piezoelectric ring array for subwavelength acoustic focusing in water

The development of a new ultrasonic transducer capable of improved focusing performance has become a necessity to overcome the limitations of conventional ultrasonic transducer technology. In this study, we designed and optimized a metasurface piezoelectric ring device, and using multiphysics finite element analysis, we examined the performance of a planar ultrasonic transducer consisting of this device, a matching layer, a backing layer, and housing in producing a needle-like subwavelength focusing beam in water. For practical experiments, a metasurface piezoelectric ring device was fabricated using a laser ablation process. Subsequently, using a pulse-echo test, we found that the − 6 dB bandwidth of a planar ultrasonic transducer with a center frequency of 1.0 MHz was 37.5%. In addition, the results of an ultrasonic-focusing performance test showed that the full width at half-maximum of the axial subwavelength focusing beam was 0.78λ, and the full lateral width at half-maximum of the subwavelength lateral focusing beam was 7.03λ at a distance of 10.89λ. The needle-like focused ultrasonic beam technology implemented with a piezoelectric ring array based new planar ultrasound transducer is expected to be used in high-resolution imaging devices or medical ultrasound focusing devices in the future.

Development of an instantaneous velocity-vector-profile method using conventional ultrasonic transducers

A velocity vector profile technique based on an ultrasound pulsed Doppler method can enrich the information on the flow field. However, it has shown low availability because a new design of special transducers is required for each measurement case. This study proposes a new method of profiling the velocity vectors using conventional ultrasound transducers that are widely supplied to ultrasound velocity profile users. We constructed a configuration of transducers to minimize the uncertainty of the detection points at the receivers, and a measurable distance was theoretically determined by the configuration. Two feasibility tests were carried out. One was a test for the assessment of the measurable distance, which agreed well with the theoretical distance. The other was the evaluation of the measurement of 2D velocity vectors by the new method, and it was performed in a towing tank facility without the velocity fluctuation. From the evaluation, it was confirmed that the measured vectors showed good agreement with the reference values, and their accuracy and precision were competitive compared to previous studies. In order to demonstrate this, the developed method was applied to two unsteady flows. The results clarified that the proposed method guarantees high availability and accuracy for the velocity vector profiles.

Compact Laser Driver for Ultrasonic Arbitrary Position and Width Pulse Sequences Generation

Laser ultrasound offers several benefits in comparison to immersion or air-coupled ultrasound: it directly generates stress on the sample surface; it has a wide bandwidth and a small acoustic source can be produced. Conventionally, high-power pulsed lasers are required therefore equipment is bulky and expensive. Here we propose to use mid-power laser diodes, which are small and low cost. To solve the low signal amplitude problem with lower power lasers, the use of spread spectrum signal, arbitrary position, and width binary pulse sets is proposed. To date, a laser driver for this task has not been available. This article describes the development of such a compact driver, where the essential electronics occupy an area of $10\,\,\times20$ mm. The whole system with a fixture for kinematic mount is comparable in size to a conventional piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer. The driver can supply pulse sets of up to 40 A. Individual pulse duration can vary between 20 and 1000 ns (0.5–25-MHz ultrasound range) and the total pulse train duration is limited by the laser type used. Experiments show that up to 10- $\mu \text{s}$ long pulse sets can be used at 10-A current, without laser degradation. Current waveforms, beam profile, and optical response signals were measured for three rectified topologies. It was concluded that the GaN-based constant current switch topology has the best performance, but a power MOSFET in a source current feedback topology can also be used to generate pulses down to 20 ns. Photoacoustic response signals from chirp and phase shift keying modulation have been demonstrated.

Flexible and Stretchable Ultrasonic Transducer Array Conformed to Complex Surfaces

In this work, a flexible and stretchable ultrasonic transducer array consisting of 3 × 3 elements is proposed to achieve conformal contact with various nonplanar complex surfaces. The array is formed by integrating rigid piezoelectric ceramics with serpentine hinges in a single-layered configuration and encapsulated by compliant elastomers. The addressable electrodes arrangement allows the use of a small number of connecting wires to excite each element in the array. The developed ultrasonic transducer has a resonant frequency of 1.91 MHz and the initial acoustic characterization is demonstrated. The serpentine electrodes can be stretched up to 33% without failure and the array exhibits excellent flexibility of bending, folding, twisting, and rolling up, indicating its reliable electrical connection and stable mechanical property. Moreover, the performance of the array attached to curved surfaces, human skins, and medical catheters is also demonstrated. The results indicate a convenient and robust method to achieve the preparation of a flexible and stretchable ultrasonic transducer array, which extends conventional rigid ultrasonic transducers to future wearable applications.

Ultrasound Signal Detection with Multi-bounce Laser Microphone.

The multi-bounce laser microphone utilizes optical methods to detect the displacement of a gold-covered thin film diaphragm caused by ultrasound signal pressure waves. This sensitive all-optical sensing technique provides new opportunities for advanced ultrasound imaging as it is expected to achieve a higher detection signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in a broader spectrum, as compared to conventional ultrasonic transducers. The technique does not involve signal time-averaging and the real-time enhancement in detection SNR stems from the amplification of signal strength due to multiple bouncing off the diaphragm. The system was previously developed for detecting acoustic signatures generated by explosives and were limited to lower than 10 kHz in frequency. To demonstrate its feasibility for biomedical imaging applications, preliminary experiments were conducted to show high fidelity detection of ultrasound waves with frequencies ranging from 100 kHz to in excess of 1 MHz. Experimental results are also presented in this work demonstrating the improved detection sensitivity of the multi-bounce laser microphone in detecting ultrasound signals when compared with a commercial Fabry-Perot type optical hydrophone. Furthermore, we also applied the multi-bounce laser microphone to detect photoacoustic signatures emitted by India ink when a LED bar is used as the excitation source without signal averaging.

Ultrasonic imaging beyond diffraction limit using conventional transducers with conical baffles

Conventional ultrasonic imaging systems suffer from poor resolution imposed by the diffraction limit. The authors have recently demonstrated the use of holey-structured metamaterials (HSMs) to enable resolution beyond the diffraction limit in the ultrasonic regime. However, imaging with HSM requires acquisition of data at fine spatial intervals. Although the use of laser Doppler vibrometers (LDV) as a receiver can be a solution for this as reported in earlier experimental studies, they are highly sensitive to ambient disturbances, suffer from low signal-to-noise ratio and are also expensive, hampering a wider practical implementation. This Letter presents experimental results using hollow cone attachments coupled with conventional ultrasonic transducers for achieving subwavelength resolution imaging at a relatively higher speed and minimal cost. The proposed methodology can be implemented easily for practical inspections and has great potential for commercialisation.

Guest Editorial: Non‐Destructive Testing

Guest Editorial: Non‐Destructive Testing

Electromagnetic Acoustic Detection of Steel Plate Defects Based on High-Energy Pulse Excitation

The conventional electromagnetic ultrasonic transducers (EMATs) rely on the static magnetic field created by magnets. The magnet increases the size of the EMATs, and the strong magnetic force of the magnet attracts the detected steel and even ferromagnetic particles. It can cause mechanical damage to the transducer and the detected objects. A new high-energy acoustic excitation system, without a static bias magnetic is designed, which does not include any magnets. As the core of the system, the high-energy pulse excitation power supplies a transient high voltage to the excitation coil by the LC oscillation circuit. The maximum amplitude of current can reach 1700 A, which is much larger than the current in the conventional EMATs. Compared with the conventional EMATs, the intensity of the ultrasonic signal is greatly strengthened and the size of the EMAT is effectively reduced. Therefore, it can detect high-temperature steel plates at a higher lift-off distance. In this paper, the transduction mechanism of high-energy pulse electromagnetic acoustic on ferromagnetic materials was studied, and the high-energy pulse excitation coil used for the A0 mode Lamb wave was designed. The interaction rule of the magnetic field, the force field, and the acoustic field, was obtained. Then, the EMAT lift-off characteristic experiment of the high-energy pulse excitation was carried out, and the defect detection experiment was conducted on a cracked steel plate. The results show that the A0 mode Lamb waves have caused a high signal-to-noise ratio and can accurately locate the crack, which has a great advantage in detecting the microcrack defects of ferromagnetic materials.

Helical‐Like 3D Ultrathin Piezoelectric Element for Complicated Ultrasonic Field

AbstractThe developments of personalized medicine, ultrasound imaging, and contactless “microscopic handle” techniques are pushing ultrasonic transducers toward features of high frequency, device miniaturization, and even novel function. However, the conventional ultrasonic transducer has severely limited the development of novel ideas for applications due to its ordinary ultrasonic field. Although transducer arrays and monolithic acoustic holograms are capable of producing the complicated ultrasonic field, it is still difficult to achieve high frequency, device miniaturization, and novel function simultaneously. Here, a simple but effective approach is introduced that aims at reconstructing the complicated and high‐frequency ultrasonic field via a compact single‐element ultrasonic transducer. The 3D ultrathin piezoelectric element with a complex configuration is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally to produce the desired complicated ultrasonic field. With helical‐like configuration, the single‐element ultrasonic transducer offers efficient noncontact trapping and manipulation of suspended microparticles and biological cells. Moreover, its strong trapping capability leads to the 3D stacking of microparticles, which is a novel and interesting phenomenon achieved by a single‐element ultrasonic transducer. This work brings the possibility of a complicated ultrasonic field for achieving novel high‐frequency ultrasound applications through the design of smart structure ultrathin piezoelectric materials.