Quantitative comparison of PZT and CMUT probes for photoacoustic imaging: Experimental validation.

Photoacoustic (PA) signals are short ultrasound (US) pulses typically characterized by a single-cycle shape, often referred to as N-shape. The spectral content of such wideband signals ranges from a few hundred kilohertz to several tens of megahertz. Typical reception frequency responses of classical piezoelectric US imaging transducers, based on PZT technology, are not sufficiently broadband to fully preserve the entire information contained in PA signals, which are then filtered, thus limiting PA imaging performance. Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) are rapidly emerging as a valid alternative to conventional PZT transducers in several medical ultrasound imaging applications. As compared to PZT transducers, CMUTs exhibit both higher sensitivity and significantly broader frequency response in reception, making their use attractive in PA imaging applications. This paper explores the advantages of the CMUT larger bandwidth in PA imaging by carrying out an experimental comparative study using various CMUT and PZT probes from different research laboratories and manufacturers. PA acquisitions are performed on a suture wire and on several home-made bimodal phantoms with both PZT and CMUT probes. Three criteria, based on the evaluation of pure receive impulse response, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) respectively, have been used for a quantitative comparison of imaging results. The measured fractional bandwidths of the CMUT arrays are larger compared to PZT probes. Moreover, both SNR and CNR are enhanced by at least 6 dB with CMUT technology. This work highlights the potential of CMUT technology for PA imaging through qualitative and quantitative parameters.

A Comparative Analysis of CMUT Receiving Architectures for the Design Optimization of Integrated Transceiver Front Ends.

A formal comparison between fundamental RX amplifier configurations for capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) is proposed in this paper. The impact on both RX and the pulse-echo frequency response and on the output SNR is thoroughly analyzed and discussed. It is shown that the resistive-feedback amplifier yields a bandpass RX frequency response, while both open-loop voltage and capacitive-feedback amplifiers exhibit a low-pass frequency response. For a given power dissipation, it is formally proved that a capacitive-feedback amplifier provides a remarkable SNR improvement against the commonly adopted resistive feedback stage, achieved at the expense of a reduced pulse-echo center frequency, making its use convenient in low-frequency and midfrequency ultrasound imaging applications. The advantage mostly comes from a much lower noise contributed by the active devices, especially with low- Q , broadband transducers. The results of the analysis are applied to the design of a CMUT front end in BIPOLAR-CMOS-DMOS Silicon-on-Insulator technology operating at 10-MHz center frequency. It comprises a low-power RX amplifier, a high-voltage Transmission/Reception switch, and a 100-V TX driver. Extensive electrical characterization, pulse-echo measurements, and imaging results are shown. Compared with previously reported CMUT front ends, this transceiver demonstrates the highest dynamic range and state-of-the-art noise performance with an RX amplifier power dissipation of 1 mW.

Acoustic reflectivity minimization in Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (CMUTs).

When Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (CMUTs) are coupled with water, they show high front-face acoustic reflectivity, due to the impedance mismatch between the transducer substrate material, typically based on silicon, and the propagation medium. During pulse-echo operation, surface reflectivity is responsible for multiple reflections of the received acoustic signals, which result in a set of unwanted echoes. In ultrasound imaging applications, this signal reverberation creates artifacts and reduces the image contrast. In this paper, a method to reduce front-face reflectivity is proposed, and a Reverberation Level (RL) index is introduced in order to quantify the unwanted reverberation of the signal returned to the transducer surface. The proposed method combines the increase of the bias voltage, the application of an optimized resistive load and the addition of a low-impedance acoustic backing to CMUTs realized by Reverse Fabrication Process (RFP). In this way, the mechanical energy conversion and transmission to the backing, as well as the electrical energy dissipation, are improved, thus reducing the energy reflection into the medium. The proposed method is analyzed by means of Finite Element simulations and is experimentally validated by characterizing single-element RFP-CMUTs, provided with different backing materials and electrical loads. In the analyzed prototypes, a RL reduction of 8.6dB is obtained.

Biasing of Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers.

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) represent an effective alternative to piezoelectric transducers for medical ultrasound imaging applications. They are microelectromechanical devices fabricated using silicon micromachining techniques, developed in the last two decades in many laboratories. The interest for this novel transducer technology relies on its full compatibility with standard integrated circuit technology that makes it possible to integrate on the same chip the transducers and the electronics, thus enabling the realization of extremely low-cost and high-performance devices, including both 1-D or 2-D arrays. Being capacitive transducers, CMUTs require a high bias voltage to be properly operated in pulse-echo imaging applications. The typical bias supply residual ripple of high-quality high-voltage (HV) generators is in the millivolt range, which is comparable with the amplitude of the received echo signals, and it is particularly difficult to minimize. The aim of this paper is to analyze the classical CMUT biasing circuits, highlighting the features of each one, and to propose two novel HV generator architectures optimized for CMUT biasing applications. The first circuit proposed is an ultralow-residual ripple (<5 [Formula: see text]) HV generator that uses an extremely stable sinusoidal power oscillator topology. The second circuit employs a commercially available integrated step-up converter characterized by a particularly efficient switching topology. The circuit is used to bias the CMUT by charging a buffer capacitor synchronously with the pulsing sequence, thus reducing the impact of the switching noise on the received echo signals. The small area of the circuit (about 1.5 cm2) makes it possible to generate the bias voltage inside the probe, very close to the CMUT, making the proposed solution attractive for portable applications. Measurements and experiments are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new approaches presented.

Depth-of-field enhancement in Filtered-Delay Multiply and Sum beamformed images using Synthetic Aperture Focusing.

The Synthetic Aperture Focusing (SAF) technique makes it possible to achieve a higher and more uniform quality of ultrasound images throughout depth, as if both transmit and receive dynamic focusing were applied. In this work we combine a particular implementation of SAF, called Synthetic Transmit Aperture (STA) technique, in which a single element in turn transmits and all the array elements receive the ultrasound wave, with the Filtered-Delay Multiply and Sum (F-DMAS) non-linear beamforming algorithm that we presented in a previous paper. We show that using F-DMAS, which is based on a measure of backscattered signal spatial correlation, B-mode images have a higher contrast resolution but suffer from a loss of brightness away from the transmit focus, when a classical scan with receive-only dynamic focusing is performed. On the other hand, when synthetic transmit focusing is achieved by implementing STA, such a loss is compensated for and a higher depth of field is obtained, as signal coherence improves. A drawback of SAF/STA however is the reduced signal-to-noise ratio, due to single-element transmission; in the paper we also analyze how this influences F-DMAS images. Finally, a preliminary investigation on the use of the classical monostatic SAF technique with F-DMAS beamforming is also carried out to evaluate its potential performances.

A Low Frequency Broadband Flextensional Ultrasonic Transducer Array.

In this paper, we propose the design and the fabrication of a multicell, piezoelectrically actuated, flextensional transducer array structure, characterized by a low mechanical impedance, thus allowing wideband and high-sensitivity immersion operation in the low ultrasonic frequency range. The transducer structure, consisting of a plurality of circular elementary cells orderly arranged according to a periodic hexagonal tiling, features a high flexibility in the definition of the active area shape and size. We investigate, by finite element modeling (FEM), the influence of different piezoelectric and elastic materials for the flexural plate, for the plate support and for the backing, on the transducer electroacoustic behavior. We carry out the dimensioning of the transducer components and cell layout, in terms of materials and geometry, respectively, by aiming at a circular active area of 80-mm diameter and broadband operation in the 30-100-kHz frequency range in immersion. PZT-5H ceramic disks and a calibrated thickness stainless steel plate are chosen for the vibrating structure, and FR-4 laminates and a brass plate, respectively, for the plate support and the backing. The diameter of the individual cells is set to 6 mm resulting in 121 cells describing a quasi-circular area, and the total thickness of the transducer is less than 10 mm. We report on the fabrication process flow for the accurate assembly of the transducer, based, respectively, on epoxy resin and wire bonding for the mechanical and electrical interconnection of the individual parts. The results of the electrical impedance and transmit pressure field characterization are finally reported and discussed.

Ultrasound plane-wave imaging with delay multiply and sum beamforming and coherent compounding.

Improving the frame rate is an important aspect in medical ultrasound imaging, particularly in 3D/4D cardiac applications. However, an accurate trade-off between the higher frame rate and image contrast and resolution should be performed. Plane-Wave Imaging (PWI) can potentially achieve frame rates in the order of 10 kHz, as it uses a single unfocused plane wave (and thus a single transmit event) to acquire the image of the entire region of interest. The lack of transmit focusing however causes a significant drop of image quality, which can be restored by coherently compounding several tilted plane-wave frames, at the expense of the frame rate. PWI together with the use of a beamforming algorithm able to achieve a higher image contrast resolution, such as the Delay Multiply And Sum (DMAS), could thus allow to improve image quality achieving a high frame rate at the same time. This paper presents the first simulation results obtained by employing DMAS beamforming and PWI with different transmission angles and coherent compounding. The simulated Point Spread Function (PSF) and cyst-phantom images show that DMAS makes it possible to achieve a high image quality with a reduced number of compounded frames compared to standard Delay And Sum (DAS), and hence it can be used to improve the contrast and resolution of plane-wave images still achieving a very high frame rate.

The delay multiply and sum beamforming algorithm in ultrasound B-mode medical imaging.

Most of ultrasound medical imaging systems currently on the market implement standard Delay and Sum (DAS) beamforming to form B-mode images. However, image resolution and contrast achievable with DAS are limited by the aperture size and by the operating frequency. For this reason, different beamformers have been presented in the literature that are mainly based on adaptive algorithms, which allow achieving higher performance at the cost of an increased computational complexity. In this paper, we propose the use of an alternative nonlinear beamforming algorithm for medical ultrasound imaging, which is called Delay Multiply and Sum (DMAS) and that was originally conceived for a RADAR microwave system for breast cancer detection. We modify the DMAS beamformer and test its performance on both simulated and experimentally collected linear-scan data, by comparing the Point Spread Functions, beampatterns, synthetic phantom and in vivo carotid artery images obtained with standard DAS and with the proposed algorithm. Results show that the DMAS beamformer outperforms DAS in both simulated and experimental trials and that the main improvement brought about by this new method is a significantly higher contrast resolution (i.e., narrower main lobe and lower side lobes), which turns out into an increased dynamic range and better quality of B-mode images.

Ultrasound Synthetic Aperture Focusing with the Delay Multiply and sum beamforming algorithm.

The Delay Multiply and Sum (DMAS) beamforming algorithm was originally conceived for microwave imaging of breast cancer. In a previous work, we demonstrated that, by properly modifying and improving the algorithm processing steps, DMAS can be successfully applied to ultrasound signals for B-mode image formation and that it outperforms standard Delay and Sum (DAS) beamforming in terms of contrast resolution. As previously pointed out, however, DMAS-beamformed B-mode images, in which fixed and dynamic focusing are applied respectively during transmit and receive operations, show an intensity drop away from the transmit focal depth compared to DAS images. This could be due to the fact that DMAS beamforming is based on a measure of backscattered signal coherence, which reaches its maximum only at the transmit focus, where signals are perfectly realigned. The preliminary results presented in this work show that, by employing Synthetic Aperture Focusing (SAF), which allows to achieve dynamic focusing both on transmission and reception, this intensity loss is compensated, as DAS and DMAS images have almost the same maximum amplitude level at all depths.

A volumetric CMUT-based ultrasound imaging system simulator with integrated reception and µ-beamforming electronics models.

In modern ultrasound imaging devices, two-dimensional probes and electronic scanning allow volumetric imaging of anatomical structures. When dealing with the design of such complex 3-D ultrasound (US) systems, as the number of transducers and channels dramatically increases, new challenges concerning the integration of electronics and the implementation of smart micro-beamforming strategies arise. Hence, the possibility to predict the behavior of the whole system is mandatory. In this paper, we propose and describe an advanced simulation tool for ultrasound system modeling and simulation, which conjugates the US propagation and scattering, signal transduction, electronic signal conditioning, and beamforming in a single environment. In particular, we present the architecture and model of an existing 16-channel integrated receiver, which includes an amplification and micro-beamforming stage, and validate it by comparison with circuit simulations. The developed model is then used in conjunction with the transducer and US field models to perform a system simulation, aimed at estimating the performance of an example 3-D US imaging system that uses a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) 2-D phased-array coupled to the modeled reception front-end. Results of point spread function (PSF) calculations, as well as synthetic imaging of a virtual phantom, show that this tool is actually able to model the complete US image reconstruction process, and that it could be used to quickly provide valuable system-level feedback for an optimized tuning of electronic design parameters.

An automatic compact Schlieren imaging system for ultrasound transducer testing.

The current standard used for the characterization of ultrasonic transducers is the hydrophonic technique, which is able to measure the acoustic pressure profile. This technique allows a quantitative analysis, but is marred by several problems. A scan of the region of interest is a time-consuming operation, especially when measuring a long acoustic beam. Furthermore, a hydrophone placed near the radiating surface is certainly an impediment to the free propagation of the field. Off-axis measurements can be inaccurate because of the angular response of the hydrophone. These problems, together with the costs, have encouraged the search for an alternative quick and inexpensive test system. The well-known Schlieren technique allows a real-time visualization of the whole pressure range of the transducers, but to display the entire beam emitted by the transducers it is necessary to use very large-diameter lenses, with focal lengths of several meters. Such systems are very cumbersome and difficult to use. The system developed in this paper allows the imaging of an acoustic beam up to 200 mm in length, but the system is compact, being only about 1 m long and 0.30 m wide. A similar system based on the classic Schlieren effect would be several meters long, with lenses of 200 mm in diameter. Finally, the system can reconstruct the section of the beam at any height, using an acoustic tomography technique, and can also implement a quantitative analysis. Because it uses only commercial components, the developed and fabricated ultrasonic beam analyzer is a very low-cost imaging system. The goal of this work is to create a compact, low-cost system based on this technique to test a wide range of ultrasonic transducers up to 40 MHz and above.

Element shape design of 2-D CMUT arrays for reducing grating lobes.

Fully populated two-dimensional (2-D) arrays are needed to produce high quality ultrasonic volumetric images for real-time applications, but they present many challenges for their physical realization because of the large number of elements. In fact, lambda/2 and lambda minimum spacing between elements is required, respectively, for pyramidal and rectilinear scanning in order to avoid unwanted grating lobes (GLs). However, in past years, capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) technology has made possible the production of arrays with large flexibility in element shape and size. In this paper, this property is analyzed, and a new element shape, based on the concept of spatial interpenetration of adjacent elements, is proposed in order to design fully populated 2-D CMUT arrays with a low number of elements, whose beam characteristics are valid for volumetric imaging. Through the use of simulations, it is demonstrated that arrays with pitch larger than lambda (up to 3lambda) used for rectilinear scanning, have notably lower GLs than the equivalent standard arrays designed according to the classical squared element shape. As consequence, the proposed geometry has the advantage of reducing the number of elements (up to a factor of 9) and of enlarging the element size, implying an increase of the SNR relative to the single element. When beam steering is required, arrays can be designed with pitch equal to lambda, reducing the number of elements by a factor of 4 if the maximum steering angle is limited to +/-15 degrees .

Flexible acoustic fiber ultrasound motor modeling using impedance and transmission matrices.

The four-port matrix modeling is here applied to the power transfer mechanism through the different sections of the acoustic fiber motor, in order to evaluate the performances of the design. Analytical results are compared with experimental measurements on a motor prototype (fiber length 115 mm and diameter 0.8 mm, maximum torque 1.4 mNm, maximum speed 3200 rpm), showing a good agreement.

Acoustic coupling in capacitive microfabricated ultrasonic transducers: modeling and experiments.

In the design of low-frequency transducer arrays for active sonar systems, the acoustic interactions that occur between the transducer elements have received much attention. Because of these interactions, the acoustic loading on each transducer depends on its position in the array, and the radiated acoustic power may vary considerably from one element to another. Capacitive microfabricated ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) are made of a two-dimensional array of metallized micromembranes, all electrically connected in parallel, and driven into flexural motion by the electrostatic force produced by an applied voltage. The mechanical impedance of these membranes is typically much lower than the acoustic impedance of water. In our investigations of acoustic coupling in CMUTs, interaction effects between the membranes in immersion were observed, similar to those reported in sonar arrays. Because CMUTs have many promising applications in the field of medical ultrasound imaging, understanding of cross-coupling mechanisms and acoustic interaction effects is especially important for reducing cross-talk between array elements, which can produce artifacts and degrade image quality. In this paper, we report a finite-element study of acoustic interactions in CMUTs and experimental results obtained by laser interferometry measurements. The good agreement found between finite element modeling (FEM) results and optical displacement measurements demonstrates that acoustic interactions through the liquid represent a major source of cross coupling in CMUTs.

Design, fabrication and characterization of a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic probe for medical imaging.

In this paper we report the design, fabrication process, and characterization of a 64-elements capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT), 3 MHz center frequency, 100% fractional bandwidth. Using this transducer, we developed a linear probe for application in medical echographic imaging. The probe was fully characterized and tested with a commercial echographic scanner to obtain first images from phantoms and in vivo human body. The results, which quickly follow similar results obtained by other researchers, clearly show the great potentiality of this new emerging technology. The cMUT probe works better than the standard piezoelectric probe as far as the axial resolution is concerned, but it suffers from low sensitivity. At present this can be a limit, especially for in depth operation. But we are strongly confident that significant improvements can be obtained in the very near future to overcome this limitation, with a better transducer design, the use of an acoustic lens, and using well matched, front-end electronics between the transducer and the echographic system.

Fast scanning probe for ophthalmic echography using an ultrasound motor.

High-frequency transducers, up to 35-50 MHz, are widely used in ophthalmic echography to image fine eye structures. Phased-array techniques are not practically applicable at such a high frequency, due to the too small size required for the single transducer element, and mechanical scanning is the only practical alternative. At present, all ophthalmic ultrasound systems use focused single-element, mechanically scanned probes. A good probe positioning and image evaluation feedback requires an image refresh-rate of about 15-30 frames per second, which is achieved in commercial mechanical scanning probes by using electromagnetic motors. In this work, we report the design, construction, and experimental characterization of the first mechanical scanning probe for ophthalmic echography based on a small piezoelectric ultrasound motor. The prototype probe reaches a scanning rate of 15 sectors per second, with very silent operation and little weight. The first high-frequency echographic images obtained with the prototype probe are presented.

Resolution enhancement of experimental echographic images using luminance extrapolation.

The experimental results of a resolution enhancement technique are presented, confirming the first simulations previously proposed. The technique enhances the resolution of ultrasound echographic images by extrapolating the luminance changes in the image when the aperture of the transducer is increased, and builds an image that could be obtained with a transducer aperture larger than that physically available.

The effects of membrane metallization in capacitive microfabricated ultrasonic transducers.

The mechanical effects of the metal layer on the membranes of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) are analyzed in this paper by means of finite element simulations. The influence of electrode size and thickness on the electrostatic behavior of the single CMUT cell, including diaphragm displacement, cell capacitance, and collapse voltage, is explored. The effect on device sensitivity is investigated through the transformation factor of the cell, that is computed by FEM and compared with the parallel plate model prediction. It is found that for a non-negligible electrode thickness, as in the majority of fabricated devices, both the static and dynamic performance of the cell can be affected in a significant way. Thus, the effects of membrane metallization must be taken into account in CMUT design and optimization.

A power transducer system for the ultrasonic lubrication of the continuous steel casting.

A critical point in the continuous steel casting process exists in the meniscus zone of the cooled mould, i.e., the region in which the steel stream flowing out of the tundish nozzle starts to solidify. This is a critical point because of the sticking that occurs between the solid shell of steel and the mould. In this work, a new system for the ultrasonic lubrication of the continuous steel casting is proposed and experimentally tested. The basic idea is to excite one of the mould's natural vibration modes by means of a distributed ultrasonic source. This source is composed of an array of power emitters, with each of them placed upon an antinode of the mould. An experimental characterization of the vibrational behavior of a square mould was first carried out. The most active resonance modes of the mould were detected with an experimental technique based on a simple impedance measurement. The modal shape of the selected mode, and hence the position of antinodes, was obtained by means of interferometer measurements. Additional experimental investigations were performed by exciting mould vibrations with up to four piezoceramic disks placed on different sets of antinodes. Some positioning criteria to maximize the superposition effect were derived. Measurements were obtained through excitation of the mould with up to four Langevin-type power emitters, designed and manufactured to work at the mould's selected resonance frequency. These measurements have shown that, by increasing the number of emitters, the ultrasonic power transmitted to the mould and, consequently, the maximum available displacement, increases. Other practical advantages of the proposed system are highlighted and discussed.

Vibration maps of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers by laser interferometry.

In this letter, a 1.8-mm x 1.8-mm capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) element is experimentally characterized by means of optical measurements. Optical displacement measurements provide information on the resonant behavior of the single membranes and also allow us to investigate the dispersion in the frequency spectrum of adjacent membranes. In addition, higher order mode shapes are observed, showing that either symmetrical or asymmetrical modes are excited in CMUT membranes. Laser interferometry vibration maps, combined with quantitative displacement measurements, provide information about the quality and repeatability of the fabrication process, which is a basic requirement for 2-D array fabrication for ultrasound imaging.