A NEW LINEAR ULTRASOUND ARRAY SYSTEM OPERATING AT 20 MHZ

Hassan  M. SAYED

In this research, two topics related to improvements in medical ultrasonic imaging systems are discussed. The first one is the development of an electronic linear‑scanning ultrasonic transmitting system for focusing groups of piezoelectric elements in a transducer array. The next topic covers the design and construction of a. linear ultrasonic transducer arrays employing polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF). The development of these arrays is based on integrated circuit technology and photolithography techniques.

Prototypes of 8‑element and 26‑element transducer arrays have been developed and their performances studied. However, most of the experimental analysis is related to the 8‑element array. Its axial (‑20dB) and lateral (‑6dB) resolution on the focal plane are 63 µm and l mm, respectively.

The system developed has been experimentally demonstrated by scanning the transducer array by an automated 3‑dimension beam scanner. The ultrasonic beam profile and field distribution is presented.