Design, Fabrication, Characterization, and System Integration of a 1-D PMUT Array for Medical Ultrasound Imaging

Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (CMUT and PMUT) technologies are playing a fundamental role in the development of novel applications such as ultra-portable medical imaging systems. This paper presents the design, fabrication, characterization, and system integration of a 1-D PMUT array for low-frequency diagnostic imaging applications. The PMUT array was fabricated using a sol-gel PZT thin film-based MEMS technology from STMicroelectronics. The 1-D array was integrated into an ultrasound probe and acoustic characterization and imaging tests were carried out using the ULA-OP 256 open scanner. The two-way frequency response of the PMUT had a center frequency of 2.5 MHz and a -6dB fractional bandwidth of 81%, and peak transmit and receive sensitivities assessed at the transducer surface of 31 kPa/V and 3.2 mV/kPa, respectively. In vitro and in vivo scans of a tissue-mimicking phantom and of a carotid artery, respectively, were successfully carried out demonstrating the potentiality of this PMUT technology for medical imaging applications.