EP0332637B1 - Wandler für ein ultraschallgerät mit einer anordnung von piezoelektrischen elementen - Google Patents

Wandler für ein ultraschallgerät mit einer anordnung von piezoelektrischen elementen Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0332637B1
EP0332637B1 EP87907784A EP87907784A EP0332637B1 EP 0332637 B1 EP0332637 B1 EP 0332637B1 EP 87907784 A EP87907784 A EP 87907784A EP 87907784 A EP87907784 A EP 87907784A EP 0332637 B1 EP0332637 B1 EP 0332637B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
probe
elements
fact
plate
accordance
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP87907784A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0332637A1 (de
Inventor
Patrick Dubut
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General Electric CGR SA
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General Electric CGR SA
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Priority to AT87907784T priority Critical patent/ATE84894T1/de
Publication of EP0332637A1 publication Critical patent/EP0332637A1/de
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Publication of EP0332637B1 publication Critical patent/EP0332637B1/de
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10K—SOUND-PRODUCING DEVICES; METHODS OR DEVICES FOR PROTECTING AGAINST, OR FOR DAMPING, NOISE OR OTHER ACOUSTIC WAVES IN GENERAL; ACOUSTICS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G10K11/00—Methods or devices for transmitting, conducting or directing sound in general; Methods or devices for protecting against, or for damping, noise or other acoustic waves in general
    • G10K11/18—Methods or devices for transmitting, conducting or directing sound
    • G10K11/26—Sound-focusing or directing, e.g. scanning
    • G10K11/32—Sound-focusing or directing, e.g. scanning characterised by the shape of the source

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a probe for an ultrasonic device provided with a concave arrangement of piezoelectric elements.
  • a probe for an ultrasonic device provided with a concave arrangement of piezoelectric elements.
  • Such a probe can be used in particular in the medical field in combination with an ultrasound device. It can nevertheless find its application in other fields where ultrasound is used and where, for focusing needs, it is preferable to use probes provided with piezoelectric elements distributed over a concave surface.
  • An ultrasound device probe in principle comprises a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements for transforming electrical signals applied to the elements into mechanical excitations and vice versa. These piezoelectric elements are arranged in the head of the probe according to a matrix type distribution, most often in two dimensions, sometimes in one dimension, for example in a strip.
  • the realization of such a probe faced with the need to power electrically, independently, each of the elements is not a simple problem.
  • One solution in principle consists in fixing a plate of a piezoelectric crystal to a flexible metallized support, and in making cuts in this plate without too much damage to the support. In this way we obtain the desired distribution of the elements. By having made sufficiently large cuts and by bending the elastic support, it can be imposed a desired concave shape.
  • the characteristics of the preamble of claim 1 are known from the Japanese abstract 57181299.
  • the support 1 known from this document is heat-deformable and the acoustic transition blade is broken up by saw cuts. It is known from the Japanese abstract 60249500 to join elements 3 to a plate 4. This plate is not described as being an acoustic transition plate.
  • the object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks by noting that for the desired applications, with a focus imposed by the curvature of the arrangement of the elements, it is not a problem if the vertices of the elements covered with their transition blade touch each other in the concavity of the probe.
  • the electrical connection for differentiating all the elements can be made from the rear of the probe, where previously there was the support.
  • These electrical connection circuits disturb the rear wave of the probe, which is not important: they do not interfere with the useful operation of the probe.
  • the concave arrangements are obtained for piezoelectric elements using flexible blades, possibly heat-deformable.
  • the metallizations of the front and rear faces make it possible to apply an electric field parallel to the direction of propagation of the acoustic waves. This arrangement is advantageous because it improves the coupling coefficient between the electric field and the acoustic field.
  • the piezoelectric elements comprise, for example, plastic elements such as, for example, the PVF2 or the PVT2F copolymer; a ceramic such as PZT, PZT polymer composite or PBTiO3 or a crystal.
  • the subject of the invention is therefore a probe for an ultrasonic device provided with a concave arrangement of piezoelectric elements, these elements each being covered, on their emissive face opposite the concavity, with an acoustic transition plate, characterized in that these blades are adjacent and constitute the same continuous monobloc blade covering a plurality of elements.
  • Figure 1 shows a probe according to the invention.
  • This comprises a concave arrangement 1 of piezoelectric elements such as 2.
  • the concavity is a concavity in two orthogonal dimensions: the surface is left. It can of course be concave in one dimension and in this case the surface is cylindrical.
  • the elements are each covered, on their face 3 opposite the concavity, with an acoustic transition blade.
  • element 2 its transition blade 4 is partially limited by dashes in the drawing.
  • the characteristic of the probe of the invention resides in the fact that adjacent blades constitute the same monobloc blade 5, continuous, covering a plurality of elements, in general all of the elements.
  • the blade 5 is provided on its face opposite these elements with a metallization 7 which comes into contact with the metallizations of these elements.
  • the other metallizations 8 of the piezoelectric elements can be connected in a conventional manner. These connections can be incorporated into a base 9 which can also serve to maintain and manipulate the probe.
  • the presence of the differentiated electrical connections at the location of the metallizations 8 cannot cause disturbance in the acoustic signals transmitted or received because they are located at the rear of the probe with respect to the useful direction P of propagation.
  • FIG. 2 shows a detail of embodiment of the probe at a location marked at 10 in FIG. 1.
  • glue is applied to a blade 5 previously metallized with a layer 7 a plate of a piezoelectric crystal metallized on its two faces.
  • the metallization 7 of the blade is preferably thick: in one example it is between 15 and 20 micrometers.
  • the metallization of the crystal is normal, it can be of a much smaller thickness.
  • the glue used to fix the crystal on the blade is such that it allows electrical continuity in all places between the two metallizations.
  • cuts 11 are made on the rear face of the crystal whose purpose is to separate the elements from one another in the plate.
  • the cut 11 has the distinction of being carried out with care.
  • its depth extends up to mid-thickness of the metallization 7 of the blade 5. It is known, with flatness tolerances of the order of one micrometer, to carry out the rectification of the surfaces of the blade and of the piezoelectric crystal. With a saw correctly guided with respect to the plane of the arrangement, it is then possible to ensure that the cut does not break the electrical connection formed by the metallization 7.
  • FIG. 3 shows how the electrical connection can be made simply on each metallization 8 carried out on the other face of an element.
  • thermo-compression technology is used. With this technology, the end 12 of connecting wires 13 is pressed against the metallizations 8. By heating this end at the time of this compression, a sufficient electrical connection is obtained. The same is done with a wire 14 which terminates on a peripheral part 15 of the metallization 7 of the blade 5.
  • the arrangement is curved.
  • This arrangement can be concave in one dimension or concave, as shown in FIG. 1, in two dimensions.
  • the material which constitutes the continuous blade is a deformable material.
  • the blade material 5 is even a heat-deformable material.
  • this blade is made of a cold polymerizable polyurethane. Under these conditions, it suffices to subject the blade-crystal assembly thus formed and then cut, to a heating-cooling cycle. During this hot cycle, the arrangement is subjected to forces tending to deform it in the desired manner. An appropriate form can be used for this purpose to press against the assembly. During cooling, the whole hardens with the shape that has been imposed on it. After this operation, a base 9 is made for the arrangement by pouring, against the rear faces of the elements, a polymerizable synthetic material. The wires 13 or 14 emerge from this base. They are subsequently connected to the control circuits of the ultrasound device used.
  • the materials which constitute the base are preferably chosen from among those likely to have a zero acoustic impedance.
  • the contact between the elements and the base is not very intimate.
  • the presence of a thin layer of interposed air is even favorable for lowering the value of the rear acoustic impedance. This loose contact is made possible by the choice of a thermo-compression connection as indicated: there is no obligation to bond against the rear faces of the elements a connection device based on a rigid printed circuit.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Investigating Or Analyzing Materials By The Use Of Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)
  • Transducers For Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)
  • Ultra Sonic Daignosis Equipment (AREA)

Claims (10)

  1. Sonde für ein Ultraschallgerät mit einer konkaven Anordnung (Fig. 1) piezoelektrischer Elemente (2), wobei jedes dieser Elemente an seiner der Hohlfläche zugewandten Sendefläche mit einer akustischen Übergangsschicht (4) abgedeckt (3) ist, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß diese Schichten aneinander angrenzen und eine einzige durchgehende einstückige Schicht (5) bilden, die mehrere Elemente abdeckt.
  2. Sonde nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Schicht durchgehend metallisiert (7) ist und elektrisch mit Metallisierungen (6) verbunden ist, die an dieser Schicht zugewandten Seiten der Elemente ausgebildet sind.
  3. Sonde nach einem der Ansprüche 1 oder 2, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Schicht aus einem defomierbaren Material besteht.
  4. Sonde nach Anspruch 3, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Schicht aus einem thermodeformierbaren Material besteht.
  5. Sonde nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 4, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Anordnung zweidimensional ist.
  6. Sonde nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 4, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daS die Anordnung barettförmig ist.
  7. Sonde nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Konkavität eine zweidimensionale Konkavität (Fig. 1) ist.
  8. Sonde nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daS die Konkavität eine eindimensionale Konkavität ist.
  9. Sonde nach Anspruch 2, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die auf der Schicht ausgebildete Metallisierung ausreichend dick ist, damit die Anordnung der Elemente durch Unterteilungen (11) erfolgen kann, die sich im wesentlichen bis zur Mitte der Höhe in der Metallisierung der Schicht fortsetzen.
  10. Sonde nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 9, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daS die Elemente elektrisch über Drähte (13) verbunden sind, die auf ihre Fläche (8), die der der Schicht (7) zugewandten Fläche (6) entgegengesetzt ist, thermogebondet (12) sind.
EP87907784A 1986-11-28 1987-11-24 Wandler für ein ultraschallgerät mit einer anordnung von piezoelektrischen elementen Expired - Lifetime EP0332637B1 (de)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT87907784T ATE84894T1 (de) 1986-11-28 1987-11-24 Wandler fuer ein ultraschallgeraet mit einer anordnung von piezoelektrischen elementen.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR8616664 1986-11-28
FR8616664A FR2607631B1 (fr) 1986-11-28 1986-11-28 Sonde pour appareil a ultrasons munie d'un arrangement concave d'elements piezo-electriques

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0332637A1 EP0332637A1 (de) 1989-09-20
EP0332637B1 true EP0332637B1 (de) 1993-01-20

Family

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP87907784A Expired - Lifetime EP0332637B1 (de) 1986-11-28 1987-11-24 Wandler für ein ultraschallgerät mit einer anordnung von piezoelektrischen elementen
EP87402638A Withdrawn EP0272960A1 (de) 1986-11-28 1987-11-24 Wandler für ein Ultraschallgerät mit einer Anordnung von piezoelektrischen Elementen

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP87402638A Withdrawn EP0272960A1 (de) 1986-11-28 1987-11-24 Wandler für ein Ultraschallgerät mit einer Anordnung von piezoelektrischen Elementen

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US5042492A (de)
EP (2) EP0332637B1 (de)
JP (1) JPH02501431A (de)
AT (1) ATE84894T1 (de)
DE (1) DE3783776T2 (de)
FR (1) FR2607631B1 (de)
WO (1) WO1988004089A1 (de)

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US7850613B2 (en) * 2003-05-30 2010-12-14 Orison Corporation Apparatus and method for three dimensional ultrasound breast imaging
US7611465B2 (en) * 2003-07-15 2009-11-03 Board Of Regents, The University Of Texas System Rapid and accurate detection of bone quality using ultrasound critical angle reflectometry
WO2007092054A2 (en) 2006-02-06 2007-08-16 Specht Donald F Method and apparatus to visualize the coronary arteries using ultrasound
WO2008051639A2 (en) 2006-10-25 2008-05-02 Maui Imaging, Inc. Method and apparatus to produce ultrasonic images using multiple apertures
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US8323201B2 (en) 2007-08-06 2012-12-04 Orison Corporation System and method for three-dimensional ultrasound imaging
US9282945B2 (en) 2009-04-14 2016-03-15 Maui Imaging, Inc. Calibration of ultrasound probes
US20100171395A1 (en) * 2008-10-24 2010-07-08 University Of Southern California Curved ultrasonic array transducers
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WO2012051305A2 (en) 2010-10-13 2012-04-19 Mau Imaging, Inc. Multiple aperture probe internal apparatus and cable assemblies
TW201336478A (zh) 2011-12-01 2013-09-16 Maui Imaging Inc 使用以回音為基及多孔徑都卜勒超音波之移動偵測
KR101362378B1 (ko) 2011-12-13 2014-02-13 삼성전자주식회사 초음파 진단장치용 프로브
EP2797515A4 (de) 2011-12-29 2015-07-22 Maui Imaging Inc M-modus-ultraschallbildgebung beliebiger pfade
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CN104620128B (zh) 2012-08-10 2017-06-23 毛伊图像公司 多孔径超声探头的校准
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0272960A1 (de) 1988-06-29
WO1988004089A1 (fr) 1988-06-02
JPH02501431A (ja) 1990-05-17
FR2607631A1 (fr) 1988-06-03
US5042492A (en) 1991-08-27
FR2607631B1 (fr) 1989-02-17
ATE84894T1 (de) 1993-02-15
EP0332637A1 (de) 1989-09-20
DE3783776D1 (de) 1993-03-04
DE3783776T2 (de) 1993-05-13

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