JP2023160576A - Array type ultrasonic transmitter receiver and method for adjusting drive start time of pulse signal generation unit - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ultrasonic video display device that reduces deviation in the drive timing of individual vibrators of an array probe.SOLUTION: An array type ultrasonic transmitter receiver according to the present invention transmits/receives an ultrasonic wave by an array type probe having a plurality of vibrators 21 to generate an ultrasonic beam. The array type ultrasonic transmitter receiver is constituted to include a control unit 11 that adjusts the output timing of a pulse signal generation unit 12 that outputs a pulse signal to drive the plurality of vibrators by a drive command signal, eliminates pulse signal output variation due to the difference in characteristics of the individual hardware pieces of the pulse signal generation unit, and equalizes the output timing of the pulse signals to drive the vibrators.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an array type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver and a method for adjusting a drive start time of a pulse signal generator.

In recent years, as the degree of integration of semiconductors (test objects) has increased, there has been a demand for shortening the time required to detect peeling at interfaces inside the test object, that is, high-speed flaw detection. One known method is a flaw detection method using an array type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver that electronically switches the operation of a plurality of transducers.

An array-type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver creates multiple ultrasonic wavefronts that are slightly shifted by controlling the oscillation timing of each transducer of an array probe in which multiple transducers are arranged side by side. A focused beam of ultrasonic waves is created using a combined wavefront due to interference, and the focused beam of ultrasonic waves is sequentially irradiated onto the subject. The array-type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver uses multiple transducers to receive the ultrasonic echoes reflected by the peeled surface at the interface inside the subject, and uses a method that cancels out the difference in distance between the individual transducers from the reflection source. Signal processing is performed to obtain ultrasonic echoes of the peeled surface at the interface inside the subject.

Patent Document 1 discloses that when receiving an echo signal using a probe composed of a large number of transducers, the gain data of the preamplifier of each raster is calculated and stored in advance, and the preamplifier is activated when the probe receives the signal. It is described that control is performed based on the gain data so that the degree of contribution of each vibrator to the received signal has a flat characteristic.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-336051

According to Patent Document 1, since ultrasonic echoes are received with flat characteristics, an ultrasonic image of the peeled surface can be displayed with high accuracy.
However, this method does not take into account the problem that the focusing ability of the ultrasound beam deteriorates due to variations in the driving timing of the individual transducers of the array probe, and there is room for improvement in the accuracy of the ultrasound image of the peeled surface.

An object of the present invention is to provide an array type ultrasonic transmitting/receiving device that reduces variations in drive timing of individual transducers of an array probe.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an array-type ultrasonic transmitter-receiver of the present invention is an array-type ultrasonic transmitter-receiver that transmits and receives ultrasound using an array-type probe having a plurality of transducers that generate ultrasound beams. Adjusting the output timing of a pulse signal generation section that outputs pulse signals for driving the plurality of vibrators using a drive command signal, the output variation of the pulse signal due to differences in characteristics of individual hardware of the pulse signal generation section can be eliminated. The present invention includes a control unit that eliminates this problem and equalizes the output timing of the pulse signal that drives the vibrator.

According to the present invention, variations in drive timing of individual transducers of an array probe are suppressed, and the focusing property of an ultrasound beam is improved.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an array-type ultrasound transmitting/receiving device that controls emission of ultrasound beams by driving individual transducers of an array probe. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the time course of pulse signals in an array type ultrasonic transceiver to which the present invention is not applied. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the time course of pulse signals in the array type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver according to the embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an ultrasonic transceiver 1 that drives each transducer 21 of an array probe 2 to control emission of an ultrasonic beam in an array type ultrasonic transceiver according to an embodiment.

The array type ultrasound transmitting/receiving device drives a predetermined number of transducers arranged in an array of array probes 2, irradiates an object with ultrasound from the transducers, and obtains the reflected waves. Specifically, the focal position of each transducer is focused on one point on the target surface to be inspected, and the ultrasonic waves are transmitted, and the reflected waves are captured by the array-type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver via the transducers. , acquire ultrasound echoes of the focal region by internal processing.

The ultrasound transmitting/receiving device 1 irradiates the subject 3 with an ultrasound beam and receives ultrasound echoes of the subject 3 . FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver 1 for emitting ultrasonic beams, and omits the configuration for receiving ultrasonic echoes.

The control section 11 is realized by a general electronic computer including a central processing unit, memory, external storage device, and input section/output section. The control unit 11 realizes the functions of a drive command signal generation unit 111 and a drive start time calculation unit 114, which will be described later, by the central processing unit executing a predetermined control program stored in an external storage device. The storage section 115 is constituted by a memory, and the output section 112 and the input section 113 are constituted by an input section/output section.

The control unit 11 outputs the drive command signal generated by the central processing unit from the output unit 112 to the pulse signal generation unit 12.

The pulse signal generation unit 12 includes a pulse signal generation circuit 121 that generates a pulse signal for driving each of the plurality of transducers 21 constituting the array probe 2, and a pulse signal generation circuit 121 that generates a pulse signal for each pulse signal generation circuit 121. The receiving section 13 includes a processing circuit that receives the pulse signal transmitted from the generating circuit 121.

The pulse signal generation circuit 121 generates a pulse signal for driving the corresponding transducer 21 and applies it to the transducer 21, and also transmits the pulse signal to each processing circuit of the corresponding receiving section 13. .

Each processing circuit inside the reception unit 13 receives the pulse signal from the corresponding pulse signal generation circuit 121 and also receives the reflected ultrasound signal from the subject via the transducer 21 of the array probe 2. . Furthermore, at the input of each processing circuit, the pulse signal received from the pulse signal generation circuit 121 is converted to a low voltage level in order to protect the processing circuit and the control section 11 .

The ultrasonic transmitting/receiving device 1 is configured such that the time from when each pulse signal generating circuit 121 of the pulse signal generating section 12 receives a drive command signal until outputting a pulse signal, and the time from when each pulse signal generating circuit 121 of the pulse signal generating section 12 outputs a pulse signal, and each processing circuit inside the receiving section 13 The total time including the time for processing the pulse signal is determined as the driving start time of each pulse signal.

In order for the array type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver to perform ultrasonic transmission/reception processing with high precision, it is required that the driving start time of each transducer 21 of the pulse signal generation section 12 be uniform. Note that the time it takes for a signal to travel through the connection between each device can be ignored. However, since each pulse signal generation circuit 121 of the pulse signal generation section 12 and each processing circuit of the reception section 13 are electronic components, there are variations in individual characteristics. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust this variation and equalize the output timing of the pulse signal from the pulse signal generator 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic transmitting/receiving device 1 uses the control unit 11 to perform a process of calculating a drive start time for each of the transducers 21. The details will be described later, but in this calculation process, the reference drive start time is calculated, the difference between the other drive start times and the reference drive start time is calculated, and the output timing of the drive command signal is reset. Output from 112.

In the array-type ultrasound transmitting/receiving device of the embodiment, before the main operation of transmitting/receiving ultrasound to/from the specimen, the ultrasound transmitting/receiving device 1 calculates the reference drive start time of the pulse signal generation unit 12 and the transducer. The difference between the drive start time and the reference drive start time is calculated every 21 seconds, and the output timing of the drive command signal is reset. Then, at the stage of actual operation, a drive command signal is output to the pulse signal generation circuit 121 at the reset output timing.

Specifically, the control unit 11 outputs the drive command signal generated by the drive command signal generation unit 111 to the pulse signal generation unit 12 via the output unit 112, and stores the output time in the storage unit as the output time. do. The pulse signal generated by the pulse signal generation section 12 is input to the input section 113 after being processed by an internal processing circuit of the reception section 13 for each pulse signal generation circuit 121. Then, the control unit 11 stores the input time for each pulse signal generation circuit 121 in the storage unit as the input time.

Hereinafter, a method for determining the driving start time of the pulse signal generating section 12 and correcting the output timing of the pulse signal will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the output state of the pulse signal before correcting the output timing.
In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis shows the passage of time, and shows, as an example, the states of four pulse signals of the pulse signal generation circuit 121.

The top signal in FIG. 2 is a drive command signal, and indicates the time that is the starting point for calculating the drive start time of each pulse signal, that is, the reference time of the time at which the drive command signal is output from the output unit 112. It is something.

td1 to td4 indicate drive start times of the respective pulse signal generation circuits 121. In other words, it is the time that is the difference between the time when the pulse signal is input to the input section 113 and the time when the drive command signal is output from the output section 112.

The drive start time calculation unit 114 calculates the difference between the time at which the pulse signal is input to the input unit 113 and the time at which the drive command signal is output from the output unit 112 (reference time), and Find the drive start times td1 to td4.

The drive start time calculation unit 114 further sets the drive start time td3 having the largest value as the reference drive start time. That is, the pulse signal generation circuit 121(3) is used as a reference pulse signal generation circuit, and its drive start time is set as the reference drive start time.

Then, the drive start time calculation unit 114 calculates the drive start times td1, td2, and td4 of the pulse signal generation circuit 121(1), the pulse signal generation circuit 121(2), and the pulse signal generation circuit 121(4), and the reference drive Difference times td3-td1, td3-td2, and td3-td4 from the start time td3 are calculated, and the difference times are stored in the storage unit 115.

In this operation, the control unit 11 (drive command signal generation unit 111) adds the above difference time to the reference time of the drive command signal to output the drive command signal to each of the pulse signal generation circuits 121. Then, the output timing of the drive command signal is reset. As a result, the pulse signal difference times td3-td1, td3-td2, and td3-td4 become zero, so the output timings of the pulse signals of the pulse signal generation section 12 match.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the drive command signal output to the pulse signal generation circuit 121(1) is outputted to the control unit 11 (drive command signal The generation unit 111) is adjusted so that it outputs a drive command signal. The pulse signal generation circuit 121(1) outputs a pulse signal after a drive start time td1 from the input of the drive command signal. As a result, the time from the reference time to outputting the pulse signal is (td3 - td1) + td1 = td3, which coincides with the reference drive start time td3, which is the drive start time of the pulse signal generation circuit 121 (3). The output timing of the pulse signal of the pulse signal generation circuit 121(1) matches the output timing of the pulse signal of the reference pulse signal generation circuit (pulse signal generation circuit 121(3)).

Similarly, the control unit 11 (drive command signal generation unit 111) outputs the drive command signal to the pulse signal generation circuit 121(2) at a time when the difference time td3−td2 is added to the reference time. The drive command signal generation unit 111) is adjusted to output a drive command signal, and the pulse signal generation circuit 121(2) outputs a pulse signal after (td3-td2)+td2=td3 from the reference time.

Further, the control unit 11 (drive command signal generation unit 111) outputs the drive command signal to the pulse signal generation circuit 121(4) at a time when the difference time td3−td4 is added to the reference time. The command signal generation unit 111) is adjusted to output a drive command signal, and the pulse signal generation circuit 121(4) outputs a pulse signal after (td3-td4)+td4=td3 from the reference time.

Thereby, it becomes possible to equalize the output timing of the pulse signal of the pulse signal generation section 12, and it becomes possible to equalize the irradiation timing of the ultrasonic wave from the transducer 21.

1 Ultrasonic transmitting and receiving device 11 Control unit 111 Drive command signal generation unit 112 Output unit 113 Input unit 114 Drive start time calculation unit 115 Storage unit 12 Pulse signal generation unit 13 Receiving unit 2 Array probe 21 Transducer 3 Object

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an array-type ultrasonic transmitter-receiver of the present invention is an array-type ultrasonic transmitter-receiver that transmits and receives ultrasound using an array-type probe having a plurality of transducers that generate ultrasound beams. Output timing of a pulse signal generation unit that connects directly to each of the plurality of transducers in a one-to-one correspondence and outputs a pulse signal for driving the transducers according to a drive command signal output from the array-type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver. The difference time is adjusted to zero to eliminate variations in the output of the pulse signal due to differences in the characteristics of individual hardware of the pulse signal generation section, and to adjust the output timing of the pulse signal that drives the vibrator. It is equipped with a control unit for uniformity.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an array-type ultrasonic transmitter-receiver of the present invention is an array-type ultrasonic transmitter-receiver that transmits and receives ultrasound using an array-type probe having a plurality of transducers that generate ultrasound beams . adjusting the output timing of the drive command signal to a pulse signal generation unit that is directly connected to each of the plurality of vibrators in a one-to-one correspondence and outputs a pulse signal for driving the vibrators according to the drive command signal; , a control unit that eliminates variations in the output of the pulse signal due to differences in characteristics of individual hardware of the pulse signal generation unit and equalizes the output timing of the pulse signal that drives the vibrator , the control unit , an output section that outputs the drive command signal to the pulse signal generation section, an input section that inputs the pulse signal output from the pulse signal generation section, and a pre-operation section that emits an ultrasound beam to the subject. The time at which the output section outputs the drive command signal to the pulse signal generation section is stored as an output time, and the time at which the input section inputs the pulse signal generated by the pulse signal generation section is stored as an input time. and a storage unit that stores the difference between the output time and the input time as the drive start time of the pulse signal generation unit for each vibrator, and the control unit stores the difference between the output time and the input time for each vibrator. The maximum value of the drive start time related to the transducer that generates the ultrasonic beam among the drive start times is determined as the reference drive start time, and the control unit determines the difference between the reference drive start time and other drive start times. The difference time is determined and stored in the storage unit, and the control unit determines the output timing of the drive command signal corresponding to the pulse signal generation unit in the actual operation of emitting an ultrasound beam to the subject. The pulse signal is adjusted by the difference time and outputted to the pulse signal generation section, and the pulse signal generation section outputs a pulse signal with uniform output timing to the vibrator to drive the vibrator.

Claims (8)

An array-type ultrasonic transceiver device that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves using an array-type probe having a plurality of transducers that generate ultrasonic beams,
Adjusting the output timing of a pulse signal generation section that outputs pulse signals for driving the plurality of vibrators using a drive command signal, the output variation of the pulse signal due to differences in characteristics of individual hardware of the pulse signal generation section can be eliminated. 1. An array-type ultrasonic transceiver apparatus, comprising: a control section that eliminates the above problem and equalizes the output timing of a pulse signal that drives the vibrator. The array type ultrasonic transceiver according to claim 1,
The control unit includes:
an output section that outputs the drive command signal to the pulse signal generation section;
an input section into which the pulse signal outputted by the pulse signal generation section is input;
Before the actual operation of emitting an ultrasound beam to a subject, the time at which the output section outputs the drive command signal to the pulse signal generation section is stored as an output time, and the input section outputs the drive command signal to the pulse signal generation section. a storage unit that stores a time when the pulse signal generated by the unit is inputted as an input time, and stores a difference between the output time and the input time as a drive start time of the pulse signal generation unit for each vibrator; ,
An array type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver comprising: In the array type ultrasonic transceiver device according to claim 2,
The array type ultrasound system is characterized in that the control unit determines the maximum value of drive start times related to transducers that generate ultrasonic beams among the drive start times for each of the transducers, and sets the value as a reference drive start time. Transmitting/receiving device. In the array type ultrasonic transceiver device according to claim 3,
The array-type ultrasonic transmitting/receiving device, wherein the control unit calculates a difference time between the reference drive start time and other drive start times and stores it in the storage unit. In the array type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver according to claim 4,
In the main operation of emitting an ultrasonic beam to a subject, the control unit adjusts the output timing of the drive command signal corresponding to the pulse signal generation unit by the difference time, and outputs the drive command signal to the pulse signal generation unit. An array type ultrasonic transmitting/receiving device, wherein the pulse signal generation unit outputs a pulse signal with uniform output timing to the vibrator to drive the vibrator. The array type ultrasonic transceiver according to claim 1,
The pulse signal generation section includes a pulse signal generation circuit that outputs a pulse signal to drive each of the vibrators, and a reception section that receives the pulse signal output from the pulse signal generation circuit and converts the voltage level. An array type ultrasonic transmitting and receiving device characterized by: A method for adjusting a drive start time of a pulse signal generation unit that outputs a pulse signal for driving the transducers in an array type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver that generates ultrasound beams using a plurality of transducers, the method comprising:
In the preliminary stage of the actual operation of the array type ultrasonic transceiver device,
Determining the drive start time of the output of a pulse signal generation unit that outputs a pulse signal for driving the vibrator for each vibrator,
Determining the maximum value of the drive start time related to the vibrator that generates the ultrasonic beam as a reference drive start time,
Calculating the difference time between the reference drive start time and the other drive start times,
At the stage of main operation of the array type ultrasonic transmitter/receiver,
Driving start time of the pulse signal generating section, characterized in that the output timing of the drive command signal to the pulse signal generating section that outputs the pulse signal for driving the vibrator is adjusted by the difference time for each vibrator. Adjustment method. The method for adjusting the drive start time of a pulse signal generating section according to claim 7,
A method for adjusting a driving start time of a pulse signal generating section, wherein the pulse signal generating section generates a pulse signal for driving a transducer that generates an ultrasonic beam, and converts the pulse signal to a low voltage level.

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