JPH053598A - Method for producing ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform the disconnection processing of a piezoelectric vibrator member without causing the exfoliation of a printed-circuit board, a disconnection due to it and a poor connection. CONSTITUTION:A piezoelectric vibrator member 5 is prepared by connecting the terminal part of a FPC(flexible printed-circuit board) 2 drawing an electric signal from this piezoelectric vibrator 1 to a ultrasonic radiation surface 1A of the piezoelectric vibrator 1. In the method for producing the ultrasonic probe equipped with a disconnection process forming a plurality of piezoelectric vibrator part while disconnecting the piezoelectric vibrator 1 of this piezoelectric vibrator member 5 with a FPC 2, adhesive 6 is filled to a corner B consisting of a non-contact terminal part 2A of the FPC 2 close to the piezoelectric vibrator side IC of a connection part A with the FPC 2 and the piezoelectric vibrator 1 and keep away from the piezoelectric vibrator 1 and the piezoelectric vibrator side IC, and the piezoelectric vibrator 1 is disconnected with the FPC 2 after the adhesive 6 is stiffened.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

 [Object of the Invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an array type ultrasonic probe provided in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to an array of piezoelectric vibrators to which a wiring board such as an FPC (flexible printed circuit board) is adhered. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an ultrasonic probe in which a cutting process for cutting is improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an array type ultrasonic probe has been widely used as an ultrasonic probe provided in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. When using piezoelectric ceramics as the piezoelectric vibrator provided in the ultrasonic probe, the FPC
A method of obtaining an electric signal from a piezoelectric ceramic using a (flexible printed circuit board) is generally adopted.
When manufacturing this type of array-type ultrasonic probe, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, an electric signal from the piezoelectric vibrator 101 is applied to the ultrasonic wave emitting surface 101A of a plate-shaped piezoelectric vibrator (piezoelectric ceramics) 101. Glue the end of the FPC 102 that pulls out. Further, an acoustic matching layer 103 is formed on the ultrasonic wave emitting surface 101A on a thin film, and a plate-shaped backing material 104 is bonded to the back surface (the surface opposite to the ultrasonic wave emitting surface) 101B of the piezoelectric vibrator 101. That is, the FPC 10
A piezoelectric vibrator member 110 in which 2 is sandwiched and fixed by the piezoelectric vibrator 101 and the acoustic matching layer 103 is created.

Next, the piezoelectric vibrator 101 and the FPC 102 of the piezoelectric vibrator member 110 are cut by a rotating blade of a dicing machine or the like to divide the piezoelectric vibrator 101 into a plurality of piezoelectric vibrator parts. At this time, for example, by moving the blade of the dicing machine in the left-right direction in FIG. 4 relative to the piezoelectric vibrator 101 and cutting the piezoelectric vibrator 101 to the backing material 104,
The piezoelectric vibrator 101 is cut together with the FPC 102. Through this cutting step, an array-shaped piezoelectric vibrator member in which a plurality of piezoelectric vibrator parts are arranged in an array is manufactured.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the piezoelectric vibrator member 120 is prepared by adhering the end of the FPC 112 to the back surface 111B of the piezoelectric vibrator 111. 1 in FIG.
13 is an acoustic matching layer, and 114 is a backing material. This piezoelectric vibrator member 120 is cut and processed in the same manner as above to manufacture an array-shaped piezoelectric vibrator member.

The array-shaped piezoelectric vibrator member thus obtained is mounted in the tip of the ultrasonic probe,
An array type ultrasonic probe is manufactured.

[0006]

However, in the case of the above-mentioned prior art, the acoustic matching layer 103 and the piezoelectric vibrator 1 are provided.
01 and the FPC 102, the cutting workability of the FPC 102, or the backing material 114, the piezoelectric vibrator 111 and the FPC 112, and the FPC 11
Depending on the cutting workability of 2, the FPC10 is used during the cutting work.
There is a problem that the wires 2 and 112 are often peeled off from the piezoelectric vibrators 101 and 111 to cause disconnection or connection failure.
In particular, as shown in FIG.
In the case of being supported only by 01 and the acoustic matching layer 103 having a very small thickness, as compared with the case where the FPC 112 is supported by the piezoelectric vibrator 111 and the relatively thick backing material 114 as shown in FIG. The FPC 102 is often peeled off as described above because the pressing force against the FPC 102 is weak.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. The object of the present invention is to cut a piezoelectric vibrator member without peeling of a wiring board or disconnection or connection failure due to it. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe that can be processed. [Constitution of Invention]

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the piezoelectric element is provided on either one of the ultrasonic radiation surface of the piezoelectric vibrator and the opposite surface. After forming the piezoelectric vibrator member by adhering the end portion of the wiring board that draws an electric signal from the vibrator, the piezoelectric vibrator of the piezoelectric vibrator member is cut together with the wiring board to form a plurality of piezoelectric vibrator parts. In the method for manufacturing an ultrasonic probe having a cutting step, in the cutting step, a non-contact of a wiring board which is in the vicinity of the piezoelectric vibrator side surface of the connecting portion between the wiring board and the piezoelectric vibrator and which does not contact the piezoelectric vibrator A corner formed of an end portion and a side surface near the non-contact end portion of the piezoelectric vibrator member is filled with an adhesive, and the piezoelectric vibrator is cut together with the wiring board after the adhesive is hardened. To do.

[0009]

In the method for manufacturing an ultrasonic probe of the present invention, the non-contact end of the wiring board is fixed and supported by the cured adhesive to the side surface of the piezoelectric vibrator member during cutting. The strength of the connecting portion between the wiring board and the piezoelectric vibrator and the holding force of the piezoelectric vibrator member with respect to the wiring board are significantly improved. Therefore, the resistance of the wiring board to the stress applied to the piezoelectric vibrator member at the time of cutting is also improved, and peeling of the wiring board at the time of cutting and disconnection and connection failure due to it are prevented.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, a plate-shaped piezoelectric vibrator (piezoelectric ceramic) 1 made of substantially ceramic is provided at the end of the ultrasonic wave emitting surface 1A as a wiring board for extracting an electric signal from the piezoelectric vibrator 1. The end portion of the FPC 2 is adhered, and the acoustic matching layer 3 is formed in a thin film shape on the ultrasonic radiation surface 1A from above the FPC 2, and the back surface of the piezoelectric vibrator 1 (on the side opposite to the ultrasonic radiation surface 1A). A plate-shaped backing material 4 is bonded onto the surface 1B. Thereby, the plate-shaped piezoelectric vibrator member 5 is created.

Next, in the piezoelectric vibrator member 5, F
The piezoelectric vibrator side surface 1 of the connection portion A between the PC 2 and the piezoelectric vibrator 1
FPC in the vicinity of C and not in contact with the piezoelectric vibrator 1
A corner B formed by the lower surface of the non-contact end portion 2A of 2 and the piezoelectric vibrator side surface 1C is filled with an adhesive 6 made of resin. That is, the adhesive 6 is applied on the lower surface of the non-contact end 2A of the FPC 2 and the side surface 1C of the piezoelectric vibrator, and
At the corner B, an adhesive portion having a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape is formed as shown in FIG.

After the adhesive 6 is hardened, the piezoelectric vibrator member 5 is cut by the rotary blade 20 of the dicing machine. The rotary blade 20 rotates in the direction of the arrow a, and the piezoelectric vibrator member 5 moves toward the rotary blade 20.
Is moved to cut the upper part of the piezoelectric vibrator member 5 while the rotary blade 20 moves in the direction of arrow b relative to the piezoelectric vibrator member 5. At this time, the height of the piezoelectric vibrator member 5 with respect to the rotary blade 20 is adjusted in advance so that the FPC 2 is cut together with the piezoelectric vibrator 1.
For example, every time the piezoelectric vibrator member 5 is cut into the backing material 4 by the rotary blade 20, one groove (not shown) parallel to the arrow b direction is formed in the piezoelectric vibrator member 5, and the piezoelectric vibrator member 5 is formed. 1 is split with FPC2.

A plurality of grooves parallel to the direction of the arrow b as described above are formed in the piezoelectric vibrator member 5 by the rotary blade 20, and the piezoelectric vibrator 1 is divided into a plurality of piezoelectric vibrator portions.
Thereby, an array-shaped piezoelectric vibrator member in which a plurality of piezoelectric vibrator parts are arranged in an array is obtained. This array-shaped piezoelectric vibrator member is set in the tip portion of the housing member 7 as shown in FIG. 2, the acoustic lens 8 is attached to the upper surface of the acoustic matching layer 3, and the ultrasonic probe 9 is manufactured. The ultrasonic probe 9 is connected to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (not shown) by a cable 10.

In the method of manufacturing the ultrasonic probe 9 of the above-mentioned embodiment, since the non-contact end portion 2A of the FPC is fixed and supported by the cured adhesive 6 to the piezoelectric vibrator side surface 1C, The strength of the connection portion A with the piezoelectric vibrator and the holding force of the piezoelectric vibrator member 5 with respect to the FPC 2 are significantly improved. Therefore, the resistance of the FPC 2 to the stress applied to the connecting portion A at the time of the cutting process is also improved, and peeling of the FPC 2 at the time of the cutting process and disconnection or connection failure due to it are prevented. Further, by improving the holding force of the piezoelectric vibrator member 5 with respect to the FPC 2 as described above, it becomes possible to increase the cutting speed of the rotary blade 20 during the cutting process. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the cutting processing time, efficiently manufacture a high-quality array-shaped piezoelectric vibrator member, and thereby manufacture a high-quality ultrasonic probe with high efficiency. Next, a method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, a back surface 2 of a piezoelectric vibrator (piezoelectric ceramic) 21 similar to the piezoelectric vibrator 1 is used.
The end of 1B is bonded to the end of the FPC 22 as a wiring board that draws an electric signal from the piezoelectric vibrator 21, and the plate-shaped backing material 24 is bonded to the back surface 21B.
The FPC 22 is sandwiched between the piezoelectric vibrator 21 and the backing material 24. Then, the ultrasonic wave emitting surface 21 of the piezoelectric vibrator 21
The acoustic matching layer 23 is formed into a thin film on A, and a plate-shaped piezoelectric vibrator member 25 is created.

In the piezoelectric vibrator member 25, the FPC
22 of the piezoelectric vibrator at the connecting portion C between the piezoelectric vibrator 21 and the piezoelectric vibrator 21
F that is in the vicinity of 1C and does not contact the piezoelectric vibrator 21
An adhesive 2 made of resin is provided on the corner D formed by the upper surface of the non-contact end portion 22A of the PC 22 and the piezoelectric vibrator side surface 21C.
Fill 6. That is, the adhesive 26 is applied on the upper surface of the non-contact end portion 22A of the FPC and the piezoelectric vibrator side surface 21C, and at the corner D, an adhesive portion having a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 3 is formed. It is formed.

After the adhesive portion is hardened, the rotary blade 30 of the dicing machine is rotated in the direction of the arrow a as shown in FIG. The piezoelectric vibrator member 25 is cut and processed by moving it in the direction. The array-shaped piezoelectric vibrator member obtained by this cutting process is installed in the tip portion of a storage member (not shown) similar to the above embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and an acoustic lens (not shown) is provided on the upper surface of the acoustic matching layer 23. ) Is attached to manufacture an ultrasonic probe.

In this embodiment, since the FPC 22 is supported by the piezoelectric vibrator 21 and the relatively thick backing material 24, the FPC 2 is very thick as the piezoelectric vibrator 1 as in the embodiment shown in FIG. Although the pressing force against the FPC 22 is relatively strong as compared with the case where it is supported by the thin acoustic matching layer 3, by filling the corner D with the adhesive 26, the strength of the connection portion C and the piezoelectric vibrator member 25 against the FPC 22 are increased. The holding power of becomes stronger. Therefore, FIG.
In comparison with the above-mentioned embodiment shown in FIG. 6, peeling of the FPC 22 during cutting and disconnection and connection failure due to it are prevented more reliably,
It is possible to further increase the cutting speed of the rotary blade 30 during the cutting process.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
The present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above embodiments, the case where the piezoelectric vibrator is provided with the backing material and the acoustic matching layer is taken as an example, but the method of the present invention is also applied when the piezoelectric vibrator is provided with only the acoustic matching layer without providing the backing material. Is applicable. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the adhesive 26 is filled in the corner D formed by the upper surface of the non-contact end portion 22A of the FPC 22 and the side surface 21C of the piezoelectric vibrator. It is also possible to fill the corner formed by the side surface of the backing material 24 with resin.

[0021]

As described above, in the method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe of the present invention, the strength of the connecting portion between the wiring board and the piezoelectric vibrator and the holding force of the piezoelectric vibrator member with respect to the wiring board are significantly improved. Therefore, it is possible to perform excellent cutting processing of the piezoelectric vibrator member and increase the cutting speed for the piezoelectric vibrator member without causing the peeling of the wiring board and the resulting disconnection or connection failure. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently manufacture a high-quality ultrasonic probe.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an ultrasonic probe manufactured by the method of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing a conventional ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view for explaining a method of manufacturing a conventional ultrasonic probe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Piezoelectric vibrator 1A Ultrasonic wave emitting surface of piezoelectric vibrator 1B Back surface of piezoelectric vibrator (surface opposite to ultrasonic wave emitting surface) 1C Side surface of piezoelectric vibrator 2 FPC (wiring board) 2A Non-contact end of FPC 3 Acoustic Matching layer 4 Backing material 5 Piezoelectric vibrator member 6 Adhesive 9 Ultrasonic probe A Connection between FPC and piezoelectric vibrator B Corner

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. An end portion of a wiring board for extracting an electrical signal from the piezoelectric vibrator is provided on one of the ultrasonic radiation surface and the opposite surface of the piezoelectric vibrator. In a method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe, which includes a cutting step of forming a plurality of piezoelectric vibrator parts by cutting the piezoelectric vibrator of the piezoelectric vibrator member together with a wiring substrate after forming the piezoelectric vibrator member by bonding.
In the cutting step, the non-contact end portion of the wiring substrate, which is in the vicinity of the piezoelectric vibrator side surface of the connecting portion between the wiring substrate and the piezoelectric vibrator and does not contact the piezoelectric vibrator, and the non-contact end of the piezoelectric vibrator member. A method for manufacturing an ultrasonic probe, characterized in that a corner composed of a side surface near an end is filled with an adhesive, and after the adhesive is cured, the piezoelectric vibrator is cut together with the wiring board.