JPS6031437B2 - Annular probe and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an annular probe used in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a method for manufacturing the same.

Conventionally, probes having a disk-shaped vibration surface have been widely used as probes for ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses.

On the other hand, in electronic scanning, the dynamic focus method has now become the standard excitation method for probes. In order to employ this method, the probe must not be a simple disc-shaped probe, but a plurality of annular transducer arrays 11, 12', . . . as shown in FIG. It is necessary to arrange and form ln concentrically. According to the probe formed in this manner, the focal length f can be dynamically changed as shown in the figure by exciting each vibrator with an appropriate delay time. However, at short distances, there are problems such as deterioration of directivity and the need to take a large delay time. In order to improve this point, as shown in Figure 2, a method was adopted in which each transducer was driven so that the aperture was large at long distances, and the aperture was gradually narrowed by 4 mm as the distance approached. There is. However, no matter which drive method is used, the probe itself remains the same, and what is required of the probe is how fine the element size is, that is, how high the density of the circular structure. .

When obtaining a high-density annular probe by arranging annular transducers or cutting a disc-shaped transducer into an annular shape, it is not only difficult to manufacture, but also difficult to obtain. Even if it could be manufactured, there is a problem that the mechanical coupling between the vibrators is large, resulting in a significant deterioration of characteristics. In view of these points, an object of the present invention is to provide an annular probe which can be manufactured in a relatively simple manner with high density and without deterioration of characteristics, and a method for manufacturing the same. The present invention will be explained in detail below according to the manufacturing procedure using the drawings.

'1} A disk-shaped ceramic piezoelectric plate 1 is cut vertically and horizontally (hereinafter referred to as dicing). An electrode 2 made of a conductive material is bonded to one surface of the disk-shaped ceramic piezoelectric plate 1 (hereinafter referred to as a vibrator). As shown in FIG.
Dice to a depth of 3.

In this case, the dicing pitch P is preferably about 0.6t, and as a result, the vibrator can be excited in a pure thickness vibration mode. Note that the disk 1 may have electrodes 2 bonded not only to one side but also to both sides.

t2} The cut grooves formed by the dicing are filled with a non-conductive sound absorbing material such as rubber or epoxy. In this case, make sure that the sound wave absorbing material does not adhere to and remain on the surface of the vibrator. (3) A pattern mask 3 having an annular hole 5 as shown in FIG. 4 is placed concentrically on the surface of the diced vibrator.

{4' A conductive material such as conductive epoxy or conductive paint is applied or printed on the pattern mask 3 to form an arc-shaped electrode.

'51 The pattern mask 3 is rotated slightly and the conductive material is applied again so that it is adhered to the unpainted portions due to the lands 4, and as shown in FIG. 5, annular electrodes 2, 22, .
...2n is formed.

Note that the number of lands 4 of the pattern mask 3 is not limited to three. '6} Lead wires are connected to each of the annular array electrodes 2, 22, . line).

[7} Forming the packing 7 As shown in Fig. 6, insert the disk 1 into the lower end of the cylinder 6 with iron so that the signal line goes inside. Pour the packing material and bond it to the vibrator.

{81 Remove the cylinder 6 and pull out the lead wire (GND wire) from the common electrode 2 as shown in FIG.

In this case, the connection of the GND line follows the bonding method in item {6}. Note that the OND wire may be drawn out from the packing material side by forming a wrap-around electrode in the same manner as the SIC wire. As explained above, according to the present invention, a simple vibrator disk is diced to substantially eliminate mechanical coupling between each vibrator,
A split vibrator can be obtained without deterioration of characteristics, and the pitch of dicing can be set to substantially 0.000 mm of the thickness of the disk. By using parallel sound, it is possible to realize a vibrator that is excited in a pure thickness vibration mode.

In addition, the manufacturing method is extremely easy compared to the conventional method of attaching each annular vibrator to packing material in the same D-circle shape, or cutting it into an annular shape from a disc. It has many advantages and has great effects when put into practical use.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are principle diagrams of an annular probe, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing dicing of a transducer disk according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view of a pattern mask, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of joining packing materials; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a probe. 1... Vibrator disk, 2... Common electrode, 2,
, 22,... 2n... circular array electrode, 3... pattern
mask, 4... land, 5... hole, 6...
...Cylinder, 7...Packing. Figure 1 Traditional Figure 2 Figure 3 Traditional Figure 7 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A vibrator disk is cut vertically and horizontally at a certain pitch, the cut grooves are filled with a non-conductive sound absorbing material, and an annular electrode is bonded to the cut side, and the other side is An annular probe with a common electrode bonded to the surface. 2 Set the pitch of the cut grooves to substantially 0 of the thickness of the vibrator disk.
．． The annular probe according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a magnification of 6 times. 3. Cutting grooves are formed vertically and horizontally at a constant pitch from the other surface of the vibrator disk to which electrodes made of a conductive material are bonded to at least one surface, and the cutting grooves are filled with a non-conductive sound wave absorbing material, A pattern mask with a plurality of concentric arc-shaped punched holes is placed on the cut surface side, and while rotating the pattern mask, a conductive material is applied from above the pattern mask and bonded to form an annular electrode. A method for manufacturing an annular probe.