JPS61265130A - Production of ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an ultrasound probe used in a medical ultrasound diagnostic apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, ultrasonic probes using composite piezoelectric materials have come into widespread use in various fields such as medical ultrasonic diagnostic equipment. Hereinafter, an array type ultrasonic probe using a conventional composite piezoelectric material will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the main part, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the portion 21, -7, from which the lead wires are taken out. In Figures 3 and 4,
A composite piezoelectric material 101 is composed of a piezoelectric ceramic 102 stretched in the -dimensional direction and an organic polymer material 103 surrounding the piezoelectric ceramic 102 and stretched in the three-dimensional direction. A plurality of electrodes 104 are provided on one surface of this composite piezoelectric material 101 by vapor deposition through a mask or the like.
A common electrode 106 is provided on the opposite side of the composite piezoelectric material 101 by vapor deposition, and the common electrode 105 side (sound wave emission side)
In order to efficiently guide sound waves to the subject, an acoustic matching layer 106 made of epoxy resin or the like is provided by adhesive. A lead wire 108 is taken out from each electrode 104 by wire bonding or the like and connected to an electrical terminal (not shown).

Therefore, the electrodes 104° 105 on both sides of the composite piezoelectric material 1010
By applying an externally controlled electrode signal to the acoustic matching layer 106, ultrasonic waves can be emitted from the acoustic matching layer 106 side.

Here, the piezoelectric ceramic 102 in the composite piezoelectric material 101 is made of PZT, and the organic polymer material 103 is made of epoxy resin or the like. The electromechanical coupling coefficient of the piezoelectric ceramic 102 is 3 in the coefficient
It is possible to obtain characteristics with almost the same value as 3, and in terms of acoustic impedance, the piezoelectric ceramic itself (P
For ZT series, 20-35X10 f//cfl-s
) can be made smaller than in the case of for example,
When the volume ratio is 25% piezoelectric ceramic 102 and 75% epoxy resin organic polymer 103, it is approximately 8 x 105y.
/cd・B, so water or an object such as a human body (
Acoustic impedance 1.6~1.8×105f! /cr
The matching with Ii・B) is considerably better than that of a single piezoelectric ceramic, and only one acoustic matching layer 106 is required.
Transmission and reception efficiency (sensitivity) can be improved.

In addition, since the piezoelectric ceramic 102 is only one-dimensional, leakage of sound waves to other elements (acoustic loss talk) occurs.
Less is. Therefore, it has a feature of good azimuth resolution.

From the above, the usefulness of the ultrasonic probe using the composite piezoelectric material 101 with one layer of acoustic matching layer 106 has become clear.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, as in the above conventional configuration, the composite piezoelectric material 1
After configuring electrodes 104 in an array on one surface of 01 by masking etc., the lead wires are taken out, and the electrodes 104 are formed in an array by using semiconductor manufacturing technology.
Although it has the advantage that the electrodes 104 can be formed with high precision, it is actually quite difficult to take out the lead wires 108 by wire bonding or the like after the electrodes 104 are formed.

That is, the composite piezoelectric material 101 is composed of the piezoelectric ceramic 102 and the organic polymer 103 of epoxy resin as described above, and when this part is enlarged, it is as shown in FIG. 4. As is clear from this, piezoelectric ceramic 1o
2. Due to the difference in hardness and coefficient of thermal expansion of the organic polymers 103, the organic polymer 103 is not flat but uneven, and it is difficult to prevent this. After 5 pages of forming an electrode 104 with a thickness of about 1 micron on such an uneven surface by vapor deposition or the like, this electrode 104 is formed on an uneven surface along the uneven surface of the composite piezoelectric material 101. In this way, the lead wire 10 is bonded uniformly and strongly to the uneven surface.
It is extremely difficult to get 8. Especially organic polymer 103
Since wire bonding at the piezoelectric ceramic 102 position is difficult, wire bonding must be performed at the piezoelectric ceramic 102 position and the lead wire 108 must be taken out. However, at higher frequencies, the shape of the piezoelectric ceramic 102 becomes 70
As the thickness becomes smaller than microns, wire bonding becomes almost impossible. Therefore, if the series lead wires 108 are taken out by wire bonding to a plurality of arranged electrodes 104, the strength will be weak and the reliability will be lacking.Furthermore, it will be difficult to take out the lead wires 108 at high frequencies. There are problems.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and provides an ultrasonic probe that allows easy removal of electrical terminals and improves reliability. It is intended to provide six manufacturing methods.

Means for solving the problems and technical means of the present invention for solving the above problems are as follows: An electrode is provided on one surface of a composite piezoelectric material made of a piezoelectric ceramic and an organic polymer, and an electric current is conducted to the electrode. A terminal is provided, and these electrodes and electrical terminals are divided into a plurality of parts.

Effects of the present invention With the above configuration, it is possible to easily take out the electric terminal from the electrode, and therefore, even in the case of high frequency, the electric terminal can be taken out easily and reliably. Reliability can be improved.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic probe of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a composite piezoelectric material 1 is composed of a PZT-based piezoelectric ceramic 2 stretched in one dimension and an organic polymer material 3 such as Epo-7 benoxy resin, which is adjacent to the piezoelectric ceramic and stretched in three dimensions. do.

Electrodes 4 and 5 are provided on both surfaces of the composite piezoelectric material 1 by vapor deposition or plating. Next, one side connecting part 7a of the electric terminal 7, such as a flexible cable, formed in the same pattern as the desired electrode spacing on the substrate 6, is attached to a composite piezoelectric material using a conductive adhesive 8 or a conductor such as No-Noda. 3 to one side of the electrode 4 of the composite piezoelectric material 1 to short-circuit the electrical terminal 7 and the electrode 4 of the composite piezoelectric material 1. Next, as shown in FIG. 2, grooves 9 are formed in the one side connecting portion 7a of the electric terminal 7 and the electrode 4 of the composite piezoelectric material 1 at desired intervals using a dicing machine or the like to divide it. Next, as shown in FIG.
An acoustic matching layer 1o made of epoxy resin or the like is formed on the electrode (common electrode) 5 on the opposite side to the electrode 4 to which the An acoustic lens 11 made of silicone rubber is formed to focus the light.

The electrode 4 is provided on the entire surface of the composite piezoelectric material 1 in this way, and the electrical terminal 7 is bonded to a part of the electrode 4 with a conductive adhesive 8 to short-circuit it, and then the electrode 4 of the composite piezoelectric material 1 and the electrical Since the connecting portions 7a of the terminals 7 are divided into arrays, there is no need for masking to arrange the electrodes in an array as in the past.Moreover, the frequency is high, the shape of the piezoelectric ceramic 2 is small, and the size of the array is reduced. Even if the electrode spacing becomes narrow, the terminal 7 can be easily taken out without any problem.

In addition, since the electrical terminal 7 is directly bonded to the electrode and short-circuited without using a lead wire, the lead-out portion of the electrical terminal 7 is strong and reliability can be improved. In the above embodiment, the electrode 4 is provided on the composite piezoelectric material 1, and then the electrical terminal 7 is bonded to the composite piezoelectric material 1 using a conductive adhesive 8 or the like to make the two electrically conductive. In addition, before providing the electrode 4 on the composite piezoelectric material 1, the electric terminal 7
is adhered to a part of the composite piezoelectric material 1 with an insulating material such as epoxy resin, and then the electrode 4 is vapor-deposited on a part of the electrical terminal 7 and the composite piezoelectric material 1 for electrical conduction, and the electrodes 4 are arranged in an array. It can also be formed by dividing it. In addition, in the above embodiment, the case where the application is applied to a so-called array type ultrasonic probe arranged in a linear 94-zig was explained, but the present invention is also applicable to a two-dimensional array type ultrasonic probe or It is clear that the present invention can be applied to various types of ultrasound probes, such as arcuate array ultrasound probes.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, an electrode and an electrical terminal electrically connected to the electrode are provided on one main surface of a composite piezoelectric material, and these electrodes and electrical terminals are divided into a plurality of pieces. to remove the electrical terminal. Therefore, even if the piezoelectric ceramic of the composite piezoelectric material becomes smaller and the spacing between the electrodes of the array becomes narrower due to the higher frequency, the electrical terminals can be easily taken out, and the electrodes and electrical terminals can be The short-circuited portion can be made stronger and reliability can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 show an example of an ultrasonic probe manufactured by a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional view, FIG. 2 is a partial plan view, and FIGS. 7 and 4 show an ultrasonic probe manufactured by a conventional manufacturing method, with FIG. 3 being a perspective view and FIG. 4 being a partially enlarged sectional view. 1...Composite piezoelectric material, 2...Piezoelectric ceramic, 3...Organic polymer, 4...Electrode, 5...Common electrode , 7... Electrical terminal, 10... Acoustic matching layer, 11... Acoustic lens. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person No. 1
Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] An electrode is provided on one main surface of a composite piezoelectric material made of a piezoelectric ceramic and an organic polymer, and an electrical terminal that conducts to this electrode is provided.
A method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe characterized by dividing these electrodes and electrical terminals into a plurality of parts and taking out the electrical terminals.