US20210016320A1 - Ultrasound Transducer Array Interconnect - Google Patents
Ultrasound Transducer Array Interconnect Download PDFInfo
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- US20210016320A1 US20210016320A1 US17/065,100 US202017065100A US2021016320A1 US 20210016320 A1 US20210016320 A1 US 20210016320A1 US 202017065100 A US202017065100 A US 202017065100A US 2021016320 A1 US2021016320 A1 US 2021016320A1
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B06—GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS IN GENERAL
- B06B—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OF INFRASONIC, SONIC, OR ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY, e.g. FOR PERFORMING MECHANICAL WORK IN GENERAL
- B06B1/00—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency
- B06B1/02—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy
- B06B1/0292—Electrostatic transducers, e.g. electret-type
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B06—GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS IN GENERAL
- B06B—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OF INFRASONIC, SONIC, OR ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY, e.g. FOR PERFORMING MECHANICAL WORK IN GENERAL
- B06B1/00—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency
- B06B1/02—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy
- B06B1/06—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction
- B06B1/0607—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction using multiple elements
- B06B1/0622—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction using multiple elements on one surface
- B06B1/0629—Square array
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- H01L41/0471—
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- H01L41/0472—
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- H01L41/083—
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K1/00—Printed circuits
- H05K1/02—Details
- H05K1/03—Use of materials for the substrate
- H05K1/0393—Flexible materials
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N30/00—Piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices
- H10N30/50—Piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices having a stacked or multilayer structure
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N30/00—Piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices
- H10N30/80—Constructional details
- H10N30/87—Electrodes or interconnections, e.g. leads or terminals
- H10N30/871—Single-layered electrodes of multilayer piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices, e.g. internal electrodes
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N30/00—Piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices
- H10N30/80—Constructional details
- H10N30/87—Electrodes or interconnections, e.g. leads or terminals
- H10N30/872—Connection electrodes of multilayer piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices, e.g. external electrodes
Definitions
- the following generally relates to an ultrasound transducer array and more particularly to an electrical interconnect for a transducer array, and is described with particular application to ultrasound imaging, but is amenable to other ultrasound applications.
- Two-dimensional (2-D) ultrasound imaging is limited in its ability to reveal three-dimensional (3-D) anatomy.
- Three-dimensional imaging improves qualitative and quantitative characterization relative to 2-D imaging, but comes with the cost of increased complexity in the transducer, imaging algorithms, data processing, display, etc.
- Three-dimensional imaging can be accomplished through a linear (1-D) transducer array that is swept mechanically across an area or a matrix (2-D) array that is used with electronic steering.
- a 1-D transducer array is limited by the mechanical sweep speed.
- a 2-D array uses electronic sweeping, which enables faster and more flexible imaging techniques.
- all elements in the matrix are used independently for transmitting and receiving.
- N*N electrical connections For a square array with N elements along each edge, this requires N*N electrical connections, which can be challenging to manage from manufacturability, ergonomics, signal integrity, and data analysis perspectives. Further, the electrical characteristics of each small element become difficult to match efficiently to a transmitter and receiver.
- Row-column addressing is an alternative approach to 2-D arrays that reduces channel count (2*N instead of N*N) and improves electrical match (at the cost of imaging flexibility).
- electrodes on one surface of the active layer tie together all matrix elements along each row, and electrodes on the opposite surface tie together the elements along each column.
- This array can be used to transmit in one direction and receive in the orthogonal direction.
- the literature has discussed both piezoelectric (PZT) and capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) based row-column array configurations.
- An interconnect circuit electrically connects the elements of the transducer array to electronics on printed circuit boards (PCBs) in the handle of the probe.
- PCBs printed circuit boards
- interconnects for CMUT row-column arrays include large, rigid PCBs, which are not suitable for commercial medical ultrasound probes, at least since their large size would make the probe ergonomically infeasible.
- electrodes patterned on both surfaces of a piezoelectric layer render the electrical interconnect complex.
- One approach is to solder wires to both surfaces. Unfortunately, this is inconvenient at least because of the way the piezoelectric layer needs to be supported underneath the soldering point.
- Another approach is to bond a circuit onto both sides of the active layer. Unfortunately, the circuit covering the piezoelectric patient-facing surface would cause significant acoustic performance compromises.
- Ultrasound imaging systems can leverage multi-row transducer arrays to improve image quality.
- Older one-dimensional arrays have a single row of transducer elements in the azimuth direction.
- multi-row arrays however, several parallel one-dimensional arrays are aligned in the elevation direction, where each parallel array constitutes a row of the total array.
- the acoustic field can be controlled more precisely, which enables image quality improvement.
- the multiple rows can be used to make the elevation slice thickness consistent through a long depth range.
- an apparatus comprises a probe including a transducer array with a plurality of elements, a communications interface, and an interconnect configured to route electrical signals between the plurality of elements and the communications interface.
- the interconnect includes a flexible printed circuit with a first surface with a first metal layer, a second opposing surface with a second metal layer, a first end, and a second opposing end.
- the apparatus further includes traces configured to readout signals from at least one of the first and second opposing ends.
- an ultrasound imaging system in another aspect, includes a probe with a single flexible printed circuit configured to route electrical signals between elements of a transducer array of the probe and a communications interface of the probe, wherein the single flexible printed circuit includes two metal layers and route signals off the single flexible printed circuit at opposing ends of the single flexible printed circuit.
- the ultrasound imaging system further includes an ultrasound device with a transmit circuit that controls transmission by the transducer array, a receive circuit that controls reception by the transducer array, and an echo processor that processes echoes receive by the transducer array.
- the ultrasound imaging system further includes a complementary communications interface electrically connecting the communications interface of the probe and the ultrasound device.
- a method in another aspect, includes transmitting an ultrasound signal with a transducer array of an ultrasound imaging probe.
- the transducer array includes one of a 2-D row-column addressed capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer array, a 2-D row-column addressed piezoelectric transducer array, or a multi-row transducer array.
- the method further includes receiving echoes with the transducer array.
- the method further includes generating signals indicative of the received echoes with the transducer array.
- the method further includes routing the signals from the transducer array to a communications interface of the probe with an interconnect, wherein the interconnect includes a single flexible printed circuit with no more than two metal layers and configured to route the signals at no more than two opposing ends of the single flexible printed circuit.
- the method further includes processing the signals, generating data indicative thereof.
- FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example ultrasound system with a transducer array electrically coupled to a single flexible printed circuit interconnect that has two metal layers located on opposing sides that route signals in opposing directions;
- FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5 schematically illustrate an example in which the transducer array is a row-column addressed CMUT based transducer array
- FIGS. 6 and 7 schematically illustrate an example in which the single flexible printed circuit interconnect is folded back behind the CMUT transducer array
- FIGS. 8-11 schematically illustrate an example in which the transducer array is a row-column addressed PZT based transducer array
- FIG. 12 schematically illustrates an example in which the transducer array is a multi-row transducer array
- FIGS. 13 and 14 schematically illustrate an example in which the interconnect for the multi-row transducer array reads signals from an inner row of elements out from one side of the interconnect and combines and reads signals from two outer rows of elements out from an opposing side of the interconnect;
- FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 schematically illustrate an example in which the interconnect for the multi-row transducer array reads signals from an inner row of elements out from one side of the interconnect and independently reads signals from two outer rows of elements out from an opposing side of the interconnect;
- FIGS. 18 and 19 schematically illustrate an example in which the interconnect for the multi-row transducer array independently reads signals from two rows of elements out from one side of the interconnect and independently reads signals from three rows of elements out from an opposing side of the interconnect;
- FIG. 20 schematically illustrates an example method for a row-column addressed CMUT or PZT based transducer array
- FIG. 21 schematically illustrates an example method for a row-column addressed multi-row transducer array.
- FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an ultrasound (US) system 100 .
- the ultrasound system 100 includes a probe 102 and an ultrasound device 104 .
- Data and/or control signals are conveyed between the probe 102 and the ultrasound device 104 via a communication channel 106 such as a cable, radio frequency, etc.
- a communication channel 106 such as a cable, radio frequency, etc.
- the probe 102 and the ultrasound device 104 have complementary communications interfaces 112 and 113 , and communicate with each other, over a hard wire and/or wirelessly, via the communication channel 106 and the complementary communications interfaces 112 and 113 .
- the probe 102 includes a transducer array 108 that includes a plurality of transducer elements 110 and an interconnect 114 which electrically connects the plurality of transducer elements 110 and the complementary communications interface 112 .
- the transducer array 108 is a 2-D row-addressed CMUT or PZT transducer array.
- the transducer array 108 is a multi-row transducer array.
- the interconnect 114 includes a single flexible printed circuit with only two metal layers. As described in greater detail below, traces of the single flexible printed circuit are in both of the two metal layers, which are located on opposing sides of the single flexible printed circuit, and readout signals from opposing ends of the single flexible printed circuit.
- the trace patterning approaches described herein facilitate maintaining performance and/or manufacturability, and/or provides efficient and/or cost-effective fabrication.
- the approached described herein may allow for using as few metal layers as possible while managing traces to optimize manufacturing and minimize cost and maintain acoustic performance.
- the ultrasound device 104 includes a control and/or processing portion 116 , a user interface 118 , and a display 120 .
- the control and/or processing portion 116 includes transmit circuitry 122 that controls excitation of the elements 110 and receive circuitry 124 that controls reception of echo signals by the elements 110 .
- the control and/or processing portion 116 further includes an echo processor 126 that processes received echo signals. Such processing may include beamforming (e.g., delay and sum, etc.) and/or otherwise processing the echo signals, e.g., to lower speckle, to improve specular reflector delineation, to filter the echo signals via FIR and/or IIR filters, etc.
- the control and/or processing portion 116 further includes a controller 128 that controls the transmit circuitry 122 , the receive circuitry 124 , and the echo processor 126 . Such control may include controlling the frame rate, transmit angles, energies and/or frequencies, transmit and/or receive delays, processing of echo signals, the imaging mode, etc.
- the control and/or processing portion 116 further includes a scan converter 130 that coverts processed echo signals and generates data for display.
- the display 120 visually presents the scan converted data, and the user interface 118 includes input controls and/or output displays for interacting with the system 100 .
- the probe 102 and the ultrasound device 104 are separate entities.
- the probe 102 includes structure which houses the transducer array 108 and the interconnect 114 . This may include physically supporting and/or enclosing one or more of the transducer array 108 and the interconnect 114 .
- the ultrasound device 104 includes structure which houses at least the transmit circuitry 122 , the receive circuitry 124 , the processor 126 , the controller 128 and the scan converter 130 . In one instance, the ultrasound device 104 is a computer or computing system.
- the user interface 118 and/or the display 120 can be part of the ultrasound device 104 (as shown) or separate entities connected thereto.
- the probe 102 and the ultrasound device 104 are part of a same physical structure such as a single enclosure or housing. Such a configuration may be part of a hand-held or other ultrasound apparatus.
- a hand-held ultrasound apparatus may utilize internally located power, e.g., from a power source such as a battery, a capacitor, etc. to power the components therein, and/or power from an external power source.
- a power source such as a battery, a capacitor, etc.
- An example of a hand-held device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,699,776, entitled “Intuitive Ultrasonic Imaging System and Related Method Thereof,” and filed on Mar. 6, 2003, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
- FIGS. 2-5 schematically illustrate an example in which the transducer array 108 includes a row-column addressed CMUT chip 402 and the interconnect 114 includes a single flexible printed circuit 404 with a top side 406 and a bottom side 408 and only two metal layers with readout signals from opposing ends.
- both the rows and the columns are addressed from a same side (i.e. the top side 406 ) of the row-column addressed CMUT chip 402 .
- FIG. 2 shows a perspective view looking onto the top side 406 with an installed CMUT chip 402 .
- FIG. 3 shows a perspective view looking onto the top side 406 with the chip 402 separated therefrom.
- FIG. 4 shows a perspective view looking onto the top side 406 without the chip 402 and with traces on the bottom side 408 the location thereof visible through the top side 406 .
- FIG. 5 shows a perspective view looking onto the bottom side 408 without the chip 402 and with traces on the top side 406 the location thereof visible through the bottom side 408 .
- the illustrated row-column addressed CMUT chip 402 is discussed in connection with four columns and four rows (i.e., a 4 ⁇ 4 square matrix). However, it is to be understood that the row-column addressed CMUT chip 402 could include 8 ⁇ 8, 16 ⁇ 16, 32 ⁇ 32, 192 ⁇ 192, 512 ⁇ 512, etc. rows and columns, and/or have a non-square configuration such as a rectangular, circular and/or other shaped configuration. An example geometry for a 62 ⁇ 62 square matrix configured for an abdominal scan can be one inch by one inch. Other geometries and applications are contemplated herein.
- the illustrated row-column addressed CMUT chip 402 includes a plurality of electrodes along each of the edges with a total of sixteen electrodes, including four on each edge, with electrodes 410 on a first side or edge 412 , electrodes 414 on a second side or edge 416 which opposes the first side 412 , electrodes 418 on a third side or edge 420 which is transverse and adjacent to and between the first and second sides 412 and 416 , and electrodes 422 on a fourth side or edge 424 which opposes the third side 420 .
- the top side 406 includes a metal layer with a plurality of pads 426 , 428 and traces 430 .
- the pads 426 are disposed adjacent to the electrodes 410 and 414 on sides 436 and 438 of the interconnect 114 .
- the traces 430 extend from adjacent to the third and fourth sides 420 and 424 of the chip 402 to ends or sides 432 and 434 of the interconnect 114 .
- a sub-set of the pads 428 are disposed adjacent to the traces at the end 432 , and another sub-set of the pads 428 are disposed adjacent to the traces at the end 434 .
- the bottom side 408 includes a second metal layer with a plurality of traces 440 that extend from the pads 426 of the top side 406 along the second side 408 to the pads 428 on the top side 406 .
- a sub-set of the traces 430 extends to the end 432
- another sub-set of the traces 430 extends to the end 434 .
- the traces 440 electrically connect to the pads 426 and the pads 428 on the top side 406 through vias and/or the like. Signals are read out from only the two opposing sides 432 and 434 via the pads 428 and the traces 430 .
- Discrete electrically conductive wires 442 are bonded to the CMUT chip electrodes 410 , 414 , 418 and 422 and the corresponding electrode pads 426 and/or traces 430 on the first side 406 of the flexible printed circuit 404 .
- the discrete electrically conductive wires 442 are staggered odd/even between opposing sides for both the rows and the columns. This may ease manufacturability and/or reduce cross-talk.
- the wires 442 can be soldered, wire-bonded, etc.
- Organizing electrical connections can facilitate assembly and/or enable ergonomics, e.g., by the use of only two legs of the flexible circuit (i.e., ends 432 and 434 ) that extend from opposite (non-adjacent) edges of the array.
- the single flexible printed circuit 404 connects to the active transducer material and employs a unique routing technique, which can minimize the number of circuit layers required to connect each row and column of the array.
- the single flexible printed circuit 404 is not configured for only the specific row-column addressed CMUT chip 402 . Rather, the single flexible printed circuit 404 is compatible with any row-column addressed CMUT chip where the electrical connection pads are on the patient surface of the row-column addressed CMUT chip, regardless of whether the CMUT is fabricated with sacrificial release, wafer bonding, or some other technique.
- the signals are read out from only one side (e.g., the side 432 or the side 434 ). This can be achieved by having all of the traces 430 and 440 extend from adjacent to a respective side of the chip 402 to only the edge 432 or 434 .
- signals are read out from adjacent sides 432 and 436 or 438 , or 434 and 436 and/or 438 .
- signals can be read out from three or all four of the sides 432 , 434 , 436 and/or 438 .
- the interconnect 114 includes two or more flexible printed circuit and/or three or more metal layers per flexible printed circuit.
- FIGS. 6 and 7 show an example where the single flexible printed circuit 404 is flexed such that the signal traces 430 and 440 (indicated by dashed lines with arrow heads) are redirected back behind the row-column addressed CMUT chip 402 by bending the single flexible printed circuit 404 .
- a rigid piece of stiffener material 602 e.g., FR-4
- a larger backing block can be bonded to the back side of the stiffener. Due to the operation of the row-column addressed CMUT chip 402 , this block would not have significant influence on the acoustics of the device and provides mechanical reference for positioning and/or handling. Expose edges of the backing block can make is easy to handle the assembly, e.g., to glue it into a housing of the probe 102 .
- the interconnection can be made in multiple directions in three-dimensional space.
- the single flexible printed circuit 404 electrically connects the row-column addressed CMUT chip to the communications interface 112 ( FIG. 1 ), which, again, can be in the handle and/or elsewhere of the probe 102 ( FIG. 1 ).
- FIGS. 8-11 schematically illustrate an example in which the transducer array 108 includes a row-column addressed PZT chip 802 .
- This configuration is similar to the configuration discussed in connection with FIGS. 2-5 except the rows and columns are addressed from different and opposing sides 804 and 806 of the PZT chip 802 , with one of the row or columns addressed through conductive strips on the (top) side 804 of the chip 802 , which faces away from the single flexible printed circuit 404 , and the other of the row or columns addressed through electrically conductive strips on the (bottom) side 806 of the chip 802 , which faces the single flexible printed circuit 404 .
- the traces 430 include sub-portions 808 that extend on the top side 406 and on a location under an installed row-column addressed PZT chip 802 .
- the electrically conductive strips on the bottom side 806 of the row-column addressed PZT chip 802 are bonded through an adhesive or the like to the sub-portions 808 of the traces 430 , which electrically connects the rows or the columns to the single flexible printed circuit 404 .
- the single flexible printed circuit 404 includes wings 1102 , which extend or protrude out from sides 436 and 438 and that are configured to flex and curl around the top side 804 and electrically connect with the electrically conductive strips thereon through an adhesive.
- An acoustically-beneficial matching layer(s) can be applied to a remaining portion of the top side 804 .
- Organizing electrical connections can facilitate assembly and/or enable ergonomics, e.g., by the use of only two legs of the flexible circuit (i.e., ends 432 and 434 ) that extend from opposite (non-adjacent) edges of the array.
- the single flexible printed circuit 404 connects to the active transducer material and employs a unique routing technique, which can minimize the number of circuit layers required to connect each row and column of the array.
- the single flexible printed circuit 404 is not configured for only the row-column addressed PZT chip 802 .
- the signals are read out from only one side (e.g., the side 432 or the side 434 ), e.g., as discussed in connection with FIGS. 2-5 .
- signals can be read out from adjacent sides 432 and 436 or 438 , or 434 and 436 and/or 438 , or signals can be read out from three or all four of the sides 432 , 434 , 436 and/or 438 .
- the interconnect 114 includes two or more flexible printed circuits and/or three or more metal layers.
- a backing block can be used as a mechanical function (as in the CMUT configuration) and an acoustical function (e.g., attenuating sound that is transmitted into it).
- FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of an example in which the transducer array 108 includes a multi-row transducer 1200 and the interconnect 114 .
- the interconnect 114 can be extended to other architectures such as a multi-layer ceramic as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,148 to Mohr et al., layers with curved surfaces across elevation as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,365 to Hanafy et al., or arrays with ground electrode that wraps around the edges of the ceramic instead of using a ground foil.
- the multi-row transducer 1200 includes an acoustic lens 1202 , an acoustic impedance matching layer(s) 1204 , a ground foil 1206 , an active layer 1208 (e.g., piezoelectric ceramic), the interconnect 114 which includes a flexible printed circuit 1210 with top and bottom layers 1210 1 and 1210 2 , and a backing block 1212 .
- the active layer 1208 includes three rows 1208 1 , 1208 2 and 1208 3 in an elevation direction 1214 , each row including a plurality of elements (not visible) in an azimuth direction 1216 .
- FIG. 13 schematically illustrates pad placement and trace routing of the flexible printed circuit 1210 for the configuration of FIG. 12 .
- the top layer 1210 1 of the flexible printed circuit 1210 includes sets of pads 1302 1 , 1302 2 and 1302 3 , one set respectively for each of the elements of each of the rows 1208 1 , 1208 2 and 1208 3 .
- the bottom layer 1210 2 of the flexible printed circuit 1210 includes a first set of traces 1306 at one end 1307 and electrically connected to the pads 1302 2 for the middle row 1208 2 ( FIG. 12 ), and a second set of traces 1304 at an opposing end 1305 and electrically connected to both the pads 1302 1 and 1302 3 for the two outer rows 1208 1 and 1208 3 ( FIG. 12 ).
- FIG. 14 shows a magnified view of traces 1304 of FIG. 13 .
- a pair of traces 1304 6 and 1306 6 runs parallel to each other and under pads 1302 3,6 and 1302 2,6, a pair of traces 1304 5 and 1306 5 runs parallel to each other and under pads 1302 3,5 and 1302 2,5, a pair of traces 1304 4 and 1306 4 runs parallel to each other and under pads 1302 3,4 and 1302 2,4, a pair of traces 1304 3 and 1306 3 runs parallel to each other and under pad 1302 2,3, a pair of traces 1304 2 and 1306 2 runs parallel to each other and under pad 1302 2,2, and a pair of traces 1304 1 and 1306 1 runs parallel to each other and under pad 1302 2,1 .
- vias 1308 connect the pads 1302 1 for the outer row 1208 1 ( FIG. 12 ) to the traces 1304
- vias 1310 connect the pads 1302 3 (e.g., the pads 1302 3,6 , 1302 3,4, and 1302 3,5 ) for the other outer row 1208 3 ( FIG. 12 ) to the same traces 1304 (e.g., the traces 1304 6 , 1304 5 and 1304 3 in FIG. 14 ).
- This configuration electrically connects the elements of the two outer rows 1208 1 and 1208 3 .
- Vias 1312 connect the pads 1302 2 (e.g., the pads 1302 2,1 - 1302 2,6 in FIG. 14 ) for the middle row 1208 2 ( FIG. 12 ) to the traces 1306 (e.g., the traces 1306 1 - 1306 6 ).
- This configuration represents symmetric row connections.
- a pitch of the traces 1304 and 1306 are less than half a pitch of the pads 1302 in order to fit pairs of the traces 1304 and 1306 side-by-side under each pad of the pads 1302 and hence under each of the transducer elements.
- current state of the art approaches can be used for low-frequency and/or large pitch designs that are used for deep imaging on obese patients. Other approaches are also contemplated herein.
- FIG. 15 shows a variation of the configuration of FIG. 14 in which the two outer rows 1208 1 and 1208 3 are not electrically connected to the same traces.
- the vias 1308 connect the pads 1302 1 for the outer row 1208 1 (FIG. 12 ) to the traces 1304 .
- the vias 1310 connect the pads 1302 3 for the other outer row 1208 3 ( FIG. 12 ) to traces 1502 .
- each row can be electrically controlled completely independent of its mirror row. This enables increased control over the elevation focus characteristics, allowing steering in elevation.
- FIG. 16 shows a magnified view of a sub-section 1504 of FIG. 15 .
- a pair of traces 1502 and 1306 runs parallel to each other and under pads 1302 3 with vias 1310 electrically connecting the pads 1302 3 and the traces 1502 .
- the traces 1306 also run under pads 1302 2 with vias 1312 electrically connecting the pads 1302 2 and the traces 1306 .
- FIG. 17 shows a magnified view of a sub-section 1506 of FIG. 15 .
- the traces 1306 run and under pads 1302 2 with vias 1312 electrically connecting the pads 1302 2 and the traces 1306
- the traces 1304 run under pads 1302 1 with vias 1308 electrically connecting the pads 1302 1 and the traces 1304 .
- FIG. 18 shows variation of the flexible printed circuit 1210 of FIG. 12 for a configuration in which the active layer 1208 includes five rows of elements, including the rows 1208 1 - 1208 3 discussed above ( FIG. 12 ) and two additional rows which are located outside of the rows 1208 1 and 1208 3 respectively sandwiching them between rows 1208 0 and 1208 2 and between rows 1208 2 and 1208 4 .
- the flexible printed circuit 1210 includes two additional sets of pads 1302 0 and 1302 4 respectively for the two additional rows of elements.
- FIG. 19 shows a magnified view of a sub-section 1802 of FIG. 18 .
- the traces 1306 run under the pads 1302 2 with the vias 1312 electrically connecting the pads 1302 2 and the traces 1306
- the pair of traces 1502 and 1306 runs parallel to each other and under the pads 1302 3 and 1302 4 with the vias 1310 electrically connecting the pads 1302 3 and the traces 1502 and the vias 1312 electrically connecting the pads 1302 2 and the traces 1306
- the pads 1302 4 include extensions 1804 configured as traces for the pads 1302 4 .
- the interconnect 114 (i.e., the single flexible printed circuit 1210 ) makes electrical interconnect with the active layer by discrete conductive pads on its adjacent surface. These pads contain vias to connect to the opposite surface of the single flexible printed circuit 1210 where the majority of the signal traces run. Signal traces run in parallel on the opposite surface to make optimal use of azimuthal space under the element. This allows for the single flexible printed circuit 1210 to include only a minimum number of layers (e.g., two metal layers), which minimizes acoustic impact.
- the two-layer single flexible printed circuit 1210 bonded in a planar configuration, sandwiched between the active layer 1208 and the backing 1212 keeps the backing fabrication and electrical connection processes simple, e.g., as opposed to embedding the interconnect into the backing or attaching wires to individual elements.
- some traces can be run on the top surface (no via required), and/or the number of flex layers could be increased. Even if the number of layers is increased, the approach described herein still helps minimize the number of required layers.
- FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate methods in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein.
- FIG. 20 illustrates a method for a row-column addressed CMUT or PZT transducer array.
- a row-column addressed transducer array transmits ultrasound signals, receives echoes, and generates electrical signals indicative of the received echoes.
- the electrical signals are routed from the transducer array to a communications interface through the interconnect 114 , which, in one instance, is a single flexible printed circuit with only two metal layers, which are located on opposing sides of the single flexible printed circuit, and which route the signals off the interconnect 114 in opposing directions.
- the electrical signals are further routed to processing circuitry, which processes the signals and at least generates data indicative thereof (e.g., an image).
- FIG. 21 illustrates a method for a multi-row transducer array.
- a multi-row transducer array transmits ultrasound signals, receives echoes, and generates electrical signals indicative of the received echoes.
- the electrical signals are routed from the transducer array to a communications interface through the interconnect 114 , which, in one instance, is a single flexible printed circuit with only two metal layers, which are located on opposing sides of the single flexible printed circuit, and which route the signals off the interconnect 114 in opposing directions.
- the electrical signals are further routed to processing circuitry, which processes the signals and at least generates data indicative thereof (e.g., an image).
Abstract
Description
- The following generally relates to an ultrasound transducer array and more particularly to an electrical interconnect for a transducer array, and is described with particular application to ultrasound imaging, but is amenable to other ultrasound applications.
- Two-dimensional (2-D) ultrasound imaging is limited in its ability to reveal three-dimensional (3-D) anatomy. Three-dimensional imaging improves qualitative and quantitative characterization relative to 2-D imaging, but comes with the cost of increased complexity in the transducer, imaging algorithms, data processing, display, etc. Three-dimensional imaging can be accomplished through a linear (1-D) transducer array that is swept mechanically across an area or a matrix (2-D) array that is used with electronic steering.
- A 1-D transducer array is limited by the mechanical sweep speed. A 2-D array uses electronic sweeping, which enables faster and more flexible imaging techniques. Ideally, all elements in the matrix are used independently for transmitting and receiving. For a square array with N elements along each edge, this requires N*N electrical connections, which can be challenging to manage from manufacturability, ergonomics, signal integrity, and data analysis perspectives. Further, the electrical characteristics of each small element become difficult to match efficiently to a transmitter and receiver.
- Row-column addressing is an alternative approach to 2-D arrays that reduces channel count (2*N instead of N*N) and improves electrical match (at the cost of imaging flexibility). In this approach, electrodes on one surface of the active layer tie together all matrix elements along each row, and electrodes on the opposite surface tie together the elements along each column. This array can be used to transmit in one direction and receive in the orthogonal direction. The literature has discussed both piezoelectric (PZT) and capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) based row-column array configurations.
- An interconnect circuit electrically connects the elements of the transducer array to electronics on printed circuit boards (PCBs) in the handle of the probe. Unfortunately, interconnects for CMUT row-column arrays include large, rigid PCBs, which are not suitable for commercial medical ultrasound probes, at least since their large size would make the probe ergonomically infeasible. Furthermore, it is challenging to manage the row and column connections in a way that facilitates manufacturability.
- With PZT row-column arrays, electrodes patterned on both surfaces of a piezoelectric layer render the electrical interconnect complex. One approach is to solder wires to both surfaces. Unfortunately, this is inconvenient at least because of the way the piezoelectric layer needs to be supported underneath the soldering point. Another approach is to bond a circuit onto both sides of the active layer. Unfortunately, the circuit covering the piezoelectric patient-facing surface would cause significant acoustic performance compromises.
- Ultrasound imaging systems can leverage multi-row transducer arrays to improve image quality. Older one-dimensional arrays have a single row of transducer elements in the azimuth direction. In multi-row arrays, however, several parallel one-dimensional arrays are aligned in the elevation direction, where each parallel array constitutes a row of the total array. By operating the rows independently, the acoustic field can be controlled more precisely, which enables image quality improvement. In specific, the multiple rows can be used to make the elevation slice thickness consistent through a long depth range.
- However, the fabrication of such devices is considerably more complicated. In 1-D arrays, small wires can be attached to each element along the middle, one end or both ends of the element. In each case, there is only one row of wires to manage. Another approach bonds a circuit behind the active layer. If the former approach were extended to a multi-row array, multiple rows of wires would also be required, and it would be difficult and time-consuming to manage all the wires without allowing them to short to each other. If the latter approach were extended to a multi-row array, it would be difficult to connect independently to each row of the array without contacting the other rows.
- Aspects of the application address the above matters, and others.
- In one aspect, an apparatus comprises a probe including a transducer array with a plurality of elements, a communications interface, and an interconnect configured to route electrical signals between the plurality of elements and the communications interface. The interconnect includes a flexible printed circuit with a first surface with a first metal layer, a second opposing surface with a second metal layer, a first end, and a second opposing end. The apparatus further includes traces configured to readout signals from at least one of the first and second opposing ends.
- In another aspect, an ultrasound imaging system includes a probe with a single flexible printed circuit configured to route electrical signals between elements of a transducer array of the probe and a communications interface of the probe, wherein the single flexible printed circuit includes two metal layers and route signals off the single flexible printed circuit at opposing ends of the single flexible printed circuit. The ultrasound imaging system further includes an ultrasound device with a transmit circuit that controls transmission by the transducer array, a receive circuit that controls reception by the transducer array, and an echo processor that processes echoes receive by the transducer array. The ultrasound imaging system further includes a complementary communications interface electrically connecting the communications interface of the probe and the ultrasound device.
- In another aspect, a method includes transmitting an ultrasound signal with a transducer array of an ultrasound imaging probe. The transducer array includes one of a 2-D row-column addressed capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer array, a 2-D row-column addressed piezoelectric transducer array, or a multi-row transducer array. The method further includes receiving echoes with the transducer array. The method further includes generating signals indicative of the received echoes with the transducer array. The method further includes routing the signals from the transducer array to a communications interface of the probe with an interconnect, wherein the interconnect includes a single flexible printed circuit with no more than two metal layers and configured to route the signals at no more than two opposing ends of the single flexible printed circuit. The method further includes processing the signals, generating data indicative thereof.
- Those skilled in the art will recognize still other aspects of the present application upon reading and understanding the attached description.
- The application is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
-
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example ultrasound system with a transducer array electrically coupled to a single flexible printed circuit interconnect that has two metal layers located on opposing sides that route signals in opposing directions; -
FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5 schematically illustrate an example in which the transducer array is a row-column addressed CMUT based transducer array; -
FIGS. 6 and 7 schematically illustrate an example in which the single flexible printed circuit interconnect is folded back behind the CMUT transducer array; -
FIGS. 8-11 schematically illustrate an example in which the transducer array is a row-column addressed PZT based transducer array; -
FIG. 12 schematically illustrates an example in which the transducer array is a multi-row transducer array; -
FIGS. 13 and 14 schematically illustrate an example in which the interconnect for the multi-row transducer array reads signals from an inner row of elements out from one side of the interconnect and combines and reads signals from two outer rows of elements out from an opposing side of the interconnect; -
FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 schematically illustrate an example in which the interconnect for the multi-row transducer array reads signals from an inner row of elements out from one side of the interconnect and independently reads signals from two outer rows of elements out from an opposing side of the interconnect; -
FIGS. 18 and 19 schematically illustrate an example in which the interconnect for the multi-row transducer array independently reads signals from two rows of elements out from one side of the interconnect and independently reads signals from three rows of elements out from an opposing side of the interconnect; -
FIG. 20 schematically illustrates an example method for a row-column addressed CMUT or PZT based transducer array; and -
FIG. 21 schematically illustrates an example method for a row-column addressed multi-row transducer array. -
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an ultrasound (US)system 100. Theultrasound system 100 includes aprobe 102 and anultrasound device 104. Data and/or control signals are conveyed between theprobe 102 and theultrasound device 104 via acommunication channel 106 such as a cable, radio frequency, etc. For example, in one instance theprobe 102 and theultrasound device 104 havecomplementary communications interfaces communication channel 106 and thecomplementary communications interfaces - The
probe 102 includes atransducer array 108 that includes a plurality oftransducer elements 110 and aninterconnect 114 which electrically connects the plurality oftransducer elements 110 and thecomplementary communications interface 112. In one non-limiting instance, thetransducer array 108 is a 2-D row-addressed CMUT or PZT transducer array. In another instance, thetransducer array 108 is a multi-row transducer array. In both instance, theinterconnect 114 includes a single flexible printed circuit with only two metal layers. As described in greater detail below, traces of the single flexible printed circuit are in both of the two metal layers, which are located on opposing sides of the single flexible printed circuit, and readout signals from opposing ends of the single flexible printed circuit. It is to be appreciated that the trace patterning approaches described herein facilitate maintaining performance and/or manufacturability, and/or provides efficient and/or cost-effective fabrication. In general, the approached described herein may allow for using as few metal layers as possible while managing traces to optimize manufacturing and minimize cost and maintain acoustic performance. - The
ultrasound device 104 includes a control and/orprocessing portion 116, auser interface 118, and adisplay 120. The control and/orprocessing portion 116 includes transmitcircuitry 122 that controls excitation of theelements 110 and receivecircuitry 124 that controls reception of echo signals by theelements 110. The control and/orprocessing portion 116 further includes anecho processor 126 that processes received echo signals. Such processing may include beamforming (e.g., delay and sum, etc.) and/or otherwise processing the echo signals, e.g., to lower speckle, to improve specular reflector delineation, to filter the echo signals via FIR and/or IIR filters, etc. - The control and/or
processing portion 116 further includes acontroller 128 that controls the transmitcircuitry 122, the receivecircuitry 124, and theecho processor 126. Such control may include controlling the frame rate, transmit angles, energies and/or frequencies, transmit and/or receive delays, processing of echo signals, the imaging mode, etc. The control and/orprocessing portion 116 further includes ascan converter 130 that coverts processed echo signals and generates data for display. Thedisplay 120 visually presents the scan converted data, and theuser interface 118 includes input controls and/or output displays for interacting with thesystem 100. - In the illustrated embodiment, the
probe 102 and theultrasound device 104 are separate entities. Theprobe 102 includes structure which houses thetransducer array 108 and theinterconnect 114. This may include physically supporting and/or enclosing one or more of thetransducer array 108 and theinterconnect 114. Theultrasound device 104 includes structure which houses at least the transmitcircuitry 122, the receivecircuitry 124, theprocessor 126, thecontroller 128 and thescan converter 130. In one instance, theultrasound device 104 is a computer or computing system. Theuser interface 118 and/or thedisplay 120 can be part of the ultrasound device 104 (as shown) or separate entities connected thereto. - Alternatively, the
probe 102 and theultrasound device 104 are part of a same physical structure such as a single enclosure or housing. Such a configuration may be part of a hand-held or other ultrasound apparatus. A hand-held ultrasound apparatus may utilize internally located power, e.g., from a power source such as a battery, a capacitor, etc. to power the components therein, and/or power from an external power source. An example of a hand-held device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,699,776, entitled “Intuitive Ultrasonic Imaging System and Related Method Thereof,” and filed on Mar. 6, 2003, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. -
FIGS. 2-5 schematically illustrate an example in which thetransducer array 108 includes a row-column addressedCMUT chip 402 and theinterconnect 114 includes a single flexible printedcircuit 404 with atop side 406 and abottom side 408 and only two metal layers with readout signals from opposing ends. In this embodiment, both the rows and the columns are addressed from a same side (i.e. the top side 406) of the row-column addressedCMUT chip 402. -
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view looking onto thetop side 406 with an installedCMUT chip 402.FIG. 3 shows a perspective view looking onto thetop side 406 with thechip 402 separated therefrom.FIG. 4 shows a perspective view looking onto thetop side 406 without thechip 402 and with traces on thebottom side 408 the location thereof visible through thetop side 406.FIG. 5 shows a perspective view looking onto thebottom side 408 without thechip 402 and with traces on thetop side 406 the location thereof visible through thebottom side 408. - For sake of brevity and clarity, the illustrated row-column addressed
CMUT chip 402 is discussed in connection with four columns and four rows (i.e., a 4×4 square matrix). However, it is to be understood that the row-column addressedCMUT chip 402 could include 8×8, 16×16, 32×32, 192×192, 512×512, etc. rows and columns, and/or have a non-square configuration such as a rectangular, circular and/or other shaped configuration. An example geometry for a 62×62 square matrix configured for an abdominal scan can be one inch by one inch. Other geometries and applications are contemplated herein. - The illustrated row-column addressed
CMUT chip 402 includes a plurality of electrodes along each of the edges with a total of sixteen electrodes, including four on each edge, withelectrodes 410 on a first side oredge 412,electrodes 414 on a second side or edge 416 which opposes thefirst side 412,electrodes 418 on a third side or edge 420 which is transverse and adjacent to and between the first andsecond sides electrodes 422 on a fourth side or edge 424 which opposes thethird side 420. - The
top side 406 includes a metal layer with a plurality ofpads pads 426 are disposed adjacent to theelectrodes sides interconnect 114. Thetraces 430 extend from adjacent to the third andfourth sides chip 402 to ends orsides interconnect 114. A sub-set of thepads 428 are disposed adjacent to the traces at theend 432, and another sub-set of thepads 428 are disposed adjacent to the traces at theend 434. - The
bottom side 408 includes a second metal layer with a plurality oftraces 440 that extend from thepads 426 of thetop side 406 along thesecond side 408 to thepads 428 on thetop side 406. A sub-set of thetraces 430 extends to theend 432, and another sub-set of thetraces 430 extends to theend 434. Thetraces 440 electrically connect to thepads 426 and thepads 428 on thetop side 406 through vias and/or the like. Signals are read out from only the two opposingsides pads 428 and thetraces 430. - Discrete electrically
conductive wires 442 are bonded to theCMUT chip electrodes corresponding electrode pads 426 and/or traces 430 on thefirst side 406 of the flexible printedcircuit 404. In the illustrated embodiment, the discrete electricallyconductive wires 442 are staggered odd/even between opposing sides for both the rows and the columns. This may ease manufacturability and/or reduce cross-talk. Thewires 442 can be soldered, wire-bonded, etc. - Organizing electrical connections (e.g., the
traces 430 and 440) as described herein can facilitate assembly and/or enable ergonomics, e.g., by the use of only two legs of the flexible circuit (i.e., ends 432 and 434) that extend from opposite (non-adjacent) edges of the array. The single flexible printedcircuit 404 connects to the active transducer material and employs a unique routing technique, which can minimize the number of circuit layers required to connect each row and column of the array. - In general, the single flexible printed
circuit 404 is not configured for only the specific row-column addressedCMUT chip 402. Rather, the single flexible printedcircuit 404 is compatible with any row-column addressed CMUT chip where the electrical connection pads are on the patient surface of the row-column addressed CMUT chip, regardless of whether the CMUT is fabricated with sacrificial release, wafer bonding, or some other technique. - In a variation, the signals are read out from only one side (e.g., the
side 432 or the side 434). This can be achieved by having all of thetraces chip 402 to only theedge adjacent sides sides interconnect 114 includes two or more flexible printed circuit and/or three or more metal layers per flexible printed circuit. -
FIGS. 6 and 7 show an example where the single flexible printedcircuit 404 is flexed such that the signal traces 430 and 440 (indicated by dashed lines with arrow heads) are redirected back behind the row-column addressedCMUT chip 402 by bending the single flexible printedcircuit 404. A rigid piece of stiffener material 602 (e.g., FR-4) can be placed on thebottom side 406 of the single flexible printedcircuit 404 under the row-column addressedCMUT chip 402 to provide stability, e.g., during chip mounting and/or otherwise. - A larger backing block can be bonded to the back side of the stiffener. Due to the operation of the row-column addressed
CMUT chip 402, this block would not have significant influence on the acoustics of the device and provides mechanical reference for positioning and/or handling. Expose edges of the backing block can make is easy to handle the assembly, e.g., to glue it into a housing of theprobe 102. - The interconnection can be made in multiple directions in three-dimensional space. The single flexible printed
circuit 404 electrically connects the row-column addressed CMUT chip to the communications interface 112 (FIG. 1 ), which, again, can be in the handle and/or elsewhere of the probe 102 (FIG. 1 ). -
FIGS. 8-11 schematically illustrate an example in which thetransducer array 108 includes a row-column addressedPZT chip 802. - This configuration is similar to the configuration discussed in connection with
FIGS. 2-5 except the rows and columns are addressed from different and opposingsides PZT chip 802, with one of the row or columns addressed through conductive strips on the (top)side 804 of thechip 802, which faces away from the single flexible printedcircuit 404, and the other of the row or columns addressed through electrically conductive strips on the (bottom)side 806 of thechip 802, which faces the single flexible printedcircuit 404. - Furthermore, unlike in the configuration discussed in connection with
FIGS. 2-5 , thetraces 430 includesub-portions 808 that extend on thetop side 406 and on a location under an installed row-column addressedPZT chip 802. With this embodiment, the electrically conductive strips on thebottom side 806 of the row-column addressedPZT chip 802 are bonded through an adhesive or the like to thesub-portions 808 of thetraces 430, which electrically connects the rows or the columns to the single flexible printedcircuit 404. - The other of the rows or the columns, which are addressed from the
top side 804, are electrically connected thepads 426 with the discrete electricallyconductive wires 442 like inFIGS. 2-5 . InFIG. 11 , the single flexible printedcircuit 404 includeswings 1102, which extend or protrude out fromsides top side 804 and electrically connect with the electrically conductive strips thereon through an adhesive. An acoustically-beneficial matching layer(s) can be applied to a remaining portion of thetop side 804. - Organizing electrical connections (e.g., the
traces 430 and 440) as described herein can facilitate assembly and/or enable ergonomics, e.g., by the use of only two legs of the flexible circuit (i.e., ends 432 and 434) that extend from opposite (non-adjacent) edges of the array. The single flexible printedcircuit 404 connects to the active transducer material and employs a unique routing technique, which can minimize the number of circuit layers required to connect each row and column of the array. The single flexible printedcircuit 404 is not configured for only the row-column addressedPZT chip 802. - In a variation, the signals are read out from only one side (e.g., the
side 432 or the side 434), e.g., as discussed in connection withFIGS. 2-5 . Likewise, in another variation, signals can be read out fromadjacent sides sides interconnect 114 includes two or more flexible printed circuits and/or three or more metal layers. A backing block can be used as a mechanical function (as in the CMUT configuration) and an acoustical function (e.g., attenuating sound that is transmitted into it). -
FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of an example in which thetransducer array 108 includes amulti-row transducer 1200 and theinterconnect 114. It is to be appreciated that theinterconnect 114 can be extended to other architectures such as a multi-layer ceramic as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,148 to Mohr et al., layers with curved surfaces across elevation as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,365 to Hanafy et al., or arrays with ground electrode that wraps around the edges of the ceramic instead of using a ground foil. - The
multi-row transducer 1200 includes anacoustic lens 1202, an acoustic impedance matching layer(s) 1204, aground foil 1206, an active layer 1208 (e.g., piezoelectric ceramic), theinterconnect 114 which includes a flexible printedcircuit 1210 with top andbottom layers backing block 1212. Theactive layer 1208 includes threerows elevation direction 1214, each row including a plurality of elements (not visible) in anazimuth direction 1216. Columns of elements 1218 1, 1218 2, 1218 3, 1218 4, 1218 5, and 1218 6 span therows -
FIG. 13 schematically illustrates pad placement and trace routing of the flexible printedcircuit 1210 for the configuration ofFIG. 12 . Thetop layer 1210 1 of the flexible printedcircuit 1210 includes sets of pads 1302 1, 1302 2 and 1302 3, one set respectively for each of the elements of each of therows bottom layer 1210 2 of the flexible printedcircuit 1210 includes a first set oftraces 1306 at oneend 1307 and electrically connected to the pads 1302 2 for the middle row 1208 2 (FIG. 12 ), and a second set oftraces 1304 at anopposing end 1305 and electrically connected to both the pads 1302 1 and 1302 3 for the twoouter rows 1208 1 and 1208 3 (FIG. 12 ). -
FIG. 14 shows a magnified view oftraces 1304 ofFIG. 13 . A pair oftraces traces traces traces traces traces - With reference to
FIGS. 13 and 14 ,vias 1308 connect the pads 1302 1 for the outer row 1208 1 (FIG. 12 ) to thetraces 1304, and vias 1310 connect the pads 1302 3 (e.g., the pads 1302 3,6, 1302 3,4, and 1302 3,5) for the other outer row 1208 3 (FIG. 12 ) to the same traces 1304 (e.g., thetraces FIG. 14 ). This configuration electrically connects the elements of the twoouter rows Vias 1312 connect the pads 1302 2 (e.g., the pads 1302 2,1-1302 2,6 inFIG. 14 ) for the middle row 1208 2 (FIG. 12 ) to the traces 1306 (e.g., the traces 1306 1-1306 6). - This configuration represents symmetric row connections. For this configuration, a pitch of the
traces traces -
FIG. 15 shows a variation of the configuration ofFIG. 14 in which the twoouter rows vias 1308 connect the pads 1302 1 for the outer row 1208 1 (FIG. 12) to thetraces 1304. However, in this variation, thevias 1310 connect the pads 1302 3for the other outer row 1208 3 (FIG. 12 ) to traces 1502. With this variation, each row can be electrically controlled completely independent of its mirror row. This enables increased control over the elevation focus characteristics, allowing steering in elevation. -
FIG. 16 shows a magnified view of asub-section 1504 ofFIG. 15 . A pair oftraces vias 1310 electrically connecting the pads 1302 3 and thetraces 1502. Thetraces 1306 also run under pads 1302 2 withvias 1312 electrically connecting the pads 1302 2 and thetraces 1306.FIG. 17 shows a magnified view of asub-section 1506 ofFIG. 15 . Thetraces 1306 run and under pads 1302 2 withvias 1312 electrically connecting the pads 1302 2 and thetraces 1306, and thetraces 1304 run under pads 1302 1 withvias 1308 electrically connecting the pads 1302 1 and thetraces 1304. -
FIG. 18 shows variation of the flexible printedcircuit 1210 ofFIG. 12 for a configuration in which theactive layer 1208 includes five rows of elements, including the rows 1208 1-1208 3 discussed above (FIG. 12 ) and two additional rows which are located outside of therows rows rows circuit 1210 includes two additional sets of pads 1302 0 and 1302 4 respectively for the two additional rows of elements. -
FIG. 19 shows a magnified view of asub-section 1802 ofFIG. 18 . For this configuration, thetraces 1306 run under the pads 1302 2 with thevias 1312 electrically connecting the pads 1302 2 and thetraces 1306, and the pair oftraces vias 1310 electrically connecting the pads 1302 3 and thetraces 1502 and thevias 1312 electrically connecting the pads 1302 2 and thetraces 1306. The pads 1302 4 includeextensions 1804 configured as traces for the pads 1302 4. - For the configurations of
FIGS. 12-19 , the interconnect 114 (i.e., the single flexible printed circuit 1210) makes electrical interconnect with the active layer by discrete conductive pads on its adjacent surface. These pads contain vias to connect to the opposite surface of the single flexible printedcircuit 1210 where the majority of the signal traces run. Signal traces run in parallel on the opposite surface to make optimal use of azimuthal space under the element. This allows for the single flexible printedcircuit 1210 to include only a minimum number of layers (e.g., two metal layers), which minimizes acoustic impact. - Using the two-layer single flexible printed
circuit 1210 bonded in a planar configuration, sandwiched between theactive layer 1208 and thebacking 1212, keeps the backing fabrication and electrical connection processes simple, e.g., as opposed to embedding the interconnect into the backing or attaching wires to individual elements. For a larger number of rows, some traces can be run on the top surface (no via required), and/or the number of flex layers could be increased. Even if the number of layers is increased, the approach described herein still helps minimize the number of required layers. -
FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate methods in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein. - It is to be appreciated that the order of the following acts is provided for explanatory purposes and is not limiting. As such, one or more of the following acts may occur in a different order. Furthermore, one or more of the following acts may be omitted and/or one or more additional acts may be added.
-
FIG. 20 illustrates a method for a row-column addressed CMUT or PZT transducer array. - At 2002, a row-column addressed transducer array transmits ultrasound signals, receives echoes, and generates electrical signals indicative of the received echoes.
- At 2004, the electrical signals are routed from the transducer array to a communications interface through the
interconnect 114, which, in one instance, is a single flexible printed circuit with only two metal layers, which are located on opposing sides of the single flexible printed circuit, and which route the signals off theinterconnect 114 in opposing directions. - At 2006, the electrical signals are further routed to processing circuitry, which processes the signals and at least generates data indicative thereof (e.g., an image).
-
FIG. 21 illustrates a method for a multi-row transducer array. - At 2102, a multi-row transducer array transmits ultrasound signals, receives echoes, and generates electrical signals indicative of the received echoes.
- At 2104, the electrical signals are routed from the transducer array to a communications interface through the
interconnect 114, which, in one instance, is a single flexible printed circuit with only two metal layers, which are located on opposing sides of the single flexible printed circuit, and which route the signals off theinterconnect 114 in opposing directions. - At 2106, the electrical signals are further routed to processing circuitry, which processes the signals and at least generates data indicative thereof (e.g., an image).
- The application has been described with reference to various embodiments. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading the application. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations, including insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims and the equivalents thereof.
Claims (20)
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US7791252B2 (en) * | 2007-01-30 | 2010-09-07 | General Electric Company | Ultrasound probe assembly and method of fabrication |
EP2153777A4 (en) * | 2007-05-29 | 2016-10-12 | Hitachi Medical Corp | Ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic diagnosis device |
WO2009139400A1 (en) * | 2008-05-15 | 2009-11-19 | 株式会社 日立メディコ | Ultrasonic probe, method for manufacturing the same and ultrasonic diagnostic device |
WO2010021709A1 (en) * | 2008-08-18 | 2010-02-25 | Pocketsonics, Inc. | Front end circuitry for imaging systems and methods of use |
US8176787B2 (en) * | 2008-12-17 | 2012-05-15 | General Electric Company | Systems and methods for operating a two-dimensional transducer array |
US8836203B2 (en) * | 2012-03-30 | 2014-09-16 | Measurement Specialties, Inc. | Signal return for ultrasonic transducers |
JP6047936B2 (en) * | 2012-06-14 | 2016-12-21 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Ultrasonic transducer element package, probe, probe head, electronic device, ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and method of manufacturing ultrasonic transducer element package |
DE102016114099A1 (en) * | 2016-07-29 | 2018-02-01 | Tts Microcell Gmbh | Surface treatment device with a suction connection |
-
2016
- 2016-01-19 DE DE112016006252.4T patent/DE112016006252T5/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2016-01-19 US US16/070,842 patent/US10843228B2/en active Active
- 2016-01-19 WO PCT/US2016/013888 patent/WO2017127050A1/en active Application Filing
-
2020
- 2020-10-07 US US17/065,100 patent/US20210016320A1/en not_active Abandoned
Also Published As
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DE112016006252T5 (en) | 2018-09-27 |
US10843228B2 (en) | 2020-11-24 |
WO2017127050A1 (en) | 2017-07-27 |
US20190022699A1 (en) | 2019-01-24 |
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