Optimal Design of Sparse Array for Ultrasonic Total Focusing Method by Binary Particle Swarm Optimization

Ultrasonic phased array technology is used in various fields. Traditional full phased arrays place elements in every position of a uniform lattice with half-wavelength spacing between the lattice points, so the hardware cost is very high. This paper introduces an automatically method to sparsify the full array method with well-controlled sidelobes and the main lobe. By calculating one-dimensional phased array patterns that can reflect phased array performance, the binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) algorithm is used to optimize the array layout. The method initialized form full array and decreased several elements step by step, then, a sparse array with comprehensive acoustic performance close to the reference full array is obtained. By applying the proposed method to the sparse array design of total focusing method (TFM), the simulation results indicate that the proposed sparse total focusing method can greatly increase computational efficiency while providing significantly higher image quality. The BPSO can provide effective optimization design for sparse arrays. © 2013 IEEE.