Development of a high-frequency (> 50 MHz) copolymer annular-array, ultrasound transducer

The development of a high frequency (> 50 MHz) annular array ultrasonic transducer is presented. The array was constructed by bonding a 9 mu m P(VDF-TrFE) film to a two-sided polyimide flexible circuit with annuli electrodes on the top layer. Each annulus was separated by a 30 mu m kerf and had several electroplated microvias that connected to electrode traces on the bottom side of the flex circuit. In order to improve device sensitivity, each element was electrically matched to an impedance magnitude of 50 Omega and 0 degrees phase at resonance using a serial inductor and high impedance coaxial cable. The array's performance was evaluated by measuring the electrical impedance, pulse echo response, and cross talk between elements. The average round trip insertion loss was -33.5 dB after compensating for diffractive and attenuative losses. The measured average center frequency and bandwidth for an element was 55 MHz and 47%, respectively. The measured cross talk between adjacent elements remained below -29 dB at the center frequency in water. A vertical wire phantom was imaged using a single focus transmit beamformer and dynamic focusing receive beamformer. This image showed a significant improvement in lateral resolution over a range of 9 mm after the dynamic focusing receive algorithm was applied. These results correlated well with predictions from a Field 11 simulation. After beamforming, the minimum lateral resolution achieved by the array (-6 dB) was 108 mu m at the focus.