Dynamic resonant frequency control of ultrasonic transducer for stabilizing resonant state in wide frequency band

Controlling the resonant frequency of ultrasonic transducers is important to achieve the excellent performance of ultrasonic devices. The resonant frequency can be shifted by a nonlinear effect or by increasing the temperature under high-power operation. We propose a resonant frequency control method during the transducer's operation that enables the dynamic compensation of resonant frequency shifts. To realize this, a transducer with passive piezoelectric parts was fabricated. By controlling the electric boundary condition of the passive piezoelectric parts between short and open by utilizing a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), the stiffness was changed, thus modifying the resonant frequency. In both simulation and experiment, the resonant frequency was modified successfully by controlling the switching duty ratio of the MOSFET. Additionally, a system for exciting a transducer at a resonant state with a wide frequency band was demonstrated. (C) 2017 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.