Miniature polymer transducers for high-frequency medical imaging

Geoffrey R. Lockwood; Christopher R. Hazard

doi:10.1117/12.308005

1 May 1998 Miniature polymer transducers for high-frequency medical imaging

Geoffrey R. Lockwood, Christopher R. Hazard

Proceedings Volume 3341, Medical Imaging 1998: Ultrasonic Transducer Engineering; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.308005
Event: Medical Imaging '98, 1998, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

High frequency polymer transducers have been used in a variety of medical imaging applications since they were first introduced by Sherar and Foster in the late 1980s. The transducers are intrinsically broadband and the flexibility of the polymer material makes fabrication relatively easy. Unfortunately, piezoelectric polymer materials have a low dielectric constant. Unless a large aperture is used, the electrical impedance of the transducer will be high, and the receiver sensitivity will be poor. This problem can be avoided by placing a high impedance pre-amplifier inside the transducer housing. Placing the pre-amplifier close to the transducer is important to avoid standing waves between the high output impedance of the transducer and the high input impedance of the pre-amplifier. We have recently developed a process for fabricating high frequency spherically shaped polymer transducers in which an integrated circuit die is mounted just beneath the surface of the transducer. In this paper we describe a theoretical and experimental analysis of the noise performance of these devices. The signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the pre-amplifier is estimated by combining a simple noise model for the amplifier with a KLM model of the transducer. This analysis provides a useful way of evaluating different transducer/pre-amplifier combinations. Excellent agreement between the model predictions and experimental results proves the validity of this approach.

Citation Download Citation

Geoffrey R. Lockwood and Christopher R. Hazard "Miniature polymer transducers for high-frequency medical imaging", Proc. SPIE 3341, Medical Imaging 1998: Ultrasonic Transducer Engineering, (1 May 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.308005

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available