Surface micromachined ultrasonic transducer

US6320239A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Siemens Aktiengesellschaft · DE

Inventors

• Peter-Christian Eccardt · Ottobrunn, DE
• Kurt W. Niederer · Charlotte, US
• Thomas Scheiter · Munich, DE
• Martin Vossiek · Ergolding, DE
• Thomas Kolpin · Amberg, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 27, 1999
• Grant date: Nov 20, 2001
• Expiry date: Apr 27, 2019

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01H11/06
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A spacer layer (7) with a cavity (8) etched out therein and a diaphragm (2) arranged thereabove on the spacer layer are located on a silicon substrate (1) with a doped region (5) formed therein, whereby the doped region and the diaphragm are electrically connected via terminal contacts (4, 6) to electronic components (13) that are likewise integrated in the substrate (1). The electronic component are a component part of the operating circuit that can also be used for the drive of the diaphragm and for evaluating the diaphragm oscillations. The integration makes it possible to arrange the micromachined transducer components as array that can be electronically driven as phased array.