Ultrasound transducer for improving resolution in imaging system

US6666825B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• General Electric Company · US

Inventors

• Lowell Scott Smith · Niskayuna, US
• Nim Tea · Los Angeles, US
• Theodore L. Rhyne · Whitefish Bay, US
• Xuan-Ming Lu · San Jose, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 5, 2001
• Grant date: Dec 23, 2003
• Expiry date: Jul 5, 2021

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T29/42
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An ultrasound transducer employs a silicon acoustic matching layer closest to the piezoelectric layer in order to achieve improved resolution. A silicon wafer, ground to an appropriate thickness, is included in the acoustic stack with other matching layer materials during transducer construction. The exact thickness is determined by the details of the design, but is nominally a quarter wavelength in the silicon.