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Top-Orthogonal-to-Bottom-Electrode Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasound Transducers for Low-Cost 3D Ultrasound Imaging

  • Author / Creator
    Sampaleanu, Alexander P
  • Capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers (CMUTs) offer a promising solution for three-dimensional ultrasound imaging due to their ability to be easily fabricated in two-dimensional arrays. However, channel routing is still non-trivial and cost-intensive. The subject of this thesis is a ‘Top-Orthogonal-to-Bottom-Electrode’ (TOBE) 2-D CMUT array architecture, along with its respective row-column addressing schemes, which can significantly reduce the channel count of a 2-D array, such that only 2N channels are required for an N x N array. Background on acoustics, ultrasound imaging, and CMUT technology is presented before the novel array architecture and imaging schemes is described. Arrays were fabricated using a sacrificial release method, and acoustic immersion and air-coupled tests, along with imaging simulations, were done to validate array functionality. Results showed that single-element actuation is possible with a row-column addressing scheme, allowing for novel imaging schemes which could result in significantly more cost-effective 3-D ultrasound imaging.

  • Subjects / Keywords
  • Graduation date
    Fall 2013
  • Type of Item
    Thesis
  • Degree
    Master of Science
  • DOI
    https://doi.org/10.7939/R30R9MF5J
  • License
    This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.