High frequency piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer array for intravascular ultrasound imaging

This paper presents a 1.2 mm diameter high fill-factor array of 1,261 piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs) operating at 18.6 MHz for intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging and other medical imaging applications. At 1061 transducers/mm², the PMUT array has a 10-20× higher density than the best PMUT arrays realized to date. The PMUTs utilize a piezoelectric material, AlN, which is compatible with CMOS processes. Measurements show a large voltage response of 2.5 nm/V and good frequency matching in air, a high center frequency of 18.6 MHz and wide bandwidth of 4.9 MHz when immersed in fluid. Phased array simulations based on measured PMUT parameters show a tightly focused, high output pressure acoustic beam.