Aperiodic and deterministic 2D phased array structures for ultrasonic imaging

Many ultrasonic imaging applications require ultrasonic phased arrays capable of rapid volumetric steering, and to do so, some form of two-dimensional (2D) array is necessary. However, such devices have typically required a large increase in the number of active array elements, with inevitable constraints on performance and cost effective manufacture. A new, flexible design approach, which allows the array to be closely tailored to a given application, is proposed. This allows a reduction in the number of elements needed to achieve a specified beam shape, when compared to more traditional sparse 2D array designs. This paper presents both simulated and experimental results achieved using this novel design process to demonstrate that it can be used to reduce the complexity of ultrasonic volumetric imaging systems.