Transducers with non-rectangular elements

The number of elements in a transducer is directly proportional to the cost of the system. To reduce the number of elements, vendors produce transducers with a pitch larger than one wavelength. The contrast of the images created with these transducers is reduced because of the grating lobes. The radiation pattern of the transducer is a product of the radiation pattern of the array and of the individual elements. This work investigates the possibility to reduce the level of the grating lobes by manipulating the shape of the individual transducer elements.