title: Design of a front-end integrated circuit for 3D acoustic imaging using 2D CMUT arrays.
abstract: Integration of front-end electronics with 2D capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) arrays has been a challenging issue due to the small element size and large channel count. We present design and verification of a front-end drive-readout integrated circuit for 3D ultrasonic imaging using 2D CMUT arrays. The circuit cell dedicated to a single CMUT array element consists of a high-voltage pulser and a low-noise readout amplifier. To analyze the circuit cell together with the CMUT element, we developed an electrical CMUT model with parameters derived through finite element analysis, and performed both the pre- and postlayout verification. An experimental chip consisting of 4 X 4 array of the designed circuit cells, each cell occupying a 200 X 200 microm2 area, was formed for the initial test studies and scheduled for fabrication in 0.8 microm, 50 V CMOS technology. The designed circuit is suitable for integration with CMUT arrays through flip-chip bonding and the CMUT-on-CMOS process.
authors.affiliation: Microelectronics Department, Faculty of Engineering, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ihsan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ciçek
authors.forename: Ayhan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bozkurt
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karaman
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D025802:Electric Capacitance; D004582:Electronics, Medical; D004867:Equipment Design / Q000379:methods; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D016014:Linear Models; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008839:Microelectrodes; D008904:Miniaturization; D012666:Semiconductors; D018511:Systems Integration; D014159:Transducers; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial