title: A silicon electrostatic ultrasonic transducer.
abstract: An electric ultrasonic transducer is developed by using a silicon IC process. Design considerations are first presented to obtain high sensitivity and the desired frequency responses in air. The measured transmitter sensitivity is 19.1 dB (0 dB=1 mubar/V) at a point 50 cm away from the devices, when the devices are operated at 150 kHz. The receiving sensitivity is 0.47 mV/Pa in the 10-130-kHz range, with bias voltages as low as 30 V. An electronic sector scanning operation is also achieved by time-sequentially driving seven elements arranged in a linear array on the same chip. The results should be helpful in the design of phased-array transducers integrated with electronic scanning circuits.
authors.affiliation: NEC Corp., Kanagawa.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanigawa