Patent ID: 9061320
Filing Date: 2015-06-23
Classification: B06B

Abstract:
1. A piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) array, comprising: a plurality of drive/sense electrode rails disposed over an area of a substrate and electrically addressable independently; and a plurality of piezoelectric transducer element populations, wherein drive/sense electrodes within an element population are coupled to one of the drive/sense electrode rails, wherein electromechanical coupling between transducer elements of different transducer element populations is less than electromechanical coupling between transducer elements of a same element population, and wherein each transducer element population is to provide a plurality of separate but overlapping frequency responses; wherein the electromechanical coupling between transducer elements of a same element population is sufficient to induce at least one degenerate mode, the at least one degenerate mode having a degenerate resonant frequency split from a natural resonant frequency of an individual piezoelectric transducer element in the element population, wherein at least one of a distance, the elastic modulus of a material, or a cross-sectional coupling area of a first region between transducer elements of a same element population is different than a corresponding one of a second region between transducer elements of a different element populations, wherein two or more of the distance, the elastic modulus, or the cross-sectional coupling area are different between the first and second regions.