Patent ID: 7589455

Claim:
A capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT) which is constituted by a plurality of transducer elements comprising plural transducer cells or plural subelements that are mutually connected in parallel and which comprises: a silicon substrate; a bottom electrode placed on the silicon substrate; an upper electrode placed opposite to the bottom electrode and separated therefrom by a prescribed air or vacuum gap; a membrane for supporting the upper electrode; and a membrane supporting part for supporting the membrane, wherein the cMUT comprises a first electrode pad corresponding to either one of the transducer cells, each of a plurality of transducer subelement constituted by a group of the transducer cells or each of the transducer elements and which has an electrical continuity to the upper electrode, a second electrode pad which is a ground electrode electrically connected to the upper electrode, and a signal wire for receiving an input of a drive signal for driving the transducer element, wherein the signal wire has an electrical continuity only to the first electrode pad that is not in a state of short-circuit to the second electrode pad.