Patent ID: 7779531

Claim:
A method for making a transducer assembly, comprising the steps of: creating a microfabricated ultrasonic transducer (MUT) device, the MUT device being disposed on a substrate and comprising a plurality of elements, each element comprising a diaphragm suspended over the substrate, the diaphragm operable to move; thinning the substrate to allow the MUT device to achieve a required curvature across the plurality of elements for a predefined application, the thinned substrate having a first maximum thickness along an acoustic radiation direction and being continuous across the plurality of elements; and disposing a backing against the thinned substrate to result in the MUT device maintaining the required curvature of the thinned substrate across the plurality of elements and during imaging with the MUT, the backing having a second maximum thickness along the acoustic radiation direction, the second maximum thickness at least as thick as the first maximum thickness, the backing comprising acoustic absorption material.