A BCB Diaphragm Based Adhesive Wafer Bonded CMUT Probe for Biomedical Application

This dissertation presents the design methodology, fabrication procedure, and key experimental characterization results of a linear array of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) for possible ophthalmic anterior segment imaging application. The design methodology involves analytical, 3-D electromechanical finite element analysis, and Verasonics Vantage 128 ultrasonic research platform based diagnostic imaging simulations to develop a technique that minimizes electrical charging and center frequency drift while improving the transduction efficiency. In the design, Bisbenzocyclobutene (BCB), a low K polymer from Dow Chemical Company, has been innovatively used for the first time to fabricate the structural layer of the CMUT diaphragm, realize the interelectrode dielectric spacer, and to act as a low temperature adhesive bonding agent. Additionally, the top CMUT electrode has been placed at the bottom of the diaphragm to affect higher capacitance change that increases sensitivity and provides additional decoupling of the electrical charging effects. Several arrays with element count ranging from 8 to 128 elements and a center frequency range of 5 MHz to 40 MHz have been designed and fabricated. Due to an unforeseen adhesion issue during wirebonding, a 32 channel 40 MHz CMUT array has been packaged manually to validate the fabrication process and CMUT operation. Extensive SEM inspections of the CMUT cross-sections show good agreement with the design specifications. Static and dynamic measurements using a Polytec laser Doppler vibrometer, impedance measurement using an Agilent vector network analyzer, and LCR measurement results are in excellent agreement with analytical and FEA analysis using IntelliSuite. The frequency analysis exhibits high electromechanical coupling coefficient of 0.66 at a low bias voltage of 20 V and high uniformity. A successful measurement of the lower drift of the center frequency 0.32% and higher coupling coefficient verifies the hypothesis that the excellent electrical, structural, and processing characteristics of BCB is a viable option to mitigate the dielectric charging and improve the transduction efficiency of CMUTs

An Application of Simulated Annealing in Compensation of Nonlinearity of Scanners

Galvo scanners are popular devices for fast transversal scanning. A triangular signal is usually employed to drive galvo scanners at scanning rates close to the inverse of their response time where scanning deflection becomes a nonlinear function of applied voltage. To address this, the triangular signal is synthesized from several short ramps with different slopes. An optimization algorithm similar to a simulated annealing algorithm is used for finding the optimal signal shape to drive the galvo scanners. As a result, a significant reduction in the nonlinearity of the galvo scanning is obtained

Is photoacoustic imaging clinically safe: evaluation of possible thermal damage due to laser-tissue interaction

Photoacoustic imaging is a breakthrough imaging modality that combines the spatial resolution of ultrasound imaging with the contrast of optical imaging. This imaging technique is being pushed towards clinical acceptance for many applications, such as noninvasive diagnosis and management of a multitude of neoplastic lesions. However, a rigorous evaluation of the tissue thermal response to the laser illumination is required prior to the clinical translation. In this study, we assessed the temperature rise profile and microstructural damage of the skin due to the laser-tissue interaction using in-vivo mouse models. We compared the effect of two different laser frequencies (10 Hz and 30 Hz) on the skin and studied if the use of a cooling method could be clinically useful in preventing tissue necrosis. Two biopsies were taken from each mouse 48 hours after laser exposure; one from the skin directly exposed to the laser and one from neighboring healthy tissue. When the lower frequency laser was used, no necrosis was found on histologic analysis. However, when the higher frequency laser was used, necrosis was noted in the epidermis, dermal collagen, and hair follicles at the site of laser exposure. Use of the cooling method with the higher frequency laser led to no tissue necrosis. Overall, it appears that photoacoustic imaging is likely safe when lower frequency lasers are used, and the implementation of the cooling method seems to mitigate necrosis when the use of a higher frequency laser is warranted. This opens up exciting new possibilities for a noninvasive way of diagnosing and evaluating a variety of lesions, including malignant tumors. However, some further studies are needed before photoacoustic imaging can be clinically used in human subjects

Overview of Ultrasound Detection Technologies for Photoacoustic Imaging

Ultrasound detection is one of the major components of photoacoustic imaging systems. Advancement in ultrasound transducer technology has a significant impact on the translation of photoacoustic imaging to the clinic. Here, we present an overview on various ultrasound transducer technologies including conventional piezoelectric and micromachined transducers, as well as optical ultrasound detection technology. We explain the core components of each technology, their working principle, and describe their manufacturing process. We then quantitatively compare their performance when they are used in the receive mode of a photoacoustic imaging system

Experimental Analysis of Bisbenzocyclobutene Bonded Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers

Experimental measurement results of a 1.75 mm × 1.75 mm footprint area Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (CMUT) planar array fabricated using a bisbenzocyclobutene (BCB)-based adhesive wafer bonding technique has been presented. The array consists of 40 × 40 square diaphragm CMUT cells with a cavity thickness of 900 nm and supported by 10 µm wide dielectric spacers patterned on a thin layer of BCB. A 150 µm wide one µm thick gold strip has been used as the contact pad for gold wire bonding. The measured resonant frequency of 19.3 MHz using a Polytec™ laser Doppler vibrometer (Polytec™ MSA-500) is in excellent agreement with the 3-D FEA simulation result using IntelliSuite™. An Agilent ENA5061B vector network analyzer (VNA) has been used for impedance measurement and the resonance and anti-resonance values from the imaginary impedance curve were used to determine the electromechanical coupling co-efficient. The measured coupling coefficient of 0.294 at 20 V DC bias exhibits 40% higher transduction efficiency as compared to a measured value published elsewhere for a silicon nitride based CMUT. A white light interferometry method was used to measure the diaphragm deflection profiles at different DC bias. The diaphragm center velocity was measured for different sub-resonant frequencies using a Polytec™ laser Doppler vibrometer that confirms vibration of the diaphragm at different excitation frequencies and bias voltages. Transmit and receive operations of CMUT cells were characterized using a pitch-catch method and a −6 dB fractional bandwidth of 23% was extracted from the received signal in frequency domain. From the measurement, it appears that BCB-based CMUTs offer superior transduction efficiency as compared to silicon nitride or silicon dioxide insulator-based CMUTs, and provide a very uniform deflection profile thus making them a suitable candidate to fabricate highly energy efficient CMUTs

Signal and Image Processing in Biomedical Photoacoustic Imaging: A Review

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is a powerful imaging modality that relies on the PA effect. PAI works on the principle of electromagnetic energy absorption by the exogenous contrast agents and/or endogenous molecules present in the biological tissue, consequently generating ultrasound waves. PAI combines a high optical contrast with a high acoustic spatiotemporal resolution, allowing the non-invasive visualization of absorbers in deep structures. However, due to the optical diffusion and ultrasound attenuation in heterogeneous turbid biological tissue, the quality of the PA images deteriorates. Therefore, signal and image-processing techniques are imperative in PAI to provide high-quality images with detailed structural and functional information in deep tissues. Here, we review various signal and image processing techniques that have been developed/implemented in PAI. Our goal is to highlight the importance of image computing in photoacoustic imaging

Couplants in Acoustic Biosensing Systems

Acoustic biosensors are widely used in physical, chemical, and biosensing applications. One of the major concerns in acoustic biosensing is the delicacy of the medium through which acoustic waves propagate and reach acoustic sensors. Even a small airgap diminishes acoustic signal strengths due to high acoustic impedance mismatch. Therefore, the presence of a coupling medium to create a pathway for an efficient propagation of acoustic waves is essential. Here, we have reviewed the chemical, physical, and acoustic characteristics of various coupling material (liquid, gel-based, semi-dry, and dry) and present a guide to determine a suitable application-specific coupling medium