Ultrasonic two-dimensional array transducer of the single-unit type with a conductive backing of the 1-3 piezocomposite structure

A two-dimensional (2D) array transducer has been developed in this work using a new conductive backing. The 2D array transducer was designed to comprise 4,096 channels operating at the center frequency of 3.4MHz with a fractional bandwidth over 50%. The 2D array transducer designed in this work is different from other matrix transducers in that all the active channels were installed on a single piezoelectric crystal plate as a whole unit by using the new conductive backing. The new conductive backing has a structure similar to that of 1-3 piezocomposite materials. Based on the design, an experimental prototype of the 2D array transducer was fabricated and characterized. The prototype showed good agreement with the design and excellent sensitivity uniformity over the entire channels. These results confirmed the applicability of the new conductive backing to 2D array transducers.