Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080262357 | TRANSMIT/RECEIVE CIRCUITRY FOR ULTRASOUND SYSTEMS - A transceiver for use in an ultrasound system is provided. The transceiver is configured to operate in a transmit mode and a receive mode. The transceiver comprises a high voltage switch, a low voltage switch and a resistor coupled to the high voltage switch and the low voltage switch. | 10-23-2008 |
20080273424 | MONITORING OR IMAGING SYSTEM WITH INTERCONNECT STRUCTURE FOR LARGE AREA SENSOR ARRAY - An ultrasonic monitoring system is formed with a probe unit. In one example an array of transducer cells is arranged in rows and columns formed along a first plane with a first pitch along a first direction. An integrated circuit including an array of circuit cells is formed along a second plane parallel to the first plane. The circuit cells are spaced apart along the first direction at a second pitch smaller than the first pitch. A first of the transducer cells is vertically aligned, along a direction normal to one of the planes, with a first of the circuit cells and having a connection thereto. A second of the transducer cells is offset from vertical alignment with respect to the position of a second circuit cell so as to not overlie the second circuit cell. A connection subsystem is positioned between the array of transducer cells and the array of circuit cells, configured to form connection of the first transducer cell to the first circuit cell and connection of the second transducer cell with the second circuit cell. | 11-06-2008 |
20080296708 | Integrated sensor arrays and method for making and using such arrays - The present invention relates to a method for making an integrated sensor comprising providing a sensor array fabricated on a top surface of a bulk silicon wafer having a top surface and a bottom surface, and comprising a plurality of sensors fabricated on the top surface of the bulk silicon wafer. The method further comprises coupling an SOI wafer to the top surface of the bulk silicon wafer, thinning the back surface of the bulk silicon wafer, coupling a plurality of integrated circuit die to the back surface of the bulk silicon wafer, and removing the SOI wafer from the top surface of the bulk silicon wafer. | 12-04-2008 |
20080315331 | ULTRASOUND SYSTEM WITH THROUGH VIA INTERCONNECT STRUCTURE - An ultrasound monitoring system. In one embodiment, an array of transducer cells is formed along a first plane and an integrated circuit structure, formed along a second plane parallel to the first plane, includes an array of circuit cells. A connector provides electrical connections between the array of transducer cells and the array of circuit cells, and an interconnection structure is connected to transfer signals between the circuit cells and processing and control circuitry. The integrated circuit structure includes a semiconductor substrate and a plurality of conductive through-die vias formed through the substrate to provide Input/Output (I/O) connections between the transducer cells and the interconnection structure. The monitoring system may be configured as an imaging system and the processing and control circuitry may be external to the probe unit. | 12-25-2008 |
20090148967 | METHODS OF MAKING AND USING INTEGRATED AND TESTABLE SENSOR ARRAY - A method for making a testable sensor assembly is provided. The method includes forming a first sensor array on a first substrate having a first side and a second side, wherein the first sensor array is formed on the first side of the first substrate, coupling a first semiconductor wafer having a first side and a second side to the first sensor array, wherein the first side of the first semiconductor wafer is coupled to the first sensor array, thinning one of the second side of the first substrate or the second side of the first semiconductor wafer, and testing the first sensor array to identify operational and non-operational units in the testable sensor assembly before integration of the sensor assembly with interface electronics. | 06-11-2009 |
20090182233 | Ultrasound System With Integrated Control Switches - An ultrasound imaging system with a digital scanning architecture for configuring connections that transmit pulser timing signals among transducer subelements. The system provides multiple operating states that each generate a different wave pattern. An integrated circuit structure includes a plurality of circuit support cells, each including pulser circuitry for operation of at least one of the subelements. The circuit structure also includes first connections each selectable through one of multiple first access switches, these providing a timing signal to the pulser circuitry in one of the circuit support cells. Some of the support circuit cells further include one or more timing channel select switches providing selectable connections to transmit different pulser timing signals among the first access switches. | 07-16-2009 |
20100020645 | RECONFIGURABLE ARRAY WITH LOCALLY DETERMINED SWITCH CONFIGURATION - A method for dynamically reconfiguring elements in an ultrasound transducer array is provided. The method includes defining two or more groups of the elements in the array, wherein each element individually comprises a first switch, and a second switch; providing boundary definitions information to the elements in the array to define boundaries for the two or more groups; and locally determining switch configuration state within the array for the first and second switch of one or more elements based on the boundary definitions. Further, a switch matrix configured to locally determine switch settings is provided. Furthermore, a system comprising an array of ultrasonic transducer subelements is provided. | 01-28-2010 |
20100152587 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPERATING A TWO-DIMENSIONAL TRANSDUCER ARRAY - According to embodiments of the present technique, a system and a method for addressing transducers in a two-dimensional transducer array is disclosed. According to one aspect of the present technique, the transducers are arranged in rows and columns, and the columns are coupled to a shared transmit and receive circuitry while the rows are coupled to a row selection circuitry. In another embodiment, each transducer is coupled to a separate, dedicated transmit circuitry and the columns are coupled to a shared receive circuitry. | 06-17-2010 |
20110028845 | Reconfigurable Ultrasound Array with Low Noise CW Processing - An ultrasound transducer probe is disclosed comprising: an array of ultrasound transducer elements, each ultrasound transducer element associated with a corresponding unit transducer cell for providing transmit and receive functions, each unit transducer cell including a cell transmit/receive switch connected to a low voltage switch matrix via a low voltage transmit path; and a plurality of microelectronic cross-point switches for switching an externally generated analog transmit signal to one or more of the low voltage transmit paths. | 02-03-2011 |
20110071397 | LARGE AREA MODULAR SENSOR ARRAY ASSEMBLY AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME - A modular and tileable sensor array with routing in the interposer carrying the signals from the sensors to the integrated circuits. In one embodiment a large area modular sensor array assembly includes one or more tileable modules coupled together. The tileable modules have a plurality of transducer cells forming a sensor, an interposer coupled on a first side to the plurality of transducer cells by a plurality, one or more integrated circuits coupled to a second side of the interposer, wherein the interposer is configured to form the connection of at least some of the transducer cells to the integrated circuits, and one or more input/output connectors coupled to the interposer and providing an external interface. | 03-24-2011 |
20110148682 | PREDICTIVE ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTER AND METHODS THEREOF - Predictive Analog-to-Digital Converter system in one embodiment includes a sampling section producing a sampled analog input signal with a first summer section combining the sampled analog input signal and an analog prediction signal to produce an analog prediction error signal. There is at least one error analog-to-digital convertor digitizing the analog prediction error signal, wherein a digital error signal output from the error analog-to-digital convertor is one of a full bitwidth error signal during an over-range condition else a lower bitwidth error signal. A second summer is coupled to the digital error signal output and a digital prediction signal, and generates a full bitwidth digital output signal. A feedback section is coupled to the digital output signal and providing the digital prediction signal and the analog prediction signal. | 06-23-2011 |
20120133001 | TILEABLE SENSOR ARRAY - A method for forming a tileable detector array is presented. The method includes forming a detector module, where forming the detector module includes providing a sensor array having a first side and a second side, where the sensor array includes a first plurality of contact pads disposed on the second side of the sensor array, disposing the sensor array on an interconnect layer, where the interconnect layer includes a redistribution layer having a first side and a second side, where the redistribution layer includes a second plurality of contact pads disposed on the first side, an integrated circuit having a plurality of through vias disposed therethrough, where a first side of the integrated circuit is operationally coupled to the second side of the redistribution layer, where the sensor array is disposed on the interconnect layer such that the first plurality of contact pads on the second side of the sensor array are aligned with the second plurality of contact pads on the first side of the redistribution layer, operationally coupling the first plurality of contact pads on the second side of the sensor array to the second plurality of contact pads on the redistribution layer to form a sensor stack, coupling the sensor stack to a substrate to form the detector module, and tiling a plurality of detector modules on a second substrate to form the tileable detector array. | 05-31-2012 |
20130107487 | ELASTIC CONFORMAL TRANSDUCER APPARATUS | 05-02-2013 |
20130257224 | ULTRASOUND ACOUSTIC ASSEMBLIES AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURE - An ultrasound acoustic assembly includes a number of ultrasound acoustic arrays, each array comprising an acoustic stack comprising a piezoelectric layer assembled with at least one acoustic impedance dematching layer and with a support layer. The acoustic stack defines a number of dicing kerfs and a number of acoustic elements, such that the dicing kerfs are formed between neighboring ones of the acoustic elements. The dicing kerfs extend through the piezoelectric layer and through the acoustic impedance dematching layer(s) but extend only partially through the support layer. The ultrasound acoustic assembly further includes a number of application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) die. Each ultrasound acoustic array is coupled to a respective ASIC die to form a respective acoustic-electric transducer module. Methods of manufacture are also provided. | 10-03-2013 |
20140184383 | Fault Tolerant Detector Assembly - A method for forming a fault tolerant detector assembly is presented. The method includes providing a sensor array having a plurality of sensor elements, providing an electronics layer having a plurality of electronics cells, where the plurality of electronics cells corresponds to the plurality of sensor elements in the sensor array, introducing a status indicator element in each of the plurality of the electronics cells, where the status indicator element is configured to store a status of a corresponding sensor element, scanning the plurality of sensor elements in the sensor array to identify the status of the plurality of sensor elements in the sensor array, generating a functionality map based on the identified status of the plurality of sensor elements in the sensor array, and selectively programming the status indicator elements based on the functionality map to form a fault tolerant detector assembly. | 07-03-2014 |
20150035967 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR EMBEDDED IMAGING CLOCKING - An embedded imaging system in one embodiment includes an encoding module, an imaging module, and a cable. The encoding module is disposed proximate to a proximal end of the system, and is configured to encode frame synchronizing information into timing information comprising a reference clock. The imaging module is disposed proximate the distal end, and includes an image capture device configured to obtain imaging information and a decoding module. The decoding control module is configured to obtain the timing information, to decode the timing information to obtain recovered frame synchronizing information, and to control the image capture device using the recovered frame synchronizing information. The cable is interposed between the proximal end and the distal end, and is configured for passage therethrough of the timing information and the imaging information. | 02-05-2015 |