He Changde

FPGA-based underwater ultrasonic phased transmitting system using CMUTs

In order to enhance the characteristics of underwater ultrasonic imaging system with small volume, low power supply voltage and easy integration, the underwater ultrasonic phased transmitting system is designed. Using field programmable gate array (FPGA) to control the excitation signals time-delay of 16 channels to achieve phased transmitting, and capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer arrays (CMUTs) as the transmitting transducer. Then the operational amplifier and power amplifier circuit are designed and can be effectively improved the amplitude and power of the transmitting signals. The experimental results show that, the system can generate the excitation pulse signals with high frequency and high voltage, achieve phase time-delay precision to the minimum of 2.5ns, and echo signals of the imaging experiments are clearly. It provides a hardware foundation for the research of underwater ultrasonic imaging system.

Design and test of a capacitance detection circuit based on a transimpedance amplifier

This paper presents a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) capacitance detection circuit aimed at detecting micro-capacitance, which is caused by ultrasonic stimulation applied to the capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT). In the capacitance interface, a TIA is adopted to amplify the received signal with a center frequency of 400 kHz, and finally detect ultrasound pressure. The circuit has a strong anti-stray property and this paper also studies the calculation of compensation capacity in detail. To ensure high resolution, noise analysis is conducted. After optimization, the detected minimum ultrasound pressure is 2.1 Pa, which is two orders of magnitude higher than the former. The test results showed that the circuit was sensitive to changes in ultrasound pressure and the distance between the CMUT and stumbling block, which also successfully demonstrates the functionality of the developed TIA of the analog-front-end receiver.

An integrated MEMS piezoresistive tri-axis accelerometer

An integrated MEMS accelerometer has been designed and fabricated. The device, which is based on the piezoresistive effect, accomplishes the detection of three components of acceleration by using piezoresistors to compose three Wheatstone bridges that are sensitive to the only given orientation. The fabrication of the accelerometer is described, and the theory behind its operation developed. Experimental results on sensitivity, cross-axis-coupling degree, and linearity are presented. The sensitivity of X, Y and Z were 5.49 mV/g, 5.12 mV/g and 4.82 mV/g, respectively; the nonlinearity of X, Y and Z were 0.01%, 0.04% and 0.01%, respectively; the cross-axis-coupling factor of X axis to Y axis and Z axis are 0.119% and 2.26%; the cross-axis-coupling factor of Y axis to X axis and Z axis are 0.157% and 4.12%; the cross-axis-coupling factor of Z axis to X axis and Y axis are 0.511% and 0.938%. The measured performance indexes attain accurate vector-detection in practical applications, and even at a navigation level. In conclusion, the accelerometer is a highly integrated sensor.

Design and measurement of a piezoresistive ultrasonic sensor based on MEMS

A kind of piezoresistive ultrasonic sensor based on MEMS is proposed, which is composed of a membrane and two side beams. A simplified mathematical model has been established to analyze the mechanical properties of the sensor. On the basis of the theoretical analysis, the structural size and layout location of the piezoresistors are determined by simulation analysis. The boron-implanted piezoresistors located on membrane and side beams form a Wheatstone bridge to detect acoustic signal. The membrane-beam microstructure is fabricated integrally by MEMS manufacturing technology. Finally, this paper presents the experimental characterization of the ultrasonic sensor, validating the theoretical model used and the simulated model. The sensitivity reaches −116.2 dB (0 dB reference = 1 V/μbar, 31 kHz), resonant frequency is 39.6 kHz, direction angle is 55°.