JPH0214840B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves.

[Background of the invention]

An ultrasonic probe conventionally used in ultrasonic diagnostic equipment and the like is shown in FIG. 1 along with its manufacturing method.

That is, as shown in Fig. 1a, an ultrasonic absorber 2 called bucking material is glued onto a mounting plate 1, and electrodes are formed on both sides of the mounting plate 1.
A piezoelectric vibrator 3 such as PZT or PbTiO ₃ is glued. Next, as shown in FIG. 1b, the piezoelectric vibrators 3 are cut into a predetermined width d and arranged in an array. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1c, a matching layer 4 is adhered to the surface of the piezoelectric vibrator 3 to a desired thickness.

In this way, the ultrasonic probe is constructed.
Although this is not shown in the figure, it is completed by storing it in a case for easy handling.

When examining the performance of such a probe, there may be temporal variations in the detection of transmitted and received signals between each element. This variation accuracy x must be within ±6 μsec as required by the system, and when converted to the arrangement accuracy of the vibrator 3, it must be within ±5 μm. When we investigated the cause of this, we found that the oscillators 3 arranged on the surface of the absorber 2
This is a case where the elements are not aligned in a straight line, but there are unevenness between the elements as shown in FIG. 2a, or they are arranged with a certain curvature as shown in FIG. 2b.

It was found that this was affected by the finishing accuracy at the processing stage of the mounting plate and absorber. In other words, if the mounting plate 1 is bent, or if the mounting plate 1 is bent due to the degree of tightening when installing the probe in the case, the mounting plate 1 may be bent as shown in Figure 2b. Become. Further, when the vibrator 3 is adhered to the uneven surface of the absorber 2, the result is as shown in FIG. 2a.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe that eliminates temporal variations among each element.

[Summary of the invention]

A feature of the present invention is that it consists of a plate-shaped mount in which a plurality of pyramidal or conical projections of the same height are arranged, and a sound wave absorber filled between these projections. A support base shaped to the same height as the apex of the protrusion, and glued on top of this support base,
The ultrasonic probe includes piezoelectric vibrators formed in an array.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 3a shows the cross-sectional shape of the mount used in the example. That is, by forming grooves with triangular cross sections in the vertical and horizontal directions in the center of a thick plate-like material, a large number of pyramidal protrusions having the same height are provided. The shape of the protrusion may be conical. The shape of this mount is designed to create a kind of anechoic effect, in order to prevent ultrasonic waves emitted from the rear surface of the voltage vibrator from being reflected on the surface of the mount and returning to the piezoelectric vibrator. This is because.

If the purpose is simply to increase the mechanical strength of the absorber, a plate-like shape or a cylinder may be used instead of a cone or a square pyramid, but if the aim is to achieve an acoustic effect, the shape shown in FIG. 3a is preferable.

After pouring the absorbent body 2 into the mounting base 5 having such a shape and hardening it, it is finished to a predetermined dimension l so that the tip of the protrusion and the surface of the absorbent body 2 are the same. Conventionally, the absorbent body 2 generally uses a relatively soft material, so it easily deforms due to external force and it is difficult to maintain a flat surface.
This problem was solved by using the mount 5 shown in the figure.

That is, since the tip of the protrusion provided on the mounting base 5 is flush with the absorber 2, the tip of the protrusion supports the external force, so that the absorber is not crushed. Furthermore, even when machining the surface to make it flat, the needle-like parts of the mounting base 1 are scattered between the absorbers 2, so they will not deform during machining.
Can be processed with high precision.

As shown in FIG. 3b, the piezoelectric vibrator 3 and the matching layer 4 are attached to the support base, which has been finished to a predetermined size after the mounting base 1 and the absorber 2 are integrated and hardened, as shown in FIG. 3c. The attached ultrasonic probe is completed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As mentioned above, the method of providing a pyramid-shaped or conical-shaped protrusion on the mounting base 5 and pouring the absorbent body 2 into this is useful for preventing the soft absorbent body 2 from being deformed by external force, and is highly effective. It is now possible to arrange piezoelectric vibrators on an absorber with precision.

In addition, the shape of the protrusion of the mounting base 5 is particularly
Filling with sound absorbing plates creates an anechoic effect, which eliminates the need to lengthen the transmitted pulse width due to echoes reflected from the rear surface, making it possible to create a good ultrasonic probe. Ta.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are diagrams showing the structure of a conventional probe, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Consists of a plate-shaped mount in which a plurality of pyramidal or circular cone-shaped protrusions of the same height are arranged, and a sound wave absorber filled between the mounts, and the top of the pillar and the An ultrasonic probe having a support base shaped to the same height and piezoelectric vibrators bonded onto the support base and formed in an array.