JPH0322700A - Ultrasonic probe and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the manufacture of an ultrasonic probe and to reduce cost by forming a concaved part to front and rear sides of a piezoelectric element member, adhering an electrode film, providing a conductive terminal only to the recessed part, fixing a sound matching layer or packing member to the piezoelectric member and cutting off it to a required size. CONSTITUTION:A shallow groove 2 representing a cut-off position is graved by grinding, etc., to front and rear sides of a piezoelectric member 1 and an electrode 3 whose film thickness is 10mum or below is provided to the engraved front and rear sides of the member 1. Then, a mask member 4 is printed on the electrode 3 except the groove 2 by a proper method such as the screen print. Then a conductive terminal 5 is laminated to the groove 2 provided with the electrode by the plating. Then the mask member 4 printed selectively is removed and a sound matching layer 6 is fixed to one side of the member 1 and a packing member 7 is fixed to the other side. The ultrasonic wave probe material formed in this way is cut off along with the grooves 2 at a pitch L1. Further, the material is cut off in a direction orthogonal to the cut direction to form a subminiature ultrasonic wave probe 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe using a piezoelectric element and a method for manufacturing the same.

[Conventional technology]

An ultrasonic probe using a conventional piezoelectric element has electrodes 2 provided on the surface and side surfaces of a piezoelectric element 21, as shown in FIG.
2a, and a piezoelectric element 21 facing this electrode 22a.
The electrodes 22b provided on the back and side surfaces of the
It has a backing layer 24 to which a plurality of piezoelectric elements 21 having electrodes 2a and 22b are fixed, and lead terminals 23a and 23b connected to each electrode 22a and 22b with jumper wires 25a and 25b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an electrode 22 is provided on the surface of the piezoelectric element 21.
a, 22b is applied, and the lead terminals 23a, 23b provided on the backing layer 24 are soldered to the soldered parts 26a, 26b, and the electrodes 22a, 22b of the piezoelectric element 21 and the lead terminals 23a, 23b are conductively fixed. There is.

In the manufacturing process of these conventional ultrasonic probes, a piezoelectric element provided with electrodes is fixed to a backing layer and then finely cut into a desired shape.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, conventional ultrasonic probes have electrodes on the sides of the piezoelectric element, so when cutting in the manufacturing process, the side electrodes are cut leaving the side electrodes, and then the side electrodes are processed. Must. Therefore, when manufacturing an ultrasonic probe by cutting, it was not possible to cut in a direction parallel to the side electrodes.

Being able to cut only in one predetermined direction is disadvantageous in terms of manufacturing minute ultrasonic probes, as well as in terms of mass-producing and providing inexpensive ultrasonic probes.

The present invention is proposed to solve the above problems,
The object of the present invention is to provide a minute ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic probe manufacturing method that can be manufactured easily and inexpensively.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has an electrode film attached to the ultrasonic oscillation surface of a main body having concave portions in the width direction on both sides, and conductive film only in the concave portions. An ultrasonic probe comprising a piezoelectric element provided with a terminal, an acoustic matching layer fixed to one ultrasonic oscillation surface of the piezoelectric element, and a backing material fixed to the other side, and a surface of the piezoelectric element material. A process of forming a cutting position groove on the back surface, a process of attaching an electrode film to the front and back surfaces of the piezoelectric element material, a process of providing a conductive terminal on the electrode film of the cutting position groove, and a process of forming a piezoelectric material through these steps. An ultrasonic device that includes the steps of fixing at least one of an acoustic matching layer or a backing material to an element material, and cutting the ultrasonic probe material that has undergone these steps into an ultrasonic probe of a desired size. This is a method for manufacturing a probe.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the method for manufacturing an ultrasonic probe of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in Fig. B, shallow grooves 2 representing cutting positions are carved on the front and back surfaces of the piezoelectric element material 1 shown in Fig. A by grinding or the like. In this case, linear grooves are carved in the same direction on one side at the same intervals, and the grooves on the other side are also carved in the same way, but the grooves on both sides are located at the center between the grooves on one side. The grooves on the other surface are arranged at equal pitches L.

Next, as shown in Figure C, electrodes 3 having a film thickness of 10 μm or less are provided on the front and back surfaces of the piezoelectric element material 1 in which grooves have been carved.

The method may be any method such as vapor deposition, baking, electrodeposition, etc. Next, as shown in Figure D, a mask material 4 is selectively printed on the electrodes 3 other than the grooves 2 by an appropriate method such as screen printing.

Next, as shown in Figure E, a conductive terminal 5 is laminated by plating in the groove 2 in which the electrode 3 is provided. In this case, as shown in the partially enlarged view shown in Figure F, the thickness of the conductive terminal 5 is
Make sure that it does not bulge outward from the lower electrode surface.

Next, as shown in Figure G, the selectively printed mask material 4 is removed. - Then, as shown in Figure H, an acoustic matching N6 is fixed on one side of the piezoelectric element 1, and a backing material 7 is fixed on the other side. The bonding method in this case is carried out by applying the adhesive uniformly to the surface to be bonded by a method such as coating, spraying, or spin coating. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the fixed state.

The ultrasonic probe material formed in this way (Fig.
As shown in the figure, it is cut so as to be divided according to the pitch L+ formed by the grooves 2. Further, it is cut in a direction perpendicular to this cutting direction to form a micro ultrasonic probe 8 as shown in Figure K. In this case, the pitch of cutting in the direction perpendicular to the cutting direction is It may be set arbitrarily depending on the purpose of the sonic probe. In this example, a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped ultrasonic probe is formed by cutting in the two directions, but it goes without saying that the shape of the ultrasonic probe is not limited to this. It can be of any shape, including a shape where is a curved surface. The cutting method may be any mechanical means such as a cutter or saw, or any method such as laser, water jet, or diamond electrodeposited wire. When using a laser, it is desirable to use a cooling device to prevent thermal deformation of the ultrasonic probe material. In addition, when using a water jet, it is desirable to use a protector to prevent abrasive water from scattering on areas other than the cutting site.

Next, after forming a micro-ultrasonic probe as shown in Figure K, a conductive member 9 is attached to the conductive terminal 5 exposed at the cut surface of the groove 2, and a lead wire 10 is attached through this. Connect.

Note that the lead wire 10 may be connected using a method such as wire bonding.

In the method for manufacturing a micro-ultrasonic probe according to this embodiment, the size of each member before cutting can be made into a size that is easy to handle, so that work such as adhering the members to each other is easy. Furthermore, since the adhesive area between the members is large, variations in adhesive film thickness can be reduced and quality can be stabilized. Furthermore, after forming the ultrasonic probe material, a large amount of micro ultrasonic probes can be produced at a low cost by cutting the material. Furthermore, since the ultrasonic probe material can be arbitrarily cut to form an ultrasonic probe, the size of the ultrasonic oscillation surface can be arbitrarily set, and the shape is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped, but any arbitrary shape can be selected.

A first embodiment of the ultrasonic probe manufactured by the manufacturing method according to the present invention will be further described with reference to diagram K.

Depth direction (X direction) of the piezoelectric element 1 having a substantially flat rectangular parallelepiped shape
One side of both sides forms an upper half assembly, and the other side forms a recess over the entire lower half, and a 10 μm in height is formed on both sides of the piezoelectric element l in the height direction.
An electrode 3 having the following thickness is attached, and a conductive terminal 5 is provided in the recess 11 to which the electrode 3 is attached, and the layers are laminated. An acoustic matching layer 6 is provided on the ultrasonic oscillation surface, which is one surface in the height direction of the piezoelectric element 1 provided with the electrode 3 and the conductive terminal 5, for acoustic matching between the subject and the piezoelectric element 1. It sticks. 11 is an adhesive. This acoustic matching layer 6 has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape that is substantially the same as the piezoelectric element 1.

A backing material 7 for attenuating ultrasonic waves from the piezoelectric element 1 is fixed to the other surface of the piezoelectric element 1. This backing material 7 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a height approximately twice the height of the piezoelectric element 1.

On both sides of the piezoelectric element 1 in the depth direction (X direction), conductive terminals 5 and electrodes 3 are stacked and exposed over the entire length of the sides.
Attached. Furthermore, a lead wire 10 is connected to this conductive member 9.

In the micro ultrasonic probe 8 formed in this way, the conductive terminal 5 is several tens of times thicker than the electrode 3, so the area to which the lead wire 10 is connected is large.

Therefore, in terms of manufacturing, connection is easy and strength can be maintained sufficiently after connection.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a second embodiment of the ultrasonic probe material according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, and parts corresponding to those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals ( The same applies to the following examples). In this embodiment, the shapes of the recesses formed on both sides of the piezoelectric element 1 in the height direction are changed. In other words, in the first embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the recess 2 is U-shaped, whereas
In this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape is U-shaped (Figure A) or V-shaped (Figure B). The other precepts are the same as in the first embodiment.

Since the concave portion is formed in this manner, it is easier to attach an electrode there than on a flat surface as in the first embodiment. Also, once attached, it is more durable than a flat attachment. Further, it is possible to prevent electrode breakage at both corners of the recess, which conventionally occurs, and improve the reliability of the ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the ultrasonic probe material according to the manufacturing method of the present invention. In this embodiment, piezoelectric element 1
This is an attempt to obtain the same effect as the first embodiment by forming recesses 2c and 2d in the acoustic matching layer 6 and the backing material 7, respectively, without forming recesses in the acoustic matching layer 6 and the backing material 7.

Since the recesses are formed in this manner, the electrodes 3 are not attached to the recesses, and there is no need to perform mask printing in accordance with the recesses of the piezoelectric element 1, thereby improving production efficiency. Furthermore, since the electrode 3 is attached only to the flat surface of the piezoelectric element 1, the durability is improved and there is almost no possibility of the electrode breaking.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, when cutting the ultrasonic probe material, the cutting point can be arbitrarily set, so that an ultrasonic probe of any shape, even minute, can be formed. Moreover, since each member constituting the ultrasonic probe is in a form that is easy to handle, the work is easy and the reliability of the ultrasonic probe after being formed is improved.

In particular, since the conductive terminal is thick, it is easy to connect the lead wire and the connection strength can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1A to 1K are explanatory diagrams showing one embodiment of the manufacturing method of the present invention; FIGS. 2A, B, and 3 are sectional views showing other embodiments of the ultrasonic probe material; FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views showing conventional examples. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Piezoelectric element 3... Electrode 5... Conductive terminal 6... Acoustic matching layer 7... Backing material 9... Conductive member 10... Lead wire -C Loco (Q) Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A piezoelectric element in which an electrode film is attached to the ultrasonic oscillation surface of a main body with recesses formed in the width direction on both sides, and conductive terminals are provided only in the recesses, and a piezoelectric element is fixed to one side of the ultrasonic oscillation surface of the piezoelectric element. An ultrasonic probe comprising an acoustic matching layer and a backing material fixed to the other surface. 2. A step of forming cutting position grooves on the front and back surfaces of the piezoelectric element material, a step of attaching an electrode film to the front and back surfaces of the piezoelectric element material, a step of providing a conductive terminal on the electrode film of the cutting position groove, and these steps. A process of fixing at least one of an acoustic matching layer or a backing material to the piezoelectric element material that has undergone the process, and a process of cutting the ultrasonic probe material that has undergone these processes to make an ultrasonic probe of a desired size. A method for manufacturing an ultrasonic probe, comprising: