摘要

Most high frequency (>15MHz) medical ultrasound systems are based on single element transducers mechanically scanned. These systems can provide images with excellent resolution. However, single element transducers are often limited by the fixed focal point and small depth of field. Annular arrays consisting of concentric rings of elements are focused electronically. These arrays are desirable to avoid the fixed focal point of the single element transducers and improve the depth of field. This paper reports the design, fabrication, and characterization of a 5-element equal-area annular array transducer. After electrical impedance matching, the average center frequency was 20MHz and -6 dB bandwidths ranged from 34 to 42%. The ILs for the matched annuli ranged from 6.1 to 26.5 dB.