Design of Silicon Carbide Surface-Micromachined Capacitive-based Transducers for Non-Destructive Testing Applications

用于无损检测应用的碳化硅表面微机械电容式传感器的设计

• 批准号: 489265-2015
• 负责人: Nabki, Frederic
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: Université du Québec à Montréal
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Engage Grants Program
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=586469
• 关键词: Design; Silicon; Carbide; Surface; Micromachined

Ultrasonic transducers are seeing widespread use in low-intensity applications such as medical imaging, non-destructive testing and ranging, or in high-intensity ones like cleaning and liquid emulsification. For decades, piezoelectric transducers have been the workhorse in ultrasonics. However, capacitive transducers are currently attracting significant interest. A unique advantage over their piezoelectric counterpart lies in their lower mechanical impedance, offering the potential for a better impedance match with low-density fluidic media such as air. The operation of such transducers is also much less sensitive to temperature. Capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) are usually integrated closely with their interface electronic circuits forming complete stand-alone ultra-compact systems. This can allow ultrasonic systems to be integrated in handheld devices. The research group of Prof. Nabki has developed a novel Silicon Carbide CMUT, and demonstrated a proof of concept prototype showcasing the device's potential, and gaining the interest of Olympus Corporation, an international company with many R&D operations in Canada. Olympus operates in industrial, medical and consumer markets, and specializes in optics, electronics and precision engineering, with products deployed in Canada and around the world. Notably, Olympus is a world-leading manufacturer of innovative non-destructive testing (NDT) instruments that are used in industrial and research applications. It has a large operation in Quebec City of about 400 people, which handles R & D and production. Throughout this Engage project, Olympus is planning to explore and develop the different CMUT practical parameters (voltages, optimal frequency, device dimensions etc.) needed to perform ultrasonic NDT as done within Olympus sensors. A CMUT design optimisation for NDT will be carried out and a prototype is planned to be fabricated using a fast prototyping and manufacturing approach, using our previously published technology. The prototype will be tested extensively, and compared with existing Olympus NDT ultrasonic sensors. This project will provide training for two HQP, namely one PhD student and one postdoctoral fellow.

超声波换能器在低强度应用中得到广泛使用，如医学成像，无损检测和测距，或在高强度应用中，如清洁和液体乳化。几十年来，压电换能器一直是超声波的主力。然而，电容式换能器目前吸引了极大的兴趣。与压电材料相比，其独特的优势在于其较低的机械阻抗，提供了与低密度流体介质（如空气）更好的阻抗匹配的潜力。这种换能器的操作对温度也不太敏感。电容式微机械超声换能器（CMUT）通常与其接口电路紧密集成，形成完整的独立超紧凑系统。这可以允许超声波系统集成在手持设备中。Nabki教授的研究小组开发了一种新型的碳化硅CMUT，并展示了一个概念验证原型，展示了该设备的潜力，并获得了奥林巴斯公司的兴趣，奥林巴斯公司是一家在加拿大拥有许多研发业务的国际公司。奥林巴斯在工业，医疗和消费市场开展业务，专注于光学，电子和精密工程，产品部署在加拿大和世界各地。值得注意的是，奥林巴斯是世界领先的创新无损检测（NDT）仪器制造商，用于工业和研究应用。它在魁北克市有一个大约400人的大型业务，负责研发和生产。在整个Engage项目中，奥林巴斯计划探索和开发不同的CMUT实用参数（电压、最佳频率、设备尺寸等）。需要像在奥林巴斯传感器中一样进行超声无损检测。将进行CMUT无损检测设计优化，并计划使用快速原型和制造方法，使用我们以前发布的技术制造原型。原型将被广泛测试，并与现有的奥林巴斯NDT超声波传感器进行比较。该项目将为两名HQP提供培训，即一名博士生和一名博士后研究员。