Date of Award

5-11-2018

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.Sc.

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Keywords

CMUT, Scholte waves

Supervisor

Chowdhury, Sazzadur

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

Inter-element acoustic crosstalk is one of the major concerns which restricts the potential deployment of Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (CMUTs) in Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) despite its superior transduction capabilities. This thesis investigates the causes of acoustic crosstalk in CMUTs and develops a novel method of CMUT crosstalk reduction by passivating the CMUT top surface by a thin layer of Di-isocyanate enhanced crosslinked silica aerogel. This powerful technique derives its inspiration from the Scholte waves attenuation techniques as used in boreholes at the permeable formations. Analytical and 3D finite element analysis in MATLAB and COMSOL Multiphysics, respectively, show that the developed technique can minimize the crosstalk due to Scholte waves at the fluid-solid interfaces by at least 5 dB more at the nearest neighbor as compared to other published techniques. An added advantage of the developed technique is that the level of Scholte wave attenuation can be controlled by altering the porosity of the aerogel layer. A simple and cost-effective fabrication process employing sol-gel and ambient pressure drying processes for the aerogel layer deposition has been developed that doesn’t interfere with the basic CMUT operation or fabrication techniques.

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