Ultrasonic imaging front-end design for CMUT: A 3-level 30Vpp pulse-shaping pulser with improved efficiency and a noise-optimized receiver

Abstract

A four-channel analog front-end (AFE) transceiver chip for medical ultrasound imaging is demonstrated. The high voltage transmitter uses a 3-level pulse-shaping technique to deliver over 50% more acoustic power for the same power dissipation, compared to traditional methods. The design requires minimum off-chip components and is scalable for more channels. The receiver is implemented with a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) topology and is optimized for noise, bandwidth and power dissipation. Based on both acoustic and electrical measurements, we demonstrate the Transmitter (Tx) efficiency improvement, Tx beamformation and the pulse-echo response, revealing the system's full functionality.