Beam Steering Ultrasonic Transducer Study.

This study of applying phased array principles to the design and operation of ultrasonic transducers and delay lines indicates the feasibility of employing controlled beam steering in active ultrasonic signal processing devices. The technique has potential applications in devices such as electronically variable delay lines, doppler processors and time inverters. The study included the further development of thin transducers, both cadmium sulfide and zinc oxide. Three configurations were investigated for accomplishing beam steering. Beam steering was successfully demonstrated with the electro-acoustic spectrometer and Rowland circle configurations. The low loss and low spurious response performance achieved with experimental surface wave devices make these especially attractive for future beam steering applications. Author