Experimental characterization of high-intensity focused airborne ultrasound fields

High-intensity focused airborne ultrasound fields are increasingly applied in various technical fields, for example, to generate haptic feedback during gesture interaction. Reliable measurement data of sound pressure levels are required to assess potential health hazards to users. Such ultrasound fields pose special challenges for a quantitative characterization. The high sound pressure levels in combination with the higher harmonics generated by nonlinear effects require both a high upper limit of the level linearity range and a wide bandwidth of the measuring chain. Furthermore, small wavelengths and the focusing result in spatially strongly varying sound fields. In the present case, a 40 kHz signal was focused on a single point using a transducer array. Different microphone types were investigated with respect to their suitability for measuring high-power airborne ultrasound fields. A spatial characterization of the ultrasound field in the focal region as well as around an artificial head in a simulated application situation was performed. The microphone measurements were supplemented by measuring the radiation force with a balance and were compared to an analytical model of the sound field distribution. The presented results can contribute to the improvement of measurement technology and support a first assessment of the exposure of potential users.