Design and Micro-Fabrication of Focused High-Frequency Needle Transducers for Medical Imaging

In this study, we report an advanced fabrication technique to develop a miniature focused needle transducer. Two different types of high-frequency (100 MHz) transducers were fabricated using the lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-0.3PT) and lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) single crystals. In order to enhance the transducer's performance, a unique mass-spring matching layer technique was adopted, in which gold and parylene play the roles of the mass layer and spring layer, respectively. The PMN-0.3PT transducer had a 103 MHz center frequency with a -6 dB bandwidth of 52%, and a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 42 dB. The center frequency, -6 dB bandwidth, and SNR of the LiNbO₃ transducer were 105 MHz, 66%, and 44 dB, respectively. In order to compare and evaluate the transducers' performances, an ultrasonic biomicroscopy (UBM) imaging on the fish eye was performed. The results showed that the LiNbO₃ transducer had a better contrast resolution compared to the PMN-0.3PT transducer. The fabricated transducer showed an excellent performance with high-resolution corneal epithelium imaging of the experimental fish eye. These interesting findings are useful for the future biomedical implementation of the fabricated transducers in the field of high-resolution ultrasound imaging and diagnosis purpose.