Ultrasound transmitter

• Main Authors: Thomas Michael Carpenter, David Matthew Joseph Cowell, Steven Freear
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 15.06.2022
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY; ELECTRICITY; FOR PERFORMING MECHANICAL WORK IN GENERAL; GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS IN GENERAL; METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICALVIBRATIONS OF INFRASONIC, SONIC, OR ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PULSE TECHNIQUE; TRANSPORTING

A multilevel switched-mode ultrasound transmitter, suitable for driving an ultrasound transducer, includes a push-pull transistor arrangement 100 and a bipolar drive voltage supply. The push-pull, or half-bridge, transistor arrangement comprises a first arm and a second arm, each coupled between one of a respective polarity instance VP2, VN2 of the bipolar supply and a common output VXDR; each arm includes a drive transistor (Fig.1, 24, 32) operating in series with an additional transistor (Fig.1, 22, 34) arranged as a bidirectional load switch. Additionally, a single ended transistor clamp arrangement 210 may be coupled between the common output and ground, the clamp arrangement similarly including a drive transistor in series with an additional transistor arranged as a bidirectional load switch. The bidirectional load switches may be arranged in reverse polarity to a diode function of the respective drive transistors. The transistors may all be N-channel devices and/or high mobility devices, e.g. Gallium-Nitride (GaN) transistors. The ultrasound transmitter may include further push-pull transistor arrangements 100', each operating across a further bipolar drive voltage supply VPi, VNi. An ultrasound device includes the transmitter coupled to at least one ultrasound transducer. The ultrasound transmitter may be used in a wide range of ultrasound modalities, including at very high frequencies and high power.