PIEZOCOMPOSITE ULTRASOUND ARRAY AND INTEGRATED CIRCUIT ASSEMBLY WITH IMPROVED THERMAL EXPANSION AND ACOUSTICAL CROSSTALK CHARACTERISTICS

摘要

An integrated piezoelectric ultrasound array (11) structure configured to minimize the effects of differential thermal expansion between the array (11) and the integrated circuit (32) and to improve the mechanical and acoustical integrity of the array. The transducer array (11) may have an interposed thinned supporting substrate (40) and is matched to the integrated circuit substrate for thermal expansion so as to retain mechanical integrity of the array/IC bond within the working temperature range. Transducer elements (10) are laterally isolated acoustically and as to thermal expansion by air or other acoustically attenuating medium of lower elastic modulus material between the elements (10). Acoustical effects are vertically acoustically isolated with capacitive coupling and small area solder bumps (34) relative to wavelength, and further laterally acoustically isolated by thin supporting substrates relative to wavelength, including thinned semiconductor integrated circuit substrates.