Finite element analysis of a deformable array transducer

Deformable array transducers have previously been described to implement 2-D phase aberration correction of near-field aberrators with only a 1/spl times/N or 2/spl times/N N array configuration. This transducer design combines mechanical phase correction using an actuator with electronic phase correction for a 2-D correction with significantly fewer elements than a full 2-D array. Due to the complicated construction of deformable arrays, the authors propose to use finite element analysis (FEA) as a design tool for array development. Because the deformable array combines a mechanical actuator with a medical ultrasound transducer, improvement in performance must consider both the ultrasound characterization along with the low frequency actuator characterization. In this paper, the authors use 2 and 3-D FEA to model both the ultrasonic and the actuator characteristics of the deformable array as the first step toward development of a design tool.