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Modeling, Development and Applications of Novel Ultrasound Sensors
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Modeling, Development and Applications of Novel Ultrasound Sensors

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2022) | Viewed by 17020

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Constanza Rubio Michavila

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Guest Editor
Centro de Tecnologías Físicas, Universitat Politécnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: ultrasound propagation in complex media; ultrasonic metamaterials; use of ultrasonic techniques for materials characterization; ultrasonic NDT; medical application of ultrasonic techniques for diagnosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Antonio Uris Martínez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Tecnologías Físicas, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: ultrasound propagation in complex media; ultrasonic metamaterials; ultrasound focusing; ultrasonic lenses
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sergio Castiñeira Ibáñez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Physics, Valencia Polytechnic University, 46022 València, Spain
Interests: acoustics materials; acoustic lenses; finite elements method; topology, geometric parametrical and translation optimisation; sound propagation in complex media; composite materials; US material characterisation; medical US applications; modelling ultrasonic devices; ultrasonic NDT
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to present the call for papers for the launch of a Special Issue of the MDPI journal Sensors devoted to “Ultrasonic Sensors”.

Ultrasonic sensors operating from 20 kHz to 25 MHz are an advantageous and widely used set of technologies for non-invasive and non-ionising measurement. They have found broad appeal across disciplines and applications from sensors for guiding and checking for industrial and non-industrial nondestructive testing to biological, medical, and food industry applications.

This Special Issue aims to highlight advances in the modeling and development of novel sensors that use ultrasound with applications in a wide range of fields. Considering this wide variety of ultrasonic sensor (US) applications in a multitude of uses in diverse industrial and nonindustrial settings, covering fundamental science as well as applications in the field of engineering material characterization and quality inspection, chemical and biological US-based monitoring, medical imaging, therapy, etc. This Special Issue focuses on combining sensing approaches and modalities that include multiple wave-based technologies into a single sensor. Topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Novel materials with different responses to types of excitation
  • Sensors that combine response from any kind of waves (acoustic to electromagnetic)
  • Nondestructive testing/material characterization
  • Challenging environments: High/low temperature, pressure, radiation, corrosiveness
  • Remote sensing
  • Ultrasonic imaging and visualization
  • Industrial applications (oil and gas, geothermal, automotive, etc.)
  • Ultrasonics
  • Medical and biomedical ultrasonic sensors
  • Biological ultrasonic sensors
  • Food characterization ultrasonic sensors

Prof. Dr. Constanza Rubio Michavila
Prof. Dr. Antonio Uris Martínez
Dr. Sergio Castiñeira Ibáñez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Ultrasonic imaging 
  • Biological ultrasonic sensors
  • Food characterization 
  • Remote sensing 
  • Nondestructive testing

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 4431 KiB  
Article
Sensitivity—Bandwidth Optimization of PMUT with Acoustical Matching Using Finite Element Method
by Le-Ming He, Wei-Jiang Xu, Yan Wang, Jia Zhou and Jun-Yan Ren
Sensors 2022, 22(6), 2307; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22062307 - 16 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3030
Abstract
A new model in finite element method to study round-trip performance of piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs) is established. Most studies on the performance of pMUT are based only on the transmission sensibility, but the reception capacity is as much important as the [...] Read more.
A new model in finite element method to study round-trip performance of piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs) is established. Most studies on the performance of pMUT are based only on the transmission sensibility, but the reception capacity is as much important as the transmission one, and is quite different from this latter. In this work, the round-trip sensitivity of pMUT is defined as the product of the frequency response of transmitted far field pressure to source voltage excitation and that of reception output to return wave pressure. Based on this sensitivity characteristic, firstly, a multi-parameter optimization for a cavity pMUT is performed using the sensitivity-bandwidth product parameter SBW as criterion. The radii of the electrode and the piezoelectric layer, the thicknesses of the piezoelectric layer and the vibration diaphragm are adjusted to maximize the performance. Secondly, an acoustic matching method is proposed and applied to pMUTs for the first time. As a result, the round-trip sensitivity can be evaluated and the pulse-echo response of wide-band excitation can be simulated, giving the most quantitative and intuitive feedback for pMUT design. The optimization enhances the sensitivity-bandwidth product by 52% when the top electrode and piezoelectric layer are both etched to 75% radius of the cavity beneath; the introduction of an acoustic matching layer shows significant bandwidth expansion in both the transmitting and receiving process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling, Development and Applications of Novel Ultrasound Sensors)
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12 pages, 16776 KiB  
Article
Application of Phase-Reversal Fresnel Zone Plates for High-Resolution Robotic Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Evaluation
by Dmitry O. Dolmatov, Daniel Tarrazó-Serrano, German A. Filippov, Antonio Uris and Dmitry A. Sednev
Sensors 2021, 21(23), 7792; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21237792 - 23 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1785
Abstract
Nowadays the development of automated inspection systems based on six degrees of freedom robotic manipulators is a highly relevant topic in ultrasonic non-destructive testing. One of the issues associated with such development is the problem of acquiring high-resolution results. In this article, the [...] Read more.
Nowadays the development of automated inspection systems based on six degrees of freedom robotic manipulators is a highly relevant topic in ultrasonic non-destructive testing. One of the issues associated with such development is the problem of acquiring high-resolution results. In this article, the application Phase-Reversal Fresnel Zone Plates is considered for solving this problem. Such acoustic lenses can solve the task of high-resolution results acquisition by using a single unfocused transducer. Furthermore, Phase-Reversal Fresnel Zone Plates can provide the desired focusing depth with the fixed thickness of the coupling layer. It is important in the case of application of devices which provide localized coupling. In this paper a proper design of Phase-Reversal Fresnel Zone Plate was determined according to the conditions of planned experiments. Its efficiency was verified via the Finite Element Method modeling. In all performed experiments the relative error of flaws size estimation did not exceed 6% whereas the signal-to-noise ratio was not lower than 17.1 dB. Thus, experimental results demonstrate that the application of Phase-Reversal Fresnel Zone Plates allowed to obtain results with high lateral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. These results demonstrate the reasonability of the development of devices that provide localized coupling and use Phase-Reversal Fresnel Zone Plates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling, Development and Applications of Novel Ultrasound Sensors)
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18 pages, 13518 KiB  
Article
Directional Ultrasound Source for Solid Materials Inspection: Diffraction Management in a Metallic Phononic Crystal
by Hossam Selim, Rubén Picó, Jose Trull, Miguel Delgado Prieto and Crina Cojocaru
Sensors 2020, 20(21), 6148; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20216148 - 29 Oct 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2957
Abstract
In this work, we numerically investigate the diffraction management of longitudinal elastic waves propagating in a two-dimensional metallic phononic crystal. We demonstrate that this structure acts as an “ultrasonic lens”, providing self-collimation or focusing effect at a certain distance from the crystal output. [...] Read more.
In this work, we numerically investigate the diffraction management of longitudinal elastic waves propagating in a two-dimensional metallic phononic crystal. We demonstrate that this structure acts as an “ultrasonic lens”, providing self-collimation or focusing effect at a certain distance from the crystal output. We implement this directional propagation in the design of a coupling device capable to control the directivity or focusing of ultrasonic waves propagation inside a target object. These effects are robust over a broad frequency band and are preserved in the propagation through a coupling gel between the “ultrasonic lens” and the solid target. These results may find interesting industrial and medical applications, where the localization of the ultrasonic waves may be required at certain positions embedded in the object under study. An application example for non-destructive testing with improved results, after using the ultrasonic lens, is discussed as a proof of concept for the novelty and applicability of our numerical simulation study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling, Development and Applications of Novel Ultrasound Sensors)
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11 pages, 914 KiB  
Article
Nonlinear Maximization of the Sum-Frequency Component from Two Ultrasonic Signals in a Bubbly Liquid
by María Teresa Tejedor Sastre and Christian Vanhille
Sensors 2020, 20(1), 113; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20010113 - 23 Dec 2019
Viewed by 2266
Abstract
Techniques based on ultrasound in nondestructive testing and medical imaging analyze the response of the source frequencies (linear theory) or the second-order frequencies such as higher harmonics, difference and sum frequencies (nonlinear theory). The low attenuation and high directivity of the difference-frequency component [...] Read more.
Techniques based on ultrasound in nondestructive testing and medical imaging analyze the response of the source frequencies (linear theory) or the second-order frequencies such as higher harmonics, difference and sum frequencies (nonlinear theory). The low attenuation and high directivity of the difference-frequency component generated nonlinearly by parametric arrays are useful. Higher harmonics created directly from a single-frequency source and the sum-frequency component generated nonlinearly by parametric arrays are attractive because of their high spatial resolution and accuracy. The nonlinear response of bubbly liquids can be strong even at relatively low acoustic pressure amplitudes. Thus, these nonlinear frequencies can be generated easily in these media. Since the experimental study of such nonlinear waves in stable bubbly liquids is a very difficult task, in this work we use a numerical model developed previously to describe the nonlinear propagation of ultrasound interacting with nonlinearly oscillating bubbles in a liquid. This numerical model solves a differential system coupling a Rayleigh–Plesset equation and the wave equation. This paper performs an analysis of the generation of the sum-frequency component by nonlinear mixing of two signals of lower frequencies. It shows that the amplitude of this component can be maximized by taking into account the nonlinear resonance of the system. This effect is due to the softening of the medium when pressure amplitudes rise. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling, Development and Applications of Novel Ultrasound Sensors)
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Review

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24 pages, 2447 KiB  
Review
Selective Ultrasonic Gravimetric Sensors Based on Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasound Transducer Structure—A Review
by Dovydas Barauskas, Mindaugas Dzikaras, Dovydas Bieliauskas, Donatas Pelenis, Gailius Vanagas and Darius Viržonis
Sensors 2020, 20(12), 3554; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20123554 - 23 Jun 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3915
Abstract
This review paper discusses the advances of the gravimetric detection devices based on capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers structure. Principles of gravimetric operation and device modeling are reviewed through the presentation of an analytical, one-dimensional model and finite element modeling. Additionally, the most common [...] Read more.
This review paper discusses the advances of the gravimetric detection devices based on capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers structure. Principles of gravimetric operation and device modeling are reviewed through the presentation of an analytical, one-dimensional model and finite element modeling. Additionally, the most common fabrication techniques, including sacrificial release and wafer bonding, are discussed for advantages for gravimetric sensing. As functional materials are the most important part of the selective gravimetric sensing, the review of different functional material properties and coating and application methods is necessary. Particularly, absorption and desorption mechanisms of functional materials, like methylated polyethyleneimine, with examples of applications for gas sensing and using immune complexes for specific biomolecules detection are reviewed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling, Development and Applications of Novel Ultrasound Sensors)
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Other

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15 pages, 2559 KiB  
Letter
Zone-Shrinking Fresnel Zone Travel-Time Tomography for Sound Speed Reconstruction in Breast USCT
by Xiaoyue Fang, Yun Wu, Junjie Song, Hang Yin, Liang Zhou, Qiude Zhang, Zhaohui Quan, Mingyue Ding and Ming Yuchi
Sensors 2020, 20(19), 5563; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20195563 - 28 Sep 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2211
Abstract
Many studies have been carried out on ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) for its potential application in breast imaging. The sound speed (SS) image modality in USCT can help doctors diagnose the breast cancer, as the tumor usually has a higher sound speed than [...] Read more.
Many studies have been carried out on ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) for its potential application in breast imaging. The sound speed (SS) image modality in USCT can help doctors diagnose the breast cancer, as the tumor usually has a higher sound speed than normal tissues. Travel time is commonly used to reconstruct SS image. Raypath travel-time tomography (RTT) assumes that the sound wave travels through a raypath. RTT is computationally efficient but with low contrast to noise ratio (CNR). Fresnel zone travel-time tomography (FZTT) is based on the assumption that the sound wave travels through an area called the Fresnel zone. FZTT can provide SS image with high CNR but low accuracy due to the wide Fresnel zone. Here, we propose a zone-shrinking Fresnel zone travel-time tomography (ZSFZTT), where a weighting factor is adopted to shrink the Fresnel zone during the inversion process. Numerical phantom and in vivo breast experiments were performed with ZSFZTT, FZTT, and RTT. In the numerical experiment, the reconstruction biases of size by ZSFZTT, FZTT, and RTT were 0.2%~8.3%, 2.3%~31.7%, and 1.8%~25%; the reconstruction biases of relative SS value by ZSFZTT, FZTT, and RTT were 24.7%~42%, 53%~60.8%, and 30.3%~47.8%; and the CNR by ZSFZTT, FZTT, and RTT were 67.7~96.6, 68.5~98, and 1.7~2.7. In the in vivo breast experiment, ZSFZTT provided the highest CNR of 8.6 compared to 8.1 by FZTT and 1.9 by RTT. ZSFZTT improved the reconstruction accuracy of size and the relative reconstruction accuracy of SS value compared to FZTT and RTT while maintaining a high CNR similar to that of FZTT. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modeling, Development and Applications of Novel Ultrasound Sensors)
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