SUBJECT DESCRIPTION FORM
Subject title:
Guided Study in Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers
Subject code:
ISE6834
Credit value:
3
Responsible staff and department:
Dr C.H. Cheng (ISE)
Pre-requisite: (Subject title and code no, if any)
Nil
Recommended background knowledge:
Basic knowledge in electronic devices and MEMS fabrication experience may have advantage.
Mutual exclusions:
Nil
Learning approach:
The subject is conducted in Mode II. Mode II is operated for guided study subjects with no relevant
MSc subject/short course available. The student is required, under the supervision of the subject
supervisor, to read specified monographs, journal publications and books. The student and the subject
supervisor will meet once per week to discuss the progress in the subject. Coursework such as the
literature survey reports and the presentations would be included. At the end of the semester the
student will be examined, normally both orally and in written form.
Assessment:
Model II:
Coursework:
Examination:
40%
60%
Objectives:
1. To understand the working principle of Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers
(CMUT).
2. To investigate the current CMUT technologies.
3. To improve the current CMUT performance with novel structures.
4. To design and fabricate the CMUT devices with improved performance.
Keyword syllabus:

CMUT working principle
Parallel capacitor, Electrostatic force, Vibrating membrane, DC bias

Current CMUT technologies
CMUT structure, design, and fabrication

Improvement of CMUT performance
Novel CMUT structure, Concave bottom electrode, Capacitance improvement

CMUT Fabrication
Mask design and making, Photolithography, Metal sputtering, Electroplating, Wet & dry etching
Learning outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
To possess basic knowledge of CMUT. (Objective 1)
To be able to search and understand current CMUT technologies. (Objective 2)
To apply different fabrication techniques to realize novel micro structures. (Objective 3)
To implement novel CMUT device by micro fabrication techniques. (Objective 4)
Indicative reading list and references:
[1]
Muhammed N. Senlik, Selim Olcum, and Abdullah Atalar, “Improved performance of
cMUT with nonuniform membranes,” 2005 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, 18-21
Sept. 2005, Vol. 1, pp. 597- 600.
[2]
G. Caliano*, A. Caronti, A. Savoia, C. Longo, M. Pappalardo, E. Cianci, and V.
Foglietti, “Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (cMUT) Made by a Novel
“Reverse Fabrication Process”,” 2005 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, 18-21 Sept.
2005, Vol. 1, pp. 479- 482.
[3]
Jeff McLean, Rasim O. Guldiken and F. Levent Degertekin, “CMUTs with Dual
Electrode Structure for Improved Transmit and Receive Performance,” 2004 IEEE
International Ultrasonics Symposium, Vol. 1, 23-27 Aug. 2004, pp. 501 – 504.
[4]
Oliver Ahrens, Andreas Buhrdorf, Dennis Hohlfeld, Lars Tebje, and .Josef Binder,
“Fabrication of Gap-Optimized CMUT,” IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics,
and Frequency Control, Vol. 49, No. 9, September 2002, pp. 1321-1329.
[5]
Yongli Huang, Edward O. Hæggström, Xuefeng Zhuang, Arif S. Ergun, and Butrus T.
Khuri-Yakub, “Optimized Membrane Configuration Improves CMUT Performance,” 2004
IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, Vol. 1, 23-27 Aug. 2004, pp. 505 – 508.
[6]
Joshua Knight, Jeff McLean, and F. Levent Degertekin, “Low Temperature
Fabrication of Immersion Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers on Silicon and
Dielectric Substrates,” IEEE Trans. on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control,
Vol. 51, No. 10, October 2004, pp. 1324-1333.
[7]
Morris Ming-Wei Chang, Milton T-M. Deng, James T-J. Gwol, John D. Mail, and
Elmer Hsu, “Polymer-based Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (CMUT) for
Micro Surgical Imaging Applications,” The 1st IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro
Engineered and Molecular Systems, 2006, NEMS '06, 18-21 Jan. 2006, pp. 61-65.
[8]
Ming-Wei Chang, Hsu-Cheng Deng, Da-Chen Pang, Mu-Yue Chen, “A Novel
Method for Fabricating Sonic Paper,” IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, 2007, 2831 Oct. 2007, pp. 527 – 530.
(August 2010)