Biomedical subjects

Sylvain Ballandras

Publications and source records attributed to Sylvain Ballandras.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

A perturbation method for predicting the temperature and stress sensitivities of quartz vibrating structures simulated by finite-element analysis.

Thermal and mechanical sensitivities of vibrating structures and wave guides are key parameters for the optimization of high stability resonant devices operating in the ultrasonic frequency range (from a few tenth of kilohertz to a few gigahertz). In this paper, the possibility to simulate and predict temperature coefficients of frequency (TCF) of quartz transducers of any shape as well as their stress sensitivity coefficients is addressed. The theoretical developments based on harmonic finite-element analysis coupled with a variational perturbation method are detailed, showing how to derive the regarded parameters. The proposed approach is validated using a two-dimensional (2-D) model of a plane face-bulk acoustic resonator for which an analytical model can give access to both TCF and stress sensitivity coefficients. It is then applied to a 2-D model of convex plane bulk acoustic resonator of singly rotated quartz and used to compute the first order TCF of a 3-D model of a tuning fork structure. In the latter case, the importance of considering the actual excitation of the device is demonstrated, allowing for the accurate definition of angular loci for which thermal compensation can be expected, in agreement with literature. Possible extensions and improvements of the proposed method is discussed in conclusion.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Surface Green's function of a piezoelectric half-space.

The computation of the two-dimensional harmonic spatial-domain Green's function at the surface of a piezoelectric half-space is discussed. Starting from the known form of the Green's function expressed in the spectral domain, the singular contributions are isolated and treated separately. It is found that the surface acoustic wave contributions (i.e., poles in the spectral Green's function) give rise to an anisotropic generalization of the Hankel function H0(2), the spatial Green's function for the scalar two-dimensional wave equation. The asymptotic behavior at infinity and at the origin (for the electrostatic contribution) also are explicitly treated. The remaining nonsingular part of the spectral Green's function is obtained numerically by a combination of fast Fourier transform and quadrature. Illustrations are given in the case of a substrate of Y-cut lithium niobate.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2005

Prediction of the thermal sensitivity of surface acoustic waves excited under a periodic grating of electrodes.

The prediction of the temperature sensitivity of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices still requires improvement because the nature of the implemented surface modes and the devices' complexity strongly change from the early basic Rayleigh-wave-based devices. To address this problem, a theoretical analysis and a numerical tool have been developed to predict the thermal dispersion of general electro-acoustic devices. The proposed model accounts for the electrode contribution to the frequency-temperature law. The computed thermal sensitivities are compared to experimental results for different kinds of substrates and waves.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Three-dimensional modelling of micromachined-ultrasonic-transducer arrays operating in water.

We report on the 3-D modelling of periodic arrays of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (cMUTs) operating in fluid. Specific developments have been performed to model biperiodic transducer arrays and to take into account radiation into any stratified media at the front-side as well as the back-side of the device. The model is based on a periodic finite-element-analysis/boundary-element-method (FEA/BEM). It is applied to micromachined ultrasonic transducers (MUTs), based on silicon-nitride-circular-membrane arrays on a silicon substrate, and operating in water. The spectrum characteristics of MUTs excited in phase are investigated, showing that very-large-band emission is achievable as previously demonstrated by many authors. However, other contributions are also found, depending on the excitation conditions, that do not radiate in the fluid. These contributions are identified as guided modes that could generate significant cross-talk effects. The origin and the nature of these modes is analyzed to gain insight in the actual operation of MUTs.

Equipment Design↗

PubMed2004

A new triply rotated quartz cut for the fabrication of low loss IF SAW filters.

Analysis of the quartz properties shows the existence of unexplored angular domains for which Rayleigh waves can be efficiently excited, exhibiting physical characteristics better than the ones of the (ST,X) cut. This paper presents a family of quartz cuts allowing significant improvements of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices on quartz. A first set of experiments has been performed, confirming the theoretical predictions of the basic properties of SAW on these cuts. A second set of measurements then was achieved to refine the identification of coefficients needed to perform industrial SAW design. A demonstration of the improvements accessible using this new cut is presented. A low loss SAW filter working at 71 MHz has been fabricated using smaller aluminum thickness than that for standard quartz cuts, and exhibiting all the properties required for its industrial implementation.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Dyadic Green's functions of a laminar plate.

We introduce the concept of dyadic Green's functions of a laminar plate. These functions generalize classical Green's functions. In addition to relating displacements and stresses at the surface of a medium, they relate these quantities at both the top and the bottom surfaces of a medium of finite thickness and infinite extent in the transverse directions. We describe here the calculation of these functions in the spectral domain and provide some academic examples demonstrating their interest.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

A P-matrix based model for SAW grating waveguides taking into account modes conversion at the reflection.

Several models exist for analyzing the wave-guiding effect of a reflective grating. On the one hand, there are models based on scalar waveguide theory. These models consider that a device can be described as being made of several regions having different velocities. On the other hand, an extension of the coupling of modes (COM) model taking into account the transverse dimension has been developed. This paraxial COM model predicts that guidance is possible even when there is no velocity difference between the interior and the exterior of the grating region. Guidance, under such circumstances, is due only to differences in reflectivity between regions. Following from this insight, a new approach has been developed: guided modes and the continuum of radiating modes are first determined. At each period, reflections then are considered as occurring only in the reflective regions, so that the modes are truncated. Thus, at each reflection (and transmission), each mode is converted into a distribution of all modes. Dispersion curves very similar to those shown by other researchers are obtained by this method. They show, in particular, the existence of guided modes even when the wave velocity in all regions is identical. This model can be used to more easily analyze practical devices and exhibits a good agreement with experimental results.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Fast FEM/BEM simulation of SAW devices via asymptotic waveform evaluation.

The finite element method/boundary element method (FEM/BEM) computation model applied to surface acoustic wave devices requires the solution of a large linear system for each frequency point. An asymptotic waveform evaluation technique is used to obtain an approximate solution of the linear system that is valid over a large frequency bandwidth. The approximate solution was shown to be very accurate and vastly reduces the computation time.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Interface acoustic waves properties in some common crystal cuts.

Interface acoustic waves (IAWs), also termed boundary waves, propagate at the interface between two solids. We present two IAW numerical analysis tools, inspired from well established surface acoustic wave (SAW) methods. First, the interface effective permittivity is derived for arbitrary piezoelectric solids and is used to estimate some basic parameters of IAWs. The harmonic admittance for an interface excitation is then derived from the interface effective permittivity, in much the same way the harmonic admittance for surface excitation is obtained from the (surface) effective permittivity. The finite electrode thickness is neglected in this problem analysis. The harmonic admittance is used to model propagation in case an infinite periodic interdigital transducer is located at the interface. Simulation results are commented upon for some usual piezoelectric material cuts and outline a modal selection specific to IAWs as compared with SAWs. The temperature dependence of the resonance frequency is also estimated.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Vibration maps of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers by laser interferometry.

In this letter, a 1.8-mm x 1.8-mm capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) element is experimentally characterized by means of optical measurements. Optical displacement measurements provide information on the resonant behavior of the single membranes and also allow us to investigate the dispersion in the frequency spectrum of adjacent membranes. In addition, higher order mode shapes are observed, showing that either symmetrical or asymmetrical modes are excited in CMUT membranes. Laser interferometry vibration maps, combined with quantitative displacement measurements, provide information about the quality and repeatability of the fabrication process, which is a basic requirement for 2-D array fabrication for ultrasound imaging.

Coated Materials, Biocompatible↗

PubMed2002

SSBW to PSAW conversion in SAW devices using heavy mechanical loading.

The development of efficient computation tools based on mixed analytical and numerical calculation approaches allows precise descriptions and characterizations of surface acoustic waves (SAW) propagation, taking into account realistic electrical and mechanical boundary conditions. As an example, suppression of the leaky SAW, also called pseudo SAW (PSAW), attenuation has been predicted using such tools allowing to explain experimental occurrences for SAW devices on YX cut lithium niobate and lithium tantalate with thick aluminum strip gratings (6% < h/lambda < 10%). In this work, such a theoretical model is used to analyze the evolution of surface waves on standard YX lithium tantalate cuts versus aluminum strip height. It is shown that the surface skimming bulk wave (SSBW), which accompanies the pseudo SAW on such crystal orientations, may be trapped by the grating, exhibiting then a second pseudo SAW behavior when close to the Bragg condition. A device has been designed and fabricated to check these theoretical predictions. The experimental evidence of the existence of the phenomenon allows one to discuss its consequences on more classical devices built on (Y+36 degrees,X) LiTaO3 substrates.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

A full 3D plane-wave-expansion model for 1-3 piezoelectric composite structures.

The plane-wave-expansion (PWE) approach dedicated to the simulation of periodic devices has been extended to 1-3 connectivity piezoelectric composite structures. The case of simple but actual piezoelectric composite structures is addressed, taking piezoelectricity, acoustic losses, and electrical excitation conditions rigorously into account. The material distribution is represented by using a bidimensional Fourier series and the electromechanical response is simulated using a Bloch-Floquet expansion together with the Fahmy-Adler formulation of the Christoffel problem. Application of the model to 1-3 connectivity piezoelectric composites is reported and compared to previously published analyses of this problem.

Journal Article↗