1O.1109/ULTSYM.2012.

0143

New Modified Butterworth Van-Dyke Model for

High Frequency Ultrasonic Imaging
Hojong Choi] , Hayong Jung] , Hao-Chung Yang l, Fan Zheng land K. Kirk Shung l

I
NIH Transducer Resource Center and Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Abstract-For ultrasonic transducers, a number of equivalent

circuit models includin g KLM, Mason and Butterworth Van
transducers still needs to be improved because the
Dyke (BVD) have been developed. To allow them to be
conventional BVD model does not show precious data to be
incorporated into desi gn tools for complex inte grated circuits, analyzed for higher frequency transducer and they do not
KLM or Mason models are not practical because the discrete describe why the impedance data of the ultrasonic transducer
components of the equivalent circuits have ne gative values. could be different according to a propagation medium such as
Therefore, BVD model appears to be more appropriate but it air or water.
needs to be improved because the resolution of a hi gh frequency
The conventional BVD model was used to plot the
ultrasound system may be severely affected by impedance
mismatching between the transducer and the system, as well as
impedance using the PiezoCAD simulation program (Sonic
attenuation due to parasitic impedances of the systems. A new
Concepts, Bothell, WA) and measurement data using
modified BVD model has been developed and the results impedance analyzer (HP 4294A, Agilent Technologies, Santa
demonstrate its usefulness in modelin g high frequency ultrasonic Clara, CA). The simulated impedance data using the
transducer and its ima ging systems. conventional BVD model showed that the magnitude of the
impedance around anti-resonant frequency range had large
Keywords- Protection Devices; Butterworth Van Dyke; differences between the impedance data provided by the
Ultrasonic Transducers; Equivalent Circuit Model; conventional BVD model and the real impedance data of
ultrasonic transducers. We tried to add new parameters into
conventional BVD model to obtain more accurate model.
I. INTRODUCTION Therefore, the new transducer equivalent circuit model needs
to be developed so that it can help design more accurate analog
Recently, ultrasonic transducers have been widely used in
front-end circuits to enhance the sensitivity of the system.
various applications such as ultrasound imaging [1]-[5],
energy harvesting [6], acoustic tweezers [7], [8] and non
destructive evaluation [9], [10]. Especially, higher frequency
(> 15 MHz) ultrasound system has provided better spatial II. ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
resolution while scarifying the penetration depth [1]. However, This paper presents the new modified BVD model to be
the high frequency ultrasound imaging systems would be more covered for low and high frequency ultrasonic transducers.
sensitive to the attenuation caused by impedance mismatching The new technique is used to define new parameters at
between transducers and systems compared with low resonant and anti-resonant frequencies, and loss resistances
frequency ultrasound systems [1], [11]-[16]. Therefore, the with mechanical properties. With new modified BVD model,
accurate equivalent circuit model of the ultrasonic transducer
the magnitude and phase of the impedances could be
is quite crucial in order to optimize the system performances.
analyzed through the computer simulation tool like LT-SPICE
There are many numerical models published about the
program (Linear Technology, Milpitas, CA). The structures of
equivalent circuit model of the ultrasonic transducer such as
the conventional and modified BVD models are shown in Fig.
the KLM, Mason, and BVD model [17], [18].
1.
The KLM and Mason model can be derived from the
mechanical property of the ultrasonic transducer such as
dielectric constant and loading medium [17]. These models
use transmission lines for mechanical port and transformers
for electrical properties [17], [18]. In the transformer circuit,
there is a negative capacitance which is not suitable to be
incorporated into design tools for integrated circuits and the
models are also not very accurate at higher frequencies [19].
Therefore, the BVD model is an alternative to model high
frequency ultrasonic transducers. The BVD model could be
obtained from the electrical impedances of the transducer
without mechanical property [17] and it is very useful to
evaluate overall performances of the ultrasonic transducer and
Fig. I: The schematic diagrams of new modified (top) and conventional BVD
systems but the BVD model for high frequency ultrasound
models (bottom).

978-1-4673-4562-0/12/$31.00 mOl2 IEEE 576

2012 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium Proceedings
 The real resistance (RI*) can be calculated from the
magnitude of the resistance (RI) and phase angle (er) at
resonant frequency (wr). The inductance (Ld can be obtained
at the resonant condition if we assume the magnitude of the
impedance value at the resonant frequency is constant [20].
(1)
(2)
The bulk capacitance (Co) can be calculated by the mechanical
property or by the resonant condition [17]-[19].
(3)
where Co is the clamped capacitance, Rr and Xr are the
resistance and admittance at resonant frequency, EO and Er are
the dielectric constant at free space and a piezoelectric
material, A and d are the surface and thickness of the material.
The capacitance (CI) can be derived from the relationship
between the resonant (wr) and anti-resonant frequency (wa).
(4)
The transformed clamped capacitance (Co *) was re-defined
according to the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies using
the characteristic capacitances of the ultrasonic transducers.
(5)
where Qa is the quality factor at anti-resonant frequency.
The impedance could be changed according to propagation
medium. Thus, the radiation resistances (Ra and Rr) were
added to the model. These resistances could be obtained from
the mechanical data [1].
(6)
577
where ZI and Z2 are the acoustic impedances at front and back
port, kt is the coupling factor, Zc is the acoustic transducer
impedance.
The inductance (Lz) can be derived by the anti-resonant
condition [20]. The real resistance (Rz*) can be calculated by
the magnitude of the resistance (Rz) and phase angle (ea) at an
anti-resonant frequency.
R2 Qa
L _ ·
(7)
2
wa
-
* (8)
R2 =R2 'COS(Sa)
where Rz is the resistance at anti-resonant frequency and ea is
the phase angle of the impedance at anti-resonant frequency.
The real resistance (R:) at anti-resonant frequency can be
calculated by
(9)
The loss term (Rd could be negligible [21]. The modified
BVD model could be constructed depending on the internal
quality factors (Qr and Qa) at the resonant and anti-resonant
frequency. Thus, one more inductor (Lz) and additional loss
term (R:IIRz*IIRd were added and the clamped capacitance
(Co) was also changed accordingly.
III. SIMULAnON RESULTS
The ultrasonic transducer can be regarded as a one port
electrical device so the impedance can be measured as shown
in Fig. 2. For example, in the simulated impedance plot, the
current should be in the opposite direction because of the
measurement setting.
Impedance Analyzer
Cl
OH
Ultrasonic Transducer
Fig. 2: Measurement setting for ultrasonic transducer
The ultrasonic transducers were fabricated with different
materials in our lab. The propagation medium of the 6 MHz
PZT-5H 1-3 composite transducer was water and that of the 25
MHz LiNb03 transducer was air. The photos of ultrasonic
transducers are displayed in Fig. 3.
2012 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium Proceedings
 80 80
§:.. 1
"
.a a>
'§,-1
'" -40�
:; -
15 15

--- 40
Fig.3. Photo of the transducers. 'tI
::r
o g:
(J)
-40§'

Table 1 shows the material properties of the transducers. In

20 30
Table 2, the conventional and modified BVD models were Frequency (MHz)
constructed based on modeled data via PiezoCAD program or (c)

the measured data via impedance analyzer. Based on these

data, the equivalent circuit models were constructed. Fig. 4. The impedance plots of PiezoCAD modeled or measured data (dash
line). modified (solid line) and conventional BVD models (dash-dot line) for
TABLE I THE ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES OF THE TRANSDUCERS ultrasonic transducers: (a) the impedance plot of the PiezoCAD modeled data
and SPICE simulated BVD models for 6 MHz transducer, (b) the impedance
6MHz 25 MHz
plot of measured data and SPICE simulated BVD models for 6 MHz transducer,
Thickness 0.74 0.49
(c) the impedance plot of the PiezoCAD modeled data and BVD models for 25
Acoustic (rear/front) 5.9/1.5 5.8/0.0004 MHz transducer, (d) the impedance plot of the measured data and BVD models
18.55 34.05 for 25 MHz transducer.
Clamped capacitance [pF] 265.5 66.8
* 6MHz and 25MHz are the frequency of each transducer.
Fig. 4 (a) and (b) show that the impedance graph of the
TABLE II THE PARAMETERS OF THE BVD MODELS modified BVD model for 6 MHz transducer is more accurate
Parameters PiezoCAD Measurement than that of the conventional BVD model. The magnitude at
for 6 MHz
Conventional Modified Conventional Modified an anti-resonant frequency of the conventional BVD model is
transducer BVD BVD BVD BVD slightly unmatched with that of PiezoCAD modeled and
RJ +R,/ RJ 54.07 66.75 70.1 70.4
measured data. The graph of the modified BVD model for 25
LJ 1.8 1.8 2.5 4.99
MHz transducer in Fig. 4 (c) is still similar to that of the
CJ 562.34 562.34 406.88 203.75
L2 ------ 3.12 ----- 17.88
modeled data but Fig. 4 (d) shows that the magnitude of the
CJCo 379.68 266.3 399.38 200 impedance prior to the resonant frequency had a difference
'
R;IIR2 IIRL ------- 92.13 ------ 404 between the measured data and modified BVD model because
Parameters PiezoCAD Measurement we could not obtain the quality factors (Qr and Qa) due to wide
for 25 MHz Conventional Modified Conventional Modified -3 dB bandwidth. Therefore, other extended virtual points
Transducer BVD BVD BVD BVD
'
were created to extract the quality factors. Due to these
RJ +R,I RJ 166.66 122.88 187.90 111.76
parameters, the impedance graphs have some errors between
LJ 1.22 1.23 1.22 2.01
the PiezoCAD modeled or measured data and the modified
CJ 38 37.95 38.1 22.94
BVD model.
L2 ------ 2.49 ------ 2.9
'
CJCo 76.7 76.5 78.5 76.8
Ra IIR2 IIRL ------ 0.02 ------ 0.2
, , , , In Table III, these relative data variations of the electrical
¥ The UOlt of RJ +R,I RJ and Ra IIR2 IIRL are n. that of CJ and CJCo are pF
impedances of the modified BVD model usually do not
and that of LJ and L2 are IlH.
** The conventional and modified BVD on the PiezoCAD section were exceed too much errors of the PiezoCAD modeled or
constructed based on the PiezoCAD modeled data. measured data. Therefore, these data can confirm the
*** The conventional and modified BVD on the measurement section were modified BVD model is more precise than the conventional
also constructed based on the measurement data.
BVD model.

Fig. 4 shows that the impedance data were displayed via

LT-SPICE program. The magnitudes and phases of the models
were compared with the PiezoCAD modeled and measured
data. To be easily recognized, the magnitude and phase lines
were plotted in the top and bottom part of the graph, repectively.

578 2012 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium Proceedings

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
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579 2012 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium Proceedings