Integrated low power ultrasound sensor interfaces

Abstract: Imagine that the technical development can take the ultrasound measurement systems from the large piece of machinery today, to a coin size system tomorrow. The factor that has reduced the size of electronic systems over time is integration and integrated circuits. In this thesis circuit simulator models of complete ultrasound systems are used to design custom integrated circuits. These circuits are optimized for low power consumption and small size. The models that are used predict the acoustic behavior of an ultrasound system in a simulated measurement situation. This allows the design of integrated electronics to be customized to a specific measurement application, where performance can be validated, in one tool only. The work in this thesis is excitation and reception electronics for general ultrasound measurement equipment, as well as specific electronics aimed for the ultrasound energy measurement situation. These electronic circuits show that size and power consumption of ultrasound measurement systems can be reduced significantly with the use of integration.