Symmetric receiver switch for ultrasound devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11921240-B2
Application number	US-202017025927-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 18, 2020
Priority date	Sep 19, 2019
Publication date	Mar 5, 2024
Grant date	Mar 5, 2024

Abstract

Circuitry for an ultrasound device is described. The ultrasound device may include a symmetric switch positioned between a pulser and an ultrasound transducer. The pulser may produce bipolar pulses. The symmetric switch may selectively isolate a receiver from the pulser and the ultrasound transducer during a transmit mode of the device, when the bipolar pulses are provided by the pulser to the ultrasound transducer for transmission, and may selectively permit the receiver to receive signals from the ultrasound transducer during a receive mode. The symmetric switch may be provided with a well switch to remove well capacitances in a signal path of the device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising
an array of symmetric receiver switches coupled between a receiving apparatus and an array of ultrasonic transducers,
wherein:
a first symmetric receiver switch of the array of symmetric receiver switches is comprised of
a first transistor having a first gate, a first source, a first body, and a first drain, and
a second transistor having a second gate, a second source, a second body, and a second drain,
with the first and second gates coupled to each other, and
with the first and second sources coupled to each other to a drain of a source transistor, and
with the first and second bodies coupled to each other and to a drain of a body transistor,
with an electric potential of the first and second sources and an electric potential of the first and second bodies independently configurable by the body and source transistors,

the first drain is connected to a first ultrasonic transducer of the array of ultrasonic transducers,
the second drain is connected to the receiving apparatus,
during a pulse transmission (TX) mode of the apparatus, the body transistor and the source transistor are on to set the first and second gates, the first and second sources, and the first and second bodies at a same electric potential, and,
during a reception (RX) mode of the apparatus, at least the body transistor is configured such that:
the first and second gates are at a first floating electric potential, or
the first and second bodies are at the first floating electric potential, or
the first and second gates and the first and second bodies are at the first floating electric potential.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein, during the pulse TX mode, the first and second bodies are at the same electric potential as the first and second sources.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein, during the RX mode, the first and second bodies are at a second floating electric potential.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein:
the first drain is coupled to an input terminal of the first symmetric receiver switch,
the second drain is coupled to an output terminal of the first symmetric receiver switch, and,
during the pulse TX mode, the second drain is at a fixed potential.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 ,
wherein:
the first transistor is an nMOS transistor,
the second transistor is an nMOS transistor, and,
during the pulse TX mode, the second drain is at an electric potential higher than the first floating electric potential.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 ,
wherein:
the first transistor is a pMOS transistor,
the second transistor is a pMOS transistor, and,
during the pulse TX mode, the second drain is at an electric potential lower than the first floating electric potential.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein:
the first drain is coupled to an input terminal of the first symmetric receiver switch,
the second drain is coupled to an output terminal of the first symmetric receiver switch, and,
during the pulse TX mode, the second drain is at ground potential.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 ,
wherein, during the pulse TX mode:
the first and second transistors are off, and
the same electric potential of the first and second gates and the first and second sources is a negative electric potential.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 ,
wherein, during the pulse TX mode, the first and second bodies are at the negative electric potential of the first and second gates and the first and second sources.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 ,
wherein the negative electric potential is in a range of:
−1 V to −100 V, or
−5 V to −20 V, or
−10 V to −50 V, or
−15 V to −75 V.

11. The apparatus of claim 6 ,
wherein, during the pulse TX mode:
the first and second transistors are off, and
the same electric potential of the first and second gates and the first and second sources is a positive electric potential.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 ,
wherein, during the pulse TX mode, the first and second bodies are at the positive electric potential of the first and second gates and the first and second sources.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 ,
wherein the positive electric potential is in a range of:
1 V to 100 V, or
5 V to 20 V, or
10 V to 50 V, or
15 V to 75 V.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein, during the RX mode, the first and second transistors are on.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 ,
wherein:
the first and second transistors are nMOS transistors, and,
during the RX mode, the first floating electric potential of the first and second gates is a positive electric potential.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 ,
wherein the first and second gates are selectively connected to and disconnected from a positive voltage source to set the first floating electric potential.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 ,
wherein the positive electric potential is in a range of:
1 V to 100 V, or
5 V to 20 V, or
10 V to 50 V, or
15 V to 75 V.

18. The apparatus of claim 14 ,
wherein:
the first and second transistors are pMOS transistors, and,
during the RX mode, the first floating electric potential of the first and second gates is a negative electric potential.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 ,
wherein the first and second gates are selectively connected to and disconnected from a negative voltage source to set the first floating electric potential.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 ,
wherein the negative electric potential is in a range of:
−1 V to −100 V, or
−5 V to −20 V, or
−10 V to −50 V, or
−15 V to −75 V.

Assignees

• Bfly Operations Inc

Inventors

• Chen Kailiang
• McMahill Daniel Rea
• Lutsky Joseph
• Fife Keith G
• Sanchez Nevada J

Classifications

• G01S7/52025 Primary

  for pulse systems (G01S7/52034 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01S7/52017

  particularly adapted to short-range imaging (G01S7/53 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01S7/5202

  for pulse systems · CPC title

• G01S7/52022

  using a sequence of pulses, at least one pulse manipulating the transmissivity or reflexivity of the medium · CPC title

• G01S7/52085

  Details related to the ultrasound signal acquisition, e.g. scan sequences (control of medical diagnostic ultrasound devices A61B8/54) · CPC title