[2025] An arbitrary-wave transmitter for ultrasound transducer arrays

Ultrasound imaging is based on pulse-echo measurements: the transmission of an acoustic pulse followed by the reception of the resulting echoes. The transmitted signal is often a pulse or a short burst of pulses. The ability to transmit signals with arbitrary waveforms would enable various techniques to improve image quality. This includes coded transmission to improve SNR or increase imaging framerate.

Assignment

The goal of this project is to investigate a solution to be able to generate arbitrary waveforms on the elements of an ultrasound transducer array using pulse-density modulated signals. Ideally, we would like to be able to independently define the waveforms of all elements of the array, but this is challenging because of the associated data rates. We will investigate the trade-offs, and design, simulate and measure a prototype.

The project includes making a design based on an FPGA and commercial components in order to evaluate the ideas experimentally.

Requirements

MSc students from Microelectronics. Recommended courses: Analog Circuit Design Fundamentals, Analog CMOS Design 1, Digital IC Design, Power Conversion

Interested students should send their CV, the list of courses attended, and a motivation letter.

Contact

Last modified: 2025-02-07