Digital phased array beamforming using single-bit delta-sigma conversion with non-uniform oversampling

Digital beamforming based on oversampled delta-sigma (ΔΣ) analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion can reduce the overall cost, size, and power consumption of phased array front-end processing. The signal resampling involved in dynamic ΔΣ beamforming, however, disrupts synchronization between the modulators and demodulator, causing significant degradation in the signal-to-noise ratio. As a solution to this, we have explored a new digital beamforming approach based on non-uniform oversampling ΔΣ A/D conversion. Using this approach, the echo signals received by the transducer array are sampled at time instants determined by the beamforming timing and then digitized by single-bit ΔΣ A/D conversion prior to the coherent beam summation. The timing information involves a nonuniform sampling scheme employing different clocks at each array channel. The ΔΣ coded beamsums obtained by adding the delayed 1-bit coded RF echo signals are then processed through a decimation filter to produce final beamforming outputs. The performance and validity of the proposed beamforming approach are assessed by means of emulations using experimental raw RF data     

一种用于相控阵B超成像的数字波束合成器的设计

本文介绍了一种能沿任意波束指向全程动态聚焦的数字波束合成器的设计，此合成器用于相控阵Ｂ超成像系统。回声信号的延时量分解为“指向延时”和“聚焦延时”两部分，分别用产生相控发射激励的时序逻辑电路和一个“动态聚焦延时量表”实现。通过对Ａ／Ｄ采样时钟的控制及对Ａ／Ｄ采样时钟、地址计数时钟和存储器写时钟的时序配合，实现了同相位数据点采样及无冗余数据的缓冲存储器。所设计的数字相控波束合成器只用廉价的高速数字电路即可实现，成本极低。实验结果验证了该方案的可行性。     

数字聚焦超声反射CT成像初步研究

对于单元发，阵接收的模型，采用反射回波的包络作为投影，按滤波后投影算法（ＦＢＰ法）进行重建，得到物体内某一截面的重建像，然后调整接收阵的位置，获取多层截面的投影并重建成像，运用体绘制法（ＶｏｌｕｍｅＲｅｎｄｅｒｉｎｇＩｍａｇｉｎｇ）绘制了三维像，图像效果不好，分辨率不高，针对这一问题，文中应用了电子延迟方法处理接收信号，即对接收阵各阵元接收到的回波号依照散射点相对接收中阵的空间位置关系进行一定时间     

A study of synthetic-aperture imaging with virtual source elements in B-mode ultrasound imaging systems

We propose an all point transmit and receive focusing method based on transmit synthetic focusing combined with receive dynamic focusing in a linear array transducer. In the method, on transmit, a virtual source element is assumed to be located at the transmit focal depth of conventional B-mode imaging systems, and transmit synthetic focusing is used in two half planes, one before and the other after the transmit focal depth, using the RF data of each scanline, together with all other relevant RF scanline data previously stored. The proposed new method uses the same data acquisition scheme as the conventional focusing method while maintaining the same frame rate via high-speed signal processing, but it is not suitable for imaging moving objects. It improves upon the lateral resolution and sidelobe level at all imaging depths. Also, it increases the transmit power and image signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), due to transmit field synthesis, and extends the image penetration depth as well. Evaluations with simulation and experimental data show much improvement in resolution and SNR at all imaging depths.     

Time of flight diffraction imaging for double-probe technique

Due to rapid progress in microelectronics and computer technologies, the system evolving from analog to digital, and a programmable and flexible synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) for the single-probe pulse-echo imaging technique of ultrasonic nondestructive testing (NDT) becomes feasible. The double-probe reflection technique usually is used to detect the nonhorizontal flaws in the ultrasonic NDT. Because there is an offset between the transmitter and receiver, the position and size of the flaw cannot be directly read from the image. Therefore, a digital signal processing (DSP) imaging method is proposed to process the ultrasonic image obtained by double-probe reflection technique. In the imaging, the signal is redistributed on an ellipsoid with the transmitter and receiver positions as focuses, and the traveltime sum for the echo from the ellipsoid to the focuses as the traveltime of signal. After redistributing all the signals, the useful signals can be constructively added in some point in which the reflected point is; otherwise, the signals will be destructively added. Therefore, the image resolution of the flaw can be improved and the position and size of the flaw can be estimated directly from the processed image. Based on the experimental results, the steep flaw (45°) cannot be detected by the pulse echo technique but can be detected by the double-probe method, and the double-probe B-scan image of 30° tilted crack is clearer than the pulse echo B-scan image     

聚焦波束形成声图法误差分析

聚集波束形成声图测量方法可以实现近场目标的被动定位．利用该方法接收数据或进行数据处理的过程中必定会有各种误差产生,本文从聚焦峰尺度、阵元偏差、波长等方面对聚焦波束形成声图测量方法的影响进行了分析,经仿真研究与实验数据分析可以得出聚焦波束形成声图法受距离与波长的影响较大,但对于阵元的位置要求不高,利用该方法可以实现近程目标的高精度定位。     

Real-time 3-D ultrasound imaging using sparse synthetic aperture beamforming

A method for real-time three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound imaging using a mechanically scanned linear phased array is proposed. The high frame rate necessary for real-time volumetric imaging is achieved using a sparse synthetic aperture beamforming technique utilizing only a few transmit pulses for each image. Grating lobes in the two-way radiation pattern are avoided by adjusting the transmit element spacing and the receive aperture functions to account for the missing transmit elements. The signal loss associated with fewer transmit pulses is minimized by increasing the power delivered to each transmit element and by using multiple transmit elements for each transmit pulse. By mechanically rocking the array, in a way similar to what is done with an annular array, a 3-D set of images can be collected in the time normally required for a single image.     

利用FPGA实现红外焦平面阵列实时非均匀性校正

实时非均匀性校正是红外成像的一项关键技术。根据红外焦平面阵列探测元光谱响应的特点和基于参照源的两点温标非均匀性校正理论，提出一种利用FPGA硬件实现红外焦平面阵列实时非均匀性两点校正的新方法。该方法动态范围大、处理速度快，适用于红外成像系统实时图像处理场合。仿真和实验结果证明是可行的。     

Phase-error-free quadrature sampling technique in the ultrasonic B-scan imaging system and its application to the synthetic focusing system

The quadrature sampling technique as a means of detecting the envelope of RF waveform in the baseband is well known. If this technique is applied to a focused ultrasound imaging system using an array transducer, whether it is a synthetic or nonsynthetic focusing system, unwanted phase terms appear in the expressions of the inphase and quadrature components of the baseband signal when an appropriate delay time is introduced to each channel signal for the purpose of focusing. The expressions of the inphase and quadrature components from the point of focusing are derived and analyzed in detail, and a scheme to eliminate the unwanted phase terms is proposed. The resulting phase-error-free quadrature sampling technique is applied to the synthetic focusing system; a system block diagram together with the simulation and experimental results are presented.     

Synthetic elevation beamforming and image acquisition capabilities using an 8 x 128 1.75D array

Ultrasound imaging can be improved with higher order arrays through elevation dynamic focusing in future, higher channel count systems. However, modifications to current system hardware could yield increased imaging depth-of-field with 1.75D arrays (arrays with individually addressable elements, several rows in elevation) through the use of synthetic elevation imaging. We describe synthetic elevation beamforming methods and its implementation with our 8 /spl times/ 128, 1.75D array (Tetrad Co., Englewood, CO). This array has been successfully interfaced with a Siemens Elegra scanner for summed RF and single channel RF data acquisition. Individual rows of the 8 /spl times/ 128 array can be controlled, allowing for different aperture configurations on transmit and receive beamforming. Advantages of using this array include finer elevation sampling, a larger array footprint for aberration measurements, and elevation focusing. We discuss system tradeoffs that occur in implementing synthetic receive and synthetic transmit/receive elevation focusing and show significant image quality improvements in simulation and phantom data results.     

Delta-sigma oversampled ultrasound beamformer with dynamic delays

The principles of oversampling are exploited in a simple beamforming architecture using a single bit delta-sigma (DeltaC) analog to digital converter (A/D) on every channel. The high sampling rate required for the single bit A/D provides adequate delay accuracy for high quality beamforming using elementary sample manipulations. Images produced with this beamformer exhibit significant artifacts directly related to dynamic focusing. However, a simple digital recording technique following delays permits dynamically focused beamforming without degrading image quality. The simplicity of this beamformer compared to conventional methods may facilitate very large channel count or low power beamformers suitable for 1.5-D arrays or portable scanners.     

Development of a high-frequency (> 50 mhz) copolymer annular-array, ultrasound transducer

The development of a high frequency (> 50 MHz) annular array ultrasonic transducer is presented. The array was constructed by bonding a 9 microm P(VDF-TrFE) film to a two-sided polyimide flexible circuit with annuli electrodes on the top layer. Each annulus was separated by a 30 microm kerf and had several electroplated microvias that connected to electrode traces on the bottom side of the flex circuit. In order to improve device sensitivity, each element was electrically matched to an impedance magnitude of 50 omega and 0 degrees phase at resonance using a serial inductor and high impedance coaxial cable. The array's performance was evaluated by measuring the electrical impedance, pulse echo response, and cross talk between elements. The average round trip insertion loss was -33.5 dB after compensating for diffractive and attenuative losses. The measured average center frequency and bandwidth for an element was 55 MHz and 47%, respectively. The measured cross talk between adjacent elements remained below -29 dB at the center frequency in water. A vertical wire phantom was imaged using a single focus transmit beamformer and dynamic focusing receive beamformer. This image showed a significant improvement in lateral resolution over a range of 9 mm after the dynamic focusing receive algorithm was applied. These results correlated well with predictions from a Field II simulation. After beamforming, the minimum lateral resolution achieved by the array (-6 dB) was 108 microm at the focus.     

Compact FPGA-based beamformer using oversampled 1-bit A/D converters

A compact medical ultrasound beamformer architecture that uses oversampled 1-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) converters is presented. Sparse sample processing is used, as the echo signal for the image lines is reconstructed in 512 equidistant focal points along the line through its in-phase and quadrature components. That information is sufficient for presenting a B-mode image and creating a color flow map. The high sampling rate provides the necessary delay resolution for the focusing. The low channel data width (1-bit) makes it possible to construct a compact beamformer logic. The signal reconstruction is done using finite impulse reponse (FIR) filters, applied on selected bit sequences of the delta-sigma modulator output stream. The approach allows for a multichannel beamformer to fit in a single field programmable gate array (FPGA) device. A 32-channel beamformer is estimated to occupy 50% of the available logic resources in a commercially available mid-range FPGA, and to be able to operate at 129 MHz. Simulation of the architecture at 140 MHz provides images with a dynamic range approaching 60 dB for an excitation frequency of 3 MHz.     

Design of a MEMS discretized hyperbolic paraboloid geometry ultrasonic sensor microarray

Design of a discretized hyperbolic paraboloid geometry beamforming array of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) has been presented. The array can intrinsically provide a broadband constant beamwidth beamforming capability without any microelectronic signal processing. A mathematical model has been developed and verified to characterize the array response. A design methodology has been presented that enables determination of the array's physical dimensions and CMUT modeling in a straightforward manner. Developed methodology has been used to design two discretized hyperbolic paraboloid geometry beamforming CMUT arrays: one in the 2.3 MHz to 5.2 MHz frequency range and another in the 113 kHz to 167 kHz frequency range. CMUTs have been designed using a cross-verification method that involves lumped element modeling, 3-D electromechanical finite element analysis (FEA), and microfabrication simulation. The developed array has the potential to be used in real-time automotive collision-avoidance applications, medical diagnostic imaging and therapeutic applications, and industrial sensing.     

Digital beamforming in ultrasound

The effects on array gain and sidelobe level of a practical digital beamforming (DBF) processor under the wideband conditions typical of ultrasound is discussed. It is concluded that a relatively simple design that replaces each analog delay line with a tapped, digital shift register (DSR) and a digital phase shift operation adjusted for midband will provide the desired performance, provided that the sampling rate of the signal at the input to the DSR is 4 to 10 times the bandwidth. More realistically, when nonidealized passbands are taken into account and the typical condition whereby the transducer frequency is about twice the bandwidth is considered, the rule of thumb for the sampling rate is that it must be 4 to 10 times the transducer frequency.     

Efficient transmit beamforming in pulse-echo ultrasonic imaging

A high performance ultrasound imaging system requires accurate control of the amplitude of the array elements, as well as of the time delays between them, both in the transmit and receive modes. In transmission, conventional array aperture windowing implies a different driving voltage for each element of the array, an expensive solution for systems with a large number of channels. In this paper, we present a simple, versatile, and inexpensive beamforming method that operates the aperture windowing in the transmit mode, simply controlling the lengths of the electric pulses driving the array elements. Computer simulations and experimental measurements are presented for different types of arrays. They confirm that the proposed beamforming technique improves the contrast resolution of the imaging system, reducing the off-axis intensity of the radiated field pattern. Moreover, the axial resolution is slightly enhanced, because the overall length of the transmitted ultrasonic pulse is reduced.     

Theoretical assessment of a synthetic aperture beamformer for real-time 3-D imaging

A real-time 3-D imaging system requires the development of a beamformer that can generate many beams simultaneously. In this paper, we discuss and evaluate a suitable synthetic aperture beamformer. The proposed beamformer is based on a pipelined network of high speed digital signal processors (DSP). By using simple interpolation-based beamforming, only a few calculations per pixel are required for each channel, and an entire 2-D synthetic aperture image can be formed in the time of one transmit event. The performance of this beamformer was explored using a computer simulation of the radiation pattern. The simulations were done for a full 64-element array and a sparse array with the same receive aperture but only five transmit elements. We assessed the effects of changing the sampling rate and amplitude quantization by comparing the relative levels of secondary lobes in the radiation patterns. The results show that the proposed beamformer produces a radiation pattern equivalent to a conventional beamformer using baseband demodulation, provided that the sampling rate is approximately 10 times the center frequency of the transducer (34% bandwidth pulse). The simulations also show that the sparse array is not significantly more sensitive to delay or amplitude quantization than the full array.     

Wideband multipath rejection for shallow water synthetic aperture sonar imaging

Synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) is an emerging technology for seafloor imaging, which has an appealing property of range- and frequency-independent spatial processing resolution. However, for a low-frequency SAS system operated in shallow water environments, there are often strong sea surface and bottom reflected multipath components that interfere with the desired echo signals. Based upon a small vertically displaced hydrophone array, several spatial processing algorithms have been proposed for multipath reduction. Most of these algorithms, however, are only applicable to narrowband signals, whereas wideband signals are usually used in low-to-medium-frequency SAS systems in order to achieve a high range resolution. This paper presents a steered robust Capon beamforming (SRCB) approach, and applies the approach, together with the data-independent delay-and-sum beamforming and the conventional wideband robust Capon beamforming, to wideband multipath rejection for shallow water SAS imaging. Numerical simulations of the proposed SAS processing have verified the performance improvements on output image quality over conventional processing in terms of both ghost target strength reduction and contrast enhancement.     

An approach to multibeam covariance matrices for adaptive beamforming in ultrasonography

Medical ultrasound imaging systems are often based on transmitting, and recording the backscatter from, a series of focused broadband beams with overlapping coverage areas. When applying adaptive beamforming, a separate array covariance matrix for each image sample is usually formed. The data used to estimate any one of these covariance matrices is often limited to the recorded backscatter from a single transmitted beam, or that of some adjacent beams through additional focusing at reception. We propose to form, for each radial distance, a single covariance matrix covering all of the beams. The covariance matrix is estimated by combining the array samples after a sequenced time delay and phase shift. The time delay is identical to that performed in conventional delay-and-sum beamforming. The performance of the proposed approach in conjunction with the Capon beamformer is studied on both simulated data of scenes consisting of point targets and recorded ultrasound phantom data from a specially adapted commercial scanner. The results show that the proposed approach is more capable of resolving point targets and gives better defined cyst-like structures in speckle images compared with the conventional delay-and-sum approach. Furthermore, it shows both an increased robustness to noise and an increased ability to resolve point-like targets compared with the more traditional per-beam Capon beamformer.     

Efficient dynamic focus control for three-dimensional imaging using two-dimensional arrays

An efficient dynamic focus control scheme for a delay-and-sum-based beamformer is proposed. The scheme simplifies dynamic focus control by exploiting the range-dependent characteristics of the focusing delay. Specifically, the overall delay is divided into a range-independent steering term and a range-dependent focusing term. Because the focusing term is inversely proportional to range, approximation can be made to simplify dynamic focus control significantly at the price of minimal degradation in focusing quality at shallow depths. In addition, the aperture growth controlled by a constant f//sub number/ can also be utilized to devise a nonuniform quantization scheme for the focusing delay values. Efficacy of the proposed scheme is demonstrated using simulated beam plots of a fully sampled, two-dimensional array. Design procedures are also described in detail. One design example shows that, with the proposed dynamic focus control scheme, a 4096-element array only requires 227 independent controllers for the range-dependent focusing term. Moreover, only 28 non-uniform quantization levels are required to achieve the same focusing quality as that of a conventional scheme with 784 uniform quantization levels. The beam plots of a fully sampled array show that sidelobes are slightly increased below the -30 dB level for imaging depths less than 3 cm. At greater depths, there is no observable degradation.