Technical Report

Development of 4G CMUT
(CMUT Linear SML44 probe)
Tsuyoshi Otake1) Hiroki Tanaka2)
Akifumi Sako1) Makoto Fukada1)
Kengo Imagawa1) Masahiro Sato1)

1)
Engineering R&D Division 1, Diagnostic R&D Division, Hitachi, Ltd. Healthcare Business Unit
2)
Center for Technology Innovation, R&D Group, Hitachi, Ltd.

In 2009, Hitachi commercialized “Mappie*1, the world’s first Capacitive Micro-machined Ultrasound Transducer (CMUT)
using semiconductor based technology. It generated high quality diagnostic images of mammary glands, thanks to its broad-
band characteristics 1). This year, the 4th generation CMUT (4G CMUT) “SML44” has been brought to the market, achieved
using advanced design and precise control of the fabrication process. When combined with new imaging technologies avail-
able with the ARIETTA*2 850, the SML44, in addition to excellent image quality, offers commonly used modalities and func-
tions such as Tissue Harmonic Imaging (THI), Color Flow Mapping (CFM), Real-time Tissue Elastography*3 (RTE), and
Real-time Virtual Sonography*4 (RVS). This report introduces the latest technology adopted in the 4G CMUT design.

Key Words: 4G CMUT, MEMS, High-power Cell, True Pulse Shaping

1. Introduction causing vibrations which change the accumulated electric

In diagnostic ultrasound equipment, the role of the trans-
ducer is to convert energy from an electrical to an ultrasonic
signal and vice versa. It is thus a significant component
influencing the per formance of the system. Probe tech-
nologies have improved considerably in recent years, and
probes used in clinical practice offer high performance and
functionality, contributing greatly to improved diagnostic ef-
ficiency. Hitachi has developed a new probe with ultra-wide
frequency bandwidth by harnessing CMUT technology. The
CMUT is an important component of the probe serving as
its engine.
CMUT is a Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS)
charge which can be detected as an electrical signal.
In 2009, Hitachi became the world’s first company to put
probes employing CMUT technology into practical use,
and has continued with research and development of the
CMUT since that time. This experience has culminated in
the launch of a diagnostic ultrasound system presenting evo-
lutionary CMUT and other cutting edge technologies that
bring a new level of image resolution. This report introduces
these new technologies.
Silicon wafer
CMUT
transducer ( made
ductor technology )
using semicon

based transducer, a micro mechanical device made using CMUT chip CMUT cell

semiconductor technology (Figure 1). CMUT is fabricated

by modelling countless micro sensors (CMUT cells) onto a
silicon substrate. The structure of each CMUT cell consists
of an electrode at the top and bottom, enclosing a sealed Vibrating membrane Cross section of
(insulating material) CMUT cell
vacuum inside an insulating material. By applying voltage to High
voltage
the upper and lower electrodes, electric charge accumulates.
For transmission of the ultrasonic wave, a voltage is applied
Probe Vacuum cavity (Height ~ nm*)
between the electrodes, and an electrostatic force is generat- *nm=1/10 9 m

ed between them causing the membrane above the vacuum

space to vibrate, thereby radiating ultrasonic waves. During
reception, the membrane is displaced by the reflected echo Figure 1: Structure of CMUT

−　
1− 〈MEDIX VOL.67〉XX-E243
2. Acoustic Characteristics also supported. The following section introduces some ex-
Figure 2 shows the difference in acoustic characteristics amples of the technologies adopted.
between the conventional piezoelectric ceramic transducer
and that applying CMUT technology. In order to conduct
ultrasonic waves to soft biological tissue from the hard piezo-
electric ceramic transducer, there is a need to add a material
of intermediate hardness between them, called the acoustic
matching layer. This acoustic matching layer is designed
to allow resonance with an optimal thickness matched to
the ultrasonic wavelength. If there is a deviation from the
appropriate frequency bandwidth, the ultrasonic propagation
efficiency will drop rapidly. As a result, the frequency band-
width for piezoelectric ceramics is restricted, and out-of-
band frequency components reverberate inside the acoustic
CMUT linear SML44 probe
matching layer. This results in pulse waveform tailing, and
the frequency characteristic becomes relatively irregular in
shape.
By comparison, the CMUT vibrating membrane is thin
and light, with acoustic characteristics that resemble those Figure 3: 4G CMUT (Left) and ARIETTA 850 (Right)
of biological tissues. Thanks to this feature, the CMUT can
transmit an ideal ultra-short pulse waveform without tailing 3.1 THI Technology for 4G CMUT
with a smooth ultra-wide frequency bandwidth character- With the THI method, ultrasonic waves are transmitted
istic, realizing excellent resolution and favorable penetra- into the body at comparatively high amplitude, whilst only
tion. In particular, the smooth bandwidth characteristics of weak harmonic signals are extracted from the body. THI is
CMUT are maintained with depth despite the effects of the one of the core modalities for generating high quality imag-
attenuation of the ultrasonic waves which becomes greater ing for ultrasound diagnosis. For applying THI to CMUT, 4G
with higher frequencies. Thus, it has the advantage of main- CMUT adopts two new techniques, namely High-power Cell
taining excellent imaging properties at depth2). and True Pulse Shaping (Figure 4).
High-power Cell technology optimizes the CMUT cell
structure through meticulous cell design and process con-
Piezoelectric ceramic Waveform trol. Applying sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing
Soft technology, the width of the vacuum gap is controlled with
Human body (≈1.5MRayl)
Acoustic
Time high precision to ensure optimum balance between trans-
Acoustic
lens matching
layers Bandwidth mission and reception. Furthermore, a fine nano-structured
Piezoelectric ceramic
spacer is provided on the vibrating membrane to ensure
Hard (≈30MRayl)
Frequency operational stability during contact of the membranes. This
CMUT Waveform technology allows both the high sensitivity and high ampli-
Human body
tude drive pulse required for THI 3) 4).
True Pulse Shaping is a technology allowing ideal pulse
Time

Since the CMUT vibrating membrane is thin

and light, with an acoustic impedance similar
Bandwidth
waveform transmission even from the CMUT which re-
sponds with complicated movements with respect to the in-
to that of the body, an acoustic matching
layer is not required and an ultra-short pulse
with ultra-wide bandwidth can be obtained.
put electrical waveform. In the case of THI, if the distortion
Frequency

of the ultrasonic wave signal generated from the probe is

mixed into the received signal, separation from the harmon-
Figure 2: Difference in acoustic characteristics between
conventional probe and that applying CMUT ic signals generated in the body becomes difficult, resulting
technology in image noise. Using a unique algorithm, the True Pulse
Shaping function predicts the special response characteris-
tics of CMUT from the input electrical signals with high pre-
3. Leading-edge technologies employed for 4G cision, and cancels out the distortion generated by CMUT in
CMUT signal transmission.
The recently commercialized 4G CMUT is the culmina- These sophisticated technologies realized for the first
tion of continuing advancements in Hitachi’s unique CMUT time by fine control of the CMUT cell structure are indis-
technology. 4G CMUT is compatible with the latest premium pensable for applying CMUT to THI.
class diagnostic ultrasound systems that attain high reso-
lution and can maximize the performance of the ultra-wide
bandwidth properties of CMUT (Figure 3). Imaging modes
such as Tissue Harmonic Imaging (THI) which is difficult
to apply to conventional CMUT, and Color Flow Mapping
(CFM) allowing application to many diagnostic areas, are

−　
2− 〈MEDIX VOL.67〉XX-E243
 High precision control of Wide amplitude of Nano-structure spacer
vacuum cavity vibrating membrane
Wire targets

2cm

CMUT cell cross-section

High-power Cell
4cm
Transmission signal Transmission signal
(electric) (ultrasonic wave)

Time Time
Optimal input waveform CMUT Ideal transmission
( positive and negative com
ponents are asymmetrical ) pulse waveform
( positive and negative com
ponents are symmetrical )

True Pulse Shaping

4cm

Figure 4: THI Technology adopted for 4G CMUT

3.2 Matrix array

The ultrasonic beam from a conventional probe has a
fixed focus in the elevation (short axis) direction determined
by the acoustic lens, and it is inevitable that the resolution
8cm
will be poorer at all points away from the focal region. In con-
trast, the CMUT chip adopted for 4G CMUT consists of tens
of thousands of CMUT cells in a matrix shape (grid pattern) Figure 6: Examples of phantom images
(Left: Conventional probe, Right: 4G CMUT)
and their operation can be controlled with a high degree of
freedom. This enables tuning of the ultrasonic beam in the
elevational plane to create multiple focal zones to optimize
beam width with depth in the diagnostic image, thereby
improving spatial resolution (Figure 5). With ARIETTA 850,
the short axis beam shape is automatically controlled, to ob-
tain high resolution imaging at all depths.

CMUT cell

（a） （b）
ct ax nal
n )
di ho atio
io is
(s lev
re rt
E

Long axis direction

Shallow （c） （d）

Middle
Deep

Figure 5: Matrix array adopted in 4G CMUT

4. Examples of Images
Figures 6 and 7 are examples of images taken by the
ARIETTA 850 diagnostic ultrasound system applying 4G
（e） （f）
CMUT. In the phantom image in Figure 6, 4G CMUT has a
finer speckle pattern compared to the conventional probe, Figure 7: 4G CMUT clinical images
and produces images with very good wire target distance (a) Superficial tissue (shoulder),
and high azimuth resolution. Figure 7 shows several clinical (b) Mammary gland (Elastogram), (c) Carotid artery
images. High resolution and excellent penetration is demon- (d) Lower limb vein, (e) (f) Abdominal images
(Arrows denote 10 mm of depth)
strated from near field diagnostic areas, such as superficial
−　
3− 〈MEDIX VOL.67〉XX-E243
tissues and mammary glands, to areas at greater depth such
as in the abdomen.
e Focusing, a new development for ARIETTA 850, enhanc-
es both the azimuth and contrast resolution throughout the
whole field of view. Together with the synergistic effects of
the CMUT matrix and ultra-wide bandwidth characteristics,
the resolution is enhanced in three-dimensions. This con-
tributes further to spatial resolution optimization, realizing
a new level of image quality. In contrast to the conventional
use of multiple probes to cover the range of clinical applica-
tions, 4G CMUT offers a “one probe solution”, a linear probe
that can be employed across a wide range of ultrasound
applications and paves the way for new areas of ultrasound
diagnosis.
5. Conclusion
The 4G CMUT probe which applies evolutionary CMUT
technology suppor ts multiple modalities to realize high
quality imaging for ultrasound diagnosis combined with
the advanced functionality delivered by the new ultrasound
system. As a result, 4G CMUT is able to provide the exam-
iner with more precise information, whilst at the same time,
offering a “one probe solution” for multiple clinical areas.
Whatever the clinical application, this ultra-wide bandwidth
probe is expected to bring numerous advantages such as im-
proved objectivity, reduced physical stress on the examiner,
enhanced exam efficiency, and more.
The CMUT technology will continue to evolve and its use
extended to other types of probes, contributing to further
medical technological innovation.
Thyroid Carotid
Abdomen Breast
Vein/Artery
Superficial/Orthopedics
4G CMUT
Figure 8: “One probe solution” “4G CMUT”
−　
4−
6. Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank all those involved for
their support in putting 4G CMUT into clinical practice, in-
cluding Daisuke Ryuzaki, the leader and principal research-
er, Shuntaro Machida, principal researcher, Taiichi Takeza-
ki, principal researcher, Hiroaki Hasegawa, researcher, and
Yasuhiro Yoshimura, principal researcher, from the Hitachi
R&D Group’s.
*1 Mappie, *2 ARIETTA, *3 Real-time Tissue Elastography,
and *4 Real-time Virtual Sonography are registered trade-
marks or trademarks of Hitachi, Ltd. in Japan and other
countries.
References
1) Akifumi Sako, et al.: “Development of Ultrasonic Trans-
ducer “Mappie” with cMUT technology”, MEDIX 51, 31-
34, 2009.
2) Kunio Hashiba: “Medical ultrasound transducers using
micro-electro-mechanical systems technology”, Acoustical
Science and Technology No. 71-5, 239-246, 2015.
3) S. Machida, et al.: “Highly reliable CMUT cell structure
with reduced dielectric charging effect”, in Proc. IEEE
Ultrasonics Symp., 2015.
4) H. Tanaka, et al.: “Acoustic characteristics of CMUT with
rectangular membranes caused by higher order modes”,
in Proc. IEEE Ultrasonics Symp., 2009.
〈MEDIX VOL.67〉XX-E243