Evaluating the Influence of PMUT Mechanical Support Properties on Power Conversion Efficiency in Ultrasonically Powered Implants

Conference paper (2023)

Authors

Alessandro S. Savoia University of Roma Tre
Domenico Giustiniano STMicroelectronics
Carlo Prelini STMicroelectronics
M. Saccher Electronic Components, Technology and Materials - EEMCS
A. Rashidi Bio-Electronics - EEMCS
Alberto Leotti STMicroelectronics
Vasiliki Giagka Fraunhofer Izm, Bio-Electronics - EEMCS
Marco Ferrera STMicroelectronics
Research Group
Electronic Components, Technology and Materials (EEMCS) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2023 Alessandro S. Savoia, Domenico Giustiniano, Carlo Prelini, M. Saccher, A. Rashidi, Alberto Leotti, Vasiliki Giagka, Marco Ferrera
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/IUS51837.2023.10306762
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Published Date

2023

Language

English

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Faculty

Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Department

Microelectronics

Research Group

Electronic Components, Technology and Materials

Abstract

Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (MUTs) are being explored as power converters in wirelessly powered biomedical implants. This paper investigates the role of mechanical support properties in piezoelectric MUTs (PMUTs) on their power conversion efficiency. For this purpose, a finite element model (FEM) of a PMUT array was developed and integrated with an equivalent circuit model (ECM). The study considered different mechanical support scenarios, from rigidly clamped to completely free. These were numerically analyzed and validated by impedance measurements and acoustic power transfer experiments on PMUT prototypes. The results show that reducing the mass of the mechanical support increases the Q factor, leading to a significant improvement in power conversion efficiency, with an efficiency increase factor of 5.6x from the clamped to the free case. This approach can potentially enhance overall power conversion efficiency, reduce the need for matching networks, and enable miniaturization in ultrasonically powered implants.

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