Multi-Ring Ultrasonic Transducer on a Single Piezoelectric Disk For Powering Biomedical Implants

This paper presents a novel ultrasonic transmitter with the ability of focusing ultrasonic waves for maximum power transmission at different depths for brain neurostimulator implants. The most important advantages of the proposed multi-ring ultrasonic transducer (MRUT) is its simplicity and no requirement of any lens or air cavity for focusing the ultrasonic waves. Furthermore, adjusting the focal point compared to the conventional transducers is significantly easier, especially as the location of implants may vary due to, for example, head movement or the need of using these implants at different depths. By the use of multiple rings on a single piezoelectric disk in our transducer, not only more focused ultrasound beams can be achieved, but also the side lobes can be diminished by exciting each rings with different electrical signal. The proposed transmitter is envisioned to be used for optogenetic stimulation of neurons in freely-moving animals.