Digirad Corporation

Volcano Corporation

John F Sheridan

Shulai Zhao

Lars S Carlson

Alan Mollet

Blair D Walker

Stephen Charles Davies

Donald S Mamayek

Norman Hugh Hossack

An ultrasound catheter is described herein for insertion into a cavity such as a blood vessel to facilitate imaging within a vasculature. The catheter comprises an elongate flexible shaft, a capacitive microfabricated ultrasonic transducer, and a sonic reflector. The elongate flexible shaft has a proximate end and a distal end. A capacitive microfabricated ultrasonic transducer (cMUT) is mounted to the shaft near the distal end. The reflector is positioned such that a reflective surface redirects ultrasonic waves to and from the transducer. In other embodiments, the catheter comprises a plurality of cMUT elements and operates without the use of reflectors. In further embodiments, integrated circuitry is incorporated into the design.

Intravascular ultrasound probes with wave-emitting device and reflector

Capacitative microfabricated ultrasound transducer-based intravascular ultrasound probes

Capacitive microfabricated ultrasound transducer-based intravascular ultrasound probes

Ultra-low leakage current backside-illuminated semiconductor photodiode arrays are fabricated using a method of formation of a transparent, conducting bias electrode layer that avoids high-temperature processing of the substrate after the wafer has been gettered. As a consequence, the component of the reverse-bias leakage current associated with strain, crystallographic defects or impurities introduced during elevated temperature processing subsequent to gettering can be kept extremely low. An optically transparent, conductive bias electrode layer, serving as both an optical window and an ohmic backside equipotential contact surface for the photodiodes, is fabricated by etching through the polysilicon gettering layer and a portion of the thickness of heavily-doped crystalline silicon layer formed within, and near the back of, the substrate during the gettering process.

Fabrication of low leakage-current backside illuminated photodiodes

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

John F Sheridan