Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Yasushi Koishihara

Koetsu Saito

Kiyoshi Fujii

Hirokazu Fukase

Junichi Takeda

An ultrasonic search unit includes a piezoelectric element for transmitting/receiving an ultrasonic wave, and an acoustic matching layer for transmitting the ultrasonic wave transmitted/received by the piezoelectric element to a subject to be measured, wherein the acoustic matching layer is formed of a cured layer obtained by irradiating a resin for optical forming with laser light. It also may be possible that the acoustic matching layer is formed of a plurality of stacked layers, and different fillers are mixed in the respective layers, whereby the acoustic impedance of the respective layers is changed. A liquid resin for optical forming is supplied to a tank, and is cured to a predetermined shape by irradiation with laser light. Accordingly, an ultrasonic search unit and a method for producing the same are provided, in which an acoustic matching layer with a required thickness is formed with good precision without being bonded, whereby a variation in thickness of adhesive layers, a variation in characteristics caused by air bubbles, and degradation are unlikely to occur.

Ultrasonic search unit and method for producing the same

Disclosed is an ultrasonic probe of high performance and high quality. The ultrasonic probe comprises a high molecular material having a conductive layer and is disposed between a piezoelectric element and an acoustic matching layer. The high molecular material has an acoustic impedance substantially equal to that of the acoustic matching layer. The ultrasonic probe thus configured can be formed into a slim shape which is easy to operate without degrading the performance thereof, such as sensitivity or frequency characteristics or the like. The ultrasonic probe is structured so as not to cause an electrical problem due to breakage of wire even if the piezoelectric element is cracked by a mechanical impact or the like, and thus a high quality ultrasonic probe can be provided, and noise can be reduced.

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Yokohama, Japan

Yasushi Koishihara