Active temperature control of piezoelectric membrane-based micro-electromechanical devices
View Patent ↗In a representative embodiment, an apparatus, comprises a substrate; a microelectronic ultrasonic transducer (MUT) disposed over the substrate; and a thermoelectric device disposed proximate to the MUT and configured to provide heat to or remove heat from the MUT. A microelectromechanical MEMs device is also described.
1. An apparatus, comprising:
a substrate;
a microelectronic ultrasonic transducer (MUT) disposed over the substrate; and
a thermoelectric device proximate to the MUT and configured to provide heat to, and remove heat from the MUT.
2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the MUT is a piezoelectric MUT (pMUT).
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the pMUT comprises a membrane comprising a lower electrode, a piezoelectric element and an upper electrode.
4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the MUT is a capacitive MUT (cMUT).
5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the thermoelectric device is a Peltier effect device.
6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the thermoelectric device is a Thompson effect device.
7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the thermoelectric device is disposed over the substrate and between the substrate and the MUT.
8. A microelectromechanical (MEMs) device, comprising:
a microelectronic ultrasonic transducer (MUT); and
a thermoelectric device disposed proximate to the MUT and configured to provide heat to, and remove heat from the MUT.
9. A MEMs device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the MUT is a piezoelectric MUT (pMUT).
10. A MEMs device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the MUT is a capacitive MUT (cMUT).
11. A MEMs device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the thermoelectric device is a Peltier effect device.
12. A MEMs device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the thermoelectric device is a Thompson effect device.
13. A MEMs device as claimed 8 , further comprising a substrate, and the thermoelectric device is disposed over the substrate and between the substrate and the MUT.
14. A MEMs device, comprising:
an apparatus, comprising: a microelectronic ultrasonic transducer (MUT); and
a thermoelectric device disposed proximate to the MUT and configured to provide heat to, and remove heat from the MUT; and
a control unit configured to set and adjust an operating point of the thermoelectric device.
15. A MEMs device as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the control unit comprises a feedback input configured to provide data from the MUT.
16. A MEMs device as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the feedback input comprises one or more of a temperature and an operating frequency.
17. A MEMs device as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the thermoelectric device is a Peltier effect device.
18. A MEMs device as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the thermoelectric device is a Thompson effect device.