What is ultrasound transducer?

Answer 1

In general, a transducer is a device for changing one form of energy into another. There are lots of things that qualify as transducers under that definition. Just to cite a few examples, a microphone converts the mechanical energy of sound into electrical energy. A speaker does the opposite. An acoustic hydrophone converts the mechanical energy of sound in water or another fluid into electrical energy. In an example of how a transducer works, in ultrasound investigating technology, an electrical signal is used to create mechanical energy in the transducer, thus creating an outgoing pulse. Then the returning mechanical energy, the echo, is converted into electrical energy by the same transducer. The electrical signal is then used in imaging what the transducer is "looking at" by creating a picture of some sort which will then be evaluated. In another way, it could be said that a transducer is a device for sensing and relaying a signal, but keep in mind the idea of a change of "form" of the energy. That's what a transducer does is make the change. A transducer might be used to detect level, pressure, temperature, flow, displacement, accelaration, velocity, etc., from the sensing location so it can be sent to another place (like a control room). It consists of different parts like sensing element (the sensor), signal conditioning unit (filtering, amplification, etc.) and in some cases protocol interface (in order to convert the measured value into a digital frame for example). The latter transducer falls into Smart Transducer category. Links to relevant posts can be found below.

Answer 2

Simply put, an ultrasound transducer is the component that generates the ultrasonic signal used in ultrasonic imaging equipments. It also picks up the return signal. A crystal can be made to change shape by electrical stimulation. (It's called piezoelectric effect.) And changing the shape of a crystal can cause it to generate an electrical signal. (Again, piezoelectric effect.) Call it a bi-direction process. Send an electrical signal to a transducer and it will convert the electrical energy (signal) into mechanical energy (sound). Because the process works in reverse, the transducer sends out a signal in response to a very short period of stimulation, and then listens for the return echo before sending out another burst. The electronics package behind the scenes both generates the signal and processes the return echo to provide the image we see. We are probably familiar with the naval use of sonar and the sonic "ping" from our television or cinema experiences. The ping can be heard, and then a couple of seconds go by and another ping is heard. (The sonar equipment is listening for the returning echos between pings.) Ultrasound works the same way, only much, much faster. (Human hearing is about 20 cycles per second (cps or Hertz) to 20,000 cps. Medical ultrasonic diagnostic transducers work at well in excess of 1,000,000 cps. Neither your dog nor any bats in the neighborhood can hear that.

Answer 3

Transducer is commonly implies the use of a sensor or detector. This is used world wide. The purpose for the use of transducer is sensor and detector. This is a device that converts energy.