Characterization and optimization design of the polymer-based capacitive micro-arrayed ultrasonic transducer

This study constructs an electromechanical finite element model of the polymer-based capacitive micro-arrayed ultrasonic transducer (P-CMUT). The electrostatic-structural coupled-field simulations are performed to investigate the operational characteristics, such as collapse voltage and resonant frequency. The numerical results are found to be in good agreement with experimental observations. The study of influence of each defined parameter on the collapse voltage and resonant frequency are also presented. To solve some conflict problems in diversely physical fields, an integrated design method is developed to optimize the geometric parameters of the P-CMUT. The optimization search routine conducted using the genetic algorithm (GA) is connected with the commercial FEM software ANSYS to obtain the best design variable using multi-objective functions. The results show that the optimal parameter values satisfy the conflicting objectives, namely to minimize the collapse voltage while simultaneously maintaining a customized frequency. Overall, the present result indicates that the combined FEM/GA optimization scheme provides an efficient and versatile approach of optimization design of the PCMUT.