Academic literature on the topic '2D arrays'

Ultrasonic inspection can be consideredas one of many ways the technical system - installation or vehicle - can be made economical and safe. Contemporary ultrasonic systems are capable of detecting a wide variety of mechanical defects and flaws that may or may not affect the operation of a given product. Ultrasonic testing techniques are widely accepted for quality control and material testing. Moreover, the technology is proven, well-understood and widely used. Upon detecting a flaw, a decision has to be made to ensure the component is fit for the purpose: is the flaw acceptable or is repair of the given part or its replacement? Here, 2D ultrasonic phased arrays hold promise to quickly deliver detailed, 3D resolved information about the extent and nature of the flaw. This information can then be used to develop and justify the technical and economic decision concerning the existing state of the product. In effect, an opportunity exists for significant cost savings by using ultrasonic 2D phased array systems for defect characterisation. The interest of the work is to establish a process of designing and manufacturing of piezoelectric, 2D phased array ultrasound probes for application in non-destructive evaluation of materials. Furthermore, implementation of practical signal processing method is investigated. In the first part of the work the sensor mechanical and electrical design is addressed. The properties of piezoelectric ceramic composite materials are studied. Detailed numerical models have been used to analyse conditions required for crafting materials of desirable properties. A novel technique has been demonstrated that allows design of well-behaved triangular cut piezoelectric composite. Built into a single array element (of hexagonal shape by taking 6 triangular pillars) this new composite exhibits properties comparable to a reference rectangular composite (sensitivity of 0.60nm/V for hexagonal, 0.62nm/V for square; and inter-element crosstalk of -21.2dB for hexagonal and -21.9dB for square element). This composite then allows building of compact, dense-layout 2D phased array transducers with hexagonal or sparse element layout. The benefits of hexagonal element layout over classic, rectangular layout have been analysed theoretically and showed to be beneficial. Importantly, using hexagonal elements enables increasing the aperture of individual array elements by approximately 10% without the corresponding drop in acceptance angle. This in turn allows a commensurable rise in the sensitivity of the sensor or alternatively, reduction in array element count for a given overall array aperture by over 20% without the corresponding drop in the image quality measurements/levels. In the second part of the work, the problem of high output impedance of the miniature ultrasonic sensor is addressed by means of an in-probe miniature signal conditioning circuit. This improved the response amplitude of the element by 36dB and shortened its impulse response by a factor of 1.6. The novelty and practical benefit in this case lies in the fact that no high power components are needed in the probe body. In the third part of this work, an emerging General-Purpose Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) computer architecture is considered for the opportunities it offers to rethink the implementation of algorithms typically used in ultrasonic signal processing. Single-way beamforming, and two-way TFM and PCF beamforming have been developed for execution on the new platform, and show increase in performance of over 930 times compared to CPU processor. This software platform has been further enhanced by a new approach to solving the refracted ray Time of Flight problem in a way that is particularly well suited for this architecture. This resulted in a further increase of performance, i.e. 56x over the best published result found in the literature. The unprecedented performance and low cost of this new approach enables industrial deployment of advanced beamforming methods, as well as building of practical CAD tools for engineering and education.

L’imagerie échographique en trois dimensions (3D) est une modalité d’imagerie médicale en plein développement. En plus de ses nombreux avantages (faible cout, absence de rayonnement ionisant, portabilité) elle permet de représenter les structures anatomiques dansleur forme réelle qui est toujours 3D. Les sondes à balayage mécaniques, relativement lentes, tendent à être remplacées par des sondes bidimensionnelles ou matricielles qui sont unprolongement dans les deux directions, latérale et azimutale, de la sonde classique 1D. Cetagencement 2D permet un dépointage du faisceau ultrasonore et donc un balayage 3D del’espace. Habituellement, les éléments piézoélectriques d’une sonde 2D sont alignés sur unegrille et régulièrement espacés d’une distance (en anglais le « pitch ») soumise à la loi del’échantillonnage spatial (distance inter-élément inférieure à la demi-longueur d’onde) pour limiter l’impact des lobes de réseau. Cette contrainte physique conduit à une multitude d’éléments de petite taille. L’équivalent en 2D d’une sonde 1D de 128 éléments contient128x128=16 384 éléments. La connexion d’un nombre d’éléments aussi élevé constitue unvéritable défi technique puisque le nombre de canaux dans un échographe actuel n’excède querarement les 256. Les solutions proposées pour contrôler ce type de sonde mettent en oeuvredu multiplexage ou des techniques de réduction du nombre d’éléments, généralement baséessur une sélection aléatoire de ces éléments (« sparse array »). Ces méthodes souffrent dufaible rapport signal à bruit du à la perte d’énergie qui leur est inhérente. Pour limiter cespertes de performances, l’optimisation reste la solution la plus adaptée. La première contribution de cette thèse est une extension du « sparse array » combinéeavec une méthode d’optimisation basée sur l’algorithme de recuit simulé. Cette optimisation permet de réduire le nombre nécessaire d’éléments à connecter en fonction des caractéristiques attendues du faisceau ultrasonore et de limiter la perte d’énergie comparée à la sonde complète de base. La deuxième contribution est une approche complètement nouvelle consistant à adopter un positionnement hors grille des éléments de la sonde matricielle permettant de supprimer les lobes de réseau et de s’affranchir de la condition d’échantillonnage spatial. Cette nouvelles tratégie permet d’utiliser des éléments de taille plus grande conduisant ainsi à un nombre d’éléments nécessaires beaucoup plus faible pour une même surface de sonde. La surface active de la sonde est maximisée, ce qui se traduit par une énergie plus importante et donc unemeilleure sensibilité. Elle permet également de balayer un angle de vue plus important, leslobes de réseau étant très faibles par rapport au lobe principal. Le choix aléatoire de la position des éléments et de leur apodization (ou pondération) reste optimisé par le recuit simulé.Les méthodes proposées sont systématiquement comparées avec la sonde complète dansle cadre de simulations numériques dans des conditions réalistes. Ces simulations démontrent un réel potentiel pour l’imagerie 3D des techniques développées. Une sonde 2D de 8x24=192 éléments a été construite par Vermon (Vermon SA, ToursFrance) pour tester les méthodes de sélection des éléments développées dans un cadreexpérimental. La comparaison entre les simulations et les résultats expérimentaux permettentde valider les méthodes proposées et de prouver leur faisabilité<br>3D Ultrasound imaging is a fast-growing medical imaging modality. In addition to its numerous advantages (low cost, non-ionizing beam, portability) it allows to represent the anatomical structures in their natural form that is always three-dimensional. The relativelyslow mechanical scanning probes tend to be replaced by two-dimensional matrix arrays that are an extension in both lateral and elevation directions of the conventional 1D probe. This2D positioning of the elements allows the ultrasonic beam steering in the whole space. Usually, the piezoelectric elements of a 2D array probe are aligned on a regular grid and spaced out of a distance (the pitch) subject to the space sampling law (inter-element distancemust be shorter than a mid-wavelength) to limit the impact of grating lobes. This physical constraint leads to a multitude of small elements. The equivalent in 2D of a 1D probe of 128elements contains 128x128 = 16,384 elements. Connecting such a high number of elements is a real technical challenge as the number of channels in current ultrasound scanners rarely exceeds 256. The proposed solutions to control this type of probe implement multiplexing or elements number reduction techniques, generally using random selection approaches (« spars earray »). These methods suffer from low signal to noise ratio due to the energy loss linked to the small number of active elements. In order to limit the loss of performance, optimization remains the best solution. The first contribution of this thesis is an extension of the « sparse array » technique combined with an optimization method based on the simulated annealing algorithm. The proposed optimization reduces the required active element number according to the expected characteristics of the ultrasound beam and permits limiting the energy loss compared to the initial dense array probe.The second contribution is a completely new approach adopting a non-grid positioningof the elements to remove the grating lobes and to overstep the spatial sampling constraint. This new strategy allows the use of larger elements leading to a small number of necessaryelements for the same probe surface. The active surface of the array is maximized, whichresults in a greater output energy and thus a higher sensitivity. It also allows a greater scansector as the grating lobes are very small relative to the main lobe. The random choice of the position of the elements and their apodization (or weighting coefficient) is optimized by the simulated annealing.The proposed methods are systematically compared to the dense array by performing simulations under realistic conditions. These simulations show a real potential of the developed techniques for 3D imaging.A 2D probe of 8x24 = 192 elements was manufactured by Vermon (Vermon SA, Tours,France) to test the proposed methods in an experimental setting. The comparison between simulation and experimental results validate the proposed methods and prove their feasibility<br>L'ecografia 3D è una modalità di imaging medicale in rapida crescita. Oltre ai vantaggiin termini di prezzo basso, fascio non ionizzante, portabilità, essa permette di rappresentare le strutture anatomiche nella loro forma naturale, che è sempre tridimensionale. Le sonde ascansione meccanica, relativamente lente, tendono ad essere sostituite da quelle bidimensionali che sono una estensione in entrambe le direzioni laterale ed azimutale dellasonda convenzionale 1D. Questo posizionamento 2D degli elementi permette l'orientamentodel fascio ultrasonico in tutto lo spazio. Solitamente, gli elementi piezoelettrici di una sondamatriciale 2D sono allineati su una griglia regolare e separati da una distanza (detta “pitch”) sottoposta alla legge del campionamento spaziale (la distanza inter-elemento deve esseremeno della metà della lunghezza d'onda) per limitare l'impatto dei lobi di rete. Questo vincolo fisico porta ad una moltitudine di piccoli elementi. L'equivalente di una sonda 1D di128 elementi contiene 128x128 = 16.384 elementi in 2D. Il collegamento di un così grandenumero di elementi è una vera sfida tecnica, considerando che il numero di canali negliecografi attuali supera raramente 256. Le soluzioni proposte per controllare questo tipo disonda implementano le tecniche di multiplazione o la riduzione del numero di elementi, utilizzando un metodo di selezione casuale (« sparse array »). Questi metodi soffrono di unbasso rapporto segnale-rumore dovuto alla perdita di energia. Per limitare la perdita di prestazioni, l’ottimizzazione rimane la soluzione migliore. Il primo contributo di questa tesi è un’estensione del metodo dello « sparse array » combinato con un metodo di ottimizzazione basato sull'algoritmo del simulated annealing. Questa ottimizzazione riduce il numero degli elementi attivi richiesto secondo le caratteristiche attese del fascio di ultrasuoni e permette di limitare la perdita di energia.Il secondo contributo è un approccio completamente nuovo, che propone di adottare un posizionamento fuori-griglia degli elementi per rimuovere i lobi secondari e per scavalcare il vincolo del campionamento spaziale. Questa nuova strategia permette l'uso di elementi piùgrandi, riducendo così il numero di elementi necessari per la stessa superficie della sonda. La superficie attiva della sonda è massimizzata, questo si traduce in una maggiore energia equindi una maggiore sensibilità. Questo permette inoltre la scansione di un più grande settore,in quanto i lobi secondari sono molto piccoli rispetto al lobo principale. La scelta casualedella posizione degli elementi e la loro apodizzazione viene ottimizzata dal simulate dannealing. I metodi proposti sono stati sistematicamente confrontati con la sonda completaeseguendo simulazioni in condizioni realistiche. Le simulazioni mostrano un reale potenzialedelle tecniche sviluppate per l'imaging 3D.Una sonda 2D di 8x24 = 192 elementi è stata fabbricata da Vermon (Vermon SA, ToursFrance) per testare i metodi proposti in un ambiente sperimentale. Il confronto tra lesimulazioni e i risultati sperimentali ha permesso di convalidare i metodi proposti edimostrare la loro fattibilità

Dans cette thèse, nous mesurons la dynamique cohérente et les corrélations spatiales des excitations Rydberg dans des matrices 2D d’atomes uniques.Nous utilisons un modulateur spatial de lumière pour façonner la phase spatiale d'un faisceau laser de piégeage optique avant de le focaliser avec une lentille asphérique de grande ouverture numérique. En imprimant une phase appropriée sur le faisceau laser, nous pouvons créer des matrices 2D de pièges optiques, de forme arbitraire et facilement reconfigurables, avec jusqu'à 100 pièges séparées de quelques micromètres. Les pièges sont chargés à partir d'un nuage d'atomes froids de 87Rb, et due aux collisions assistées par la lumière, au plus un seul atome peut être présent dans chaque piège en même temps. Une caméra CCD sensible permet en temps réel l'imagerie de la fluorescence atomique émanant des pièges, ce qui nous permet de détecter individuellement la présence d'un atome dans chaque piège avec une précision presque parfaite.Pour créer des interactions importantes entre les atomes uniques, nous les excitons vers des états de Rydberg, qui sont des états électroniques avec un nombre quantique principal élevé.Un faisceau supplémentaire d'adressage permet la manipulation individuelle d'un atome sélectionné dans la matrice.La connaissance précise, de la fois de la matrice des atomes préparé et des positions des excitations Rydberg, nous a permis de mesurer l’augmentation collective de la couplage optique dans le régime de blocage Rydberg, où une seule excitation est partagée de façon symétrique entre tous les atomes de la matrice.Dans le régime où l'interaction ne s’étend que sur quelques sites, nous avons mesuré la dynamique et les corrélations spatiales des excitations Rydberg, dans des matrices d’atomes à une et deux dimensions. La comparaison à une simulation numérique d'un modèle d'Ising quantique d'un système de spin-1/2 montre un accord exceptionnel pour les matrices où l'effet de l'anisotropie de l’interaction Rydberg-Rydberg est faible. Les résultats obtenus démontrent que les atomes Rydberg uniques sont une plate-forme bien adaptée pour la simulation quantique des systèmes de spin<br>In this thesis, we measure the coherent dynamics and the pair correlations of Rydberg excitations in two-dimensional arrays of single atoms.We use a spatial light modulator to shape the spatial phase of a single optical dipole trap beam before focusing it with a high numerical-aperture aspheric lens. By imprinting an appropriate phase pattern on the trap beam, we can create arbitrarily shaped and easily reconfigurable 2D arrays of high-quality single-atom traps, with trap-spacings of a few micrometers for up to 100 traps. The traps are loaded from a cloud of cold 87Rb atoms, and due to fast light-assisted collisions of atoms inside the traps, at most one atom can be present in each trap at the same time. A sensitive CCD camera allows the real-time, site-resolved imaging of the atomic fluorescence from the traps, enabling us to detect the presence of an atom in each individual trap with almost perfect accuracy.In order to induce strong, tunable interactions between the atoms in the array, we coherently laser-excite them to Rydberg states, which are electronic states with a high principal quantum number.An additional addressing beam allows the individual manipulation of an atom at a selected site in the array.The precise knowledge of both the prepared atom array and the positions of the Rydberg excitations allowed us to measure the collective enhancement of the optical coupling strength in the regime of full Rydberg blockade, where one single excitation is shared symmetrically among all atoms in the array.In the regime where the strong interaction only extends over a few sites, we measured the dynamics and the spatial pair-correlations of Rydberg excitations, in one- and two-dimensional atom arrays. The comparison to a numerical simulation of a quantum Ising model of a spin-1/2 system shows an exceptional agreement for trap geometries where the effect of the anisotropy of the Rydberg-Rydberg interaction is small. The obtained results demonstrate that single Rydberg atoms are a suitable platform for the quantum simulation of spin systems

This dissertation presents the design of organic/inorganic hybrid 2D and 3D nanostructured arrays via controlled assembly of nanoscale building blocks. Two representative nanoscale building blocks such as carbon nanotubes (one-dimension) and metal nanoparticles (zero-dimension) are the core materials for the study of solution-based assembly of nanostructured arrays. The electrical, mechanical, and optical properties of the assembled nanostructure arrays have been investigated for future device applications. We successfully demonstrated the prospective use of assembled nanostructure arrays for electronic and sensing applications by designing flexible carbon nanotube nanomembranes as mechanical sensors, highly-oriented carbon nanotubes arrays for thin-film transistors, and gold nanoparticle arrays for SERS chemical sensors. In first section, we fabricated highly ordered carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays by tilted drop-casting or dip-coating of CNT solution on silicon substrates functionalized with micropatterned self-assembled monolayers. We further exploited the electronic performance of thin-film transistors based on highly-oriented, densely packed CNT micropatterns and showed that the carrier mobility is largely improved compared to randomly oriented CNTs. The prospective use of Raman-active CNTs for potential mechanical sensors has been investigated by studying the mechano-optical properties of flexible carbon nanotube nanomembranes, which contain freely-suspended carbon nanotube array encapsulated into ultrathin (<50 nm) layer-by-layer (LbL) polymer multilayers. In second section, we fabricated 3D nano-canal arrays of porous alumina membranes decorated with gold nanoparticles for prospective SERS sensors. We showed extraordinary SERS enhancement and suggested that the high performance is associated with the combined effects of Raman-active hot spots of nanoparticle aggregates and the optical waveguide properties of nano-canals. We demonstrated the ability of this SERS substrate for trace level sensing of nitroaromatic explosives by detecting down to 100 zeptogram (~330 molecules) of DNT.

Des études récentes ont prédit que l'interaction entre un supraconducteur 2D et du magnétisme local pourrait induire une supraconductivité topologique accompagnée d'états de bord de type Majorana. Pour relever ce défi, nous avons étudié un système basé sur l’interaction entre des auto-assemblages d’aimants moléculaires, tels que les phtalocyanines de manganèse (MnPcs), sur des films minces de plomb (1 et 3 monocouches) épitaxiés sur des surfaces de Si(111) qui montrent une supraconductivité 2D. Nos expériences de Microscopie à effet tunnel (STM) ont révélé que l'adsorption d’une petite quantité de MnPcs sur la monocouche de Pb est accompagnée d’un très faible transfert de charge qui induit une transition de phase structurale macroscopique de la surface elle-même. Les expériences de Spectroscopie à effet tunnel (STS) à 300 mK sur des îlots tricouches de Pb/Si(111) ont montré la présence d'effets non triviaux responsables de la fluctuation spatiale de l’amplitude des pics de cohérence sur des longueurs bien inférieures à la longueur de cohérence supraconductrice. De plus, contrairement à ce qui a été montré sur des monocristaux de plomb, les expériences STS suggèrent que les MnPcs isolées sur des îlots tricouches de plomb se trouvent toujours dans un régime d'interaction faible avec le substrat. L’ensemble de nos résultats, ainsi que l’observation d’une signature spectroscopique localisée sur le bord d’un domaine auto-organisé de MnPcs ouvrent la voie à de futures études sur l’ingénierie des phases topologiques supraconductrices<br>Recent studies predicted that the interaction between a 2D superconductor and local magnetism could induce topological superconductivity accompanied by Majorana edge states. To address this challenge, we have studied a system based on the interaction between self-assemblies of molecular magnets, i.e. manganese phthalocyanines (MnPcs), and thin films of lead (1 and 3 monolayers) grown on Si(111) surfaces that show 2D superconductivity.Our Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) experiments revealed that, adsorption of a tiny amount of MnPcs on a Pb monolayer is accompanied by a very small charge transfer inducing a macroscopic structural phase transition of the surface itself. Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy (STS) experiments at 300mK on 3 monolayers thick islands of Pb/Si(111) showed the presence of non-trivial effects responsible for the spatial fluctuation of the coherence peaks amplitude on a length scale much smaller than the superconducting coherence length. Furthermore, contrary to what shown on bulk Pb substrates, STS experiments strongly suggest that isolated MnPcs are always found in a weak interaction regime with the 3 monolayers thick Pb islands. Our results together with the observation of an in-gap spectroscopic feature located at the edge of a self-assembled 2D domain of MnPcs pave the route to future studies for the engineering of superconducting topological phases

Phased arrays eliminate the problems of mechanical steering by using fast and reliable electronic components for steering the main beam. Modeling and simulation of beam steering for 1D and 2D arrays is the aspect that is considered in this thesis. A 1D array with 4 elements and a 2D array with 16 elements are studied in the X-band (8-12 GHz). The RF front-end of a phased array radar is modeled by means of ADS Momentum (Advanced design system).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2005.<br>Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-133).<br>In this thesis a simple technique for controlling structure via holographic interference lithography was established and implemented. Access to various space groups including such important structures as the level set approximations to the Diamond, the Schwartz P structure, the FCC, and the non centrosymmetric Gyroid structures were demonstrated. The ability to make 3D structures over a large area, with low defect densities and periodicities on the sub/i scale opens a whole range of opportunities including such diverse areas as photonic crystals, phononic crystals, drug delivery, microtrusses, tissue scaffolds, microfluidics and colloidal crystallization. A correlation between structure and photonic band gap properties was established by systematically exploring the 11 FCC space groups. This resulted in a technique to search for photonic band gap structures. It was found that a fundamental connectivity caused by simple Fourier elements tended to support gaps. 2-3, 5-6 and 8-9 gaps were opened in the f.c.c lattices. The F-RD and 216 structures were newly shown to have complete band gaps. Two of the three previously established champion photonic crystal structures, viz. the Diamond and the Gyroid presented practical fabrication challenges, approximations to these structures were proposed.<br>(cont.) A scalable P structure and the 3-FCC structure were fabricated by single and multiple exposure techniques. Both negative and positive tone photoresist systems were demonstrated. Line defects were written into the negative tone system using two-photon lithography. The single crystalline, porous nature of the structures was exploited to examine the possibility for their use as hypersonic phononic crystals and microfluidic microlenses. Two dimensional single crystalline patterns were created using interference lithography. Their phononic band structure was probed by Brillioun light scattering to yield a phononic band diagram, which clearly demonstrates the effect of periodicity on the phononic density of states. The ability to control the density of states at these length scales holds the potential for control over thermal properties. The two dimensional structures fabricated in negative photoresist were also tested as microlenses with the integrated pores acting as microfluidic channels. This combination resulted in a structure reminiscent to that of the biological species ophiocoma wendtii.<br>by Chaitanya K. Ullal.<br>Ph.D.

Aujourd'hui l'utilisation de l'échographie 3D en cardiologie est limitée car l'imagerie de la totalité du myocarde sur un cycle cardiaque, sans apnée, reste un défi technologique. Une solution consiste à réduire le nombre de capteurs dans les sondes échographiques matricielles afin d'alléger le procédé d'acquisition: ces sondes sont dites parcimonieuses. Le but de cette thèse est de proposer les meilleures dispositions d'un nombre réduit de capteurs piézo-électriques répartis sur la surface active de la sonde afin d'optimiser leur capacité à produire des images homogènes en termes de contraste et résolution dans tout le volume d'intérêt. Ce travail présente l'intégration de simulations acoustiques réalistes élaborées au sein d'un processus d'optimisation stochastique (algorithme de recuit simulé). La structure proposée pour le design des sondes parcimonieuse est suffisamment générale pour être appliquée aux sondes régulières (éléments actifs disposés selon une grille) et non-régulières (positionnement arbitraire des éléments actifs). L'introduction d'une fonction d'énergie innovante permet de sculpter en 3D le diagramme optimal de rayonnement de la sonde. Les résultats de sondes optimisées obtenues possèdent 128, 192 ou 256 éléments pour favoriser leur compatibilité avec les échographes commercialisés à ce jour, ce qui permettrait de déployer l'échographie 3D à moindre coût et à très large échelle<br>Today, the use of 3D ultrasound imaging in cardiology is limited because imaging the entire myocardium on a single heartbeat, without apnea, remains a technological challenge. A solution consists in reducing the number of active elements in the 2D ultrasound probes to lighten the acquisition process: this approach leads to sparse arrays. The aim of this thesis is to propose the best configuration of a given number of active elements distributed on the probe active surface in order to maximize their ability to produce images with homogeneous contrast and resolution over the entire volume of interest. This work presents the integration of realistic acoustic simulations performed in a stochastic optimization process (simulated annealing algorithm). The proposed sparse array design framework is general enough to be applied on both on-grid (active elements located on a regular grid) and non-grid (arbitrary positioning of the active elements) arrays. The introduction of an innovative energy function sculpts the optimal 3D beam pattern radiated by the array. The obtained optimized results have 128, 192 or 256 active elements to help their compatibility with currently commercialized ultrasound scanners, potentially allowing a large scale development of 3D ultrasound imaging with low cost systems