CMUT characterization by interferometric and electric measurements.

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) with 5.7 mum radius, realized by wafer bonding, have been characterized by both optical and electrical measurements. These measurements are performed by our heterodyne interferometer and a network analyzer, respectively. The results from this article will be used to improve the fabrication of next-generation CMUTs. We have investigated the spread in resonance frequency of different CMUT membranes along the array. Q-factors have been obtained using both measurement methods, and the results from the 2 methods have been numerically compared. The relation between applied dc voltage and resonance frequency has been studied. Temperature measurements show that increasing temperature leads to a small decrease in the resonance frequency of the CMUTs; however, the decrease is small enough to ensure stable operation with small variations in room temperature. The heterodyne interferometer is used to inspect the vibration pattern of the CMUTs' higher harmonic modes. These modes are located at approximately 60 MHz in air. To the authors' knowledge, vibration modes at frequencies >40 MHz have not been previously studied.