Dynamic response of an array of flexural plates in acoustic medium.

The dynamic response of a transducer array made up of circular flexural plates in immersion is analytically calculated. The calculation method includes three steps: (1) the calculation of parallel resonant frequency and the velocity profile of each plate, (2) the calculation of mutual acoustic impedance between the plates, and (3) the calculation of velocity response, including the mechanical and acoustic impedance. The calculation method is validated by both finite element analysis and measurement results of a fabricated capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer. Based on the calculated velocity, the near-field pressure and the near-to-far field radiation patterns are presented. The flexural plate array in immersion displays two modes of operation. At low frequency, the mode shape of the transducer array is similar to that of a suspended plate and, at certain frequencies, two groups of plates move in opposite phase, which results in the cancellation of the average velocity. At high frequency, the mode shape is similar to that of a piston transducer; however, the near-field pressure distribution is similar to that of a resilient disk.