High-frequency transparent ultrasound transducer array for photoacoustic imaging application

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) technique has been employed as a powerful tool for experimental and clinical applications, however, conventional ultrasound transducers block the light path, leading to bulky and inefficient PAI system designs. Transparent ultrasound transducers (TUT) have been developed, allowing light transmission through transducers and illuminating target directly. Nevertheless, studies on TUT arrays are limited till now. In this work, we propose a novel method for fabrication of 64-element high-frequency TUT array which shows great uniformity on both acoustic and electrical properties. The photoacoustic signal response of the transducer was characterized with expanded laser source which is different from a single element photoacoustic. This work demonstrates the feasibility of high-frequency TUT array fabrication process and its potential for photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) applications.