Ultrasonic transducer array and ultrasonic probe

Abstract

The invention provides an ultrasonic transducer array and an ultrasonic probe, which are used for generating ultrasonic waves, and the ultrasonic transducer array comprises a plurality of transducers which are arranged along a first direction. Each of the plurality of transducers is provided with a plurality of grooves arranged along a second direction, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction. The plurality of grooves extend along the first direction. Wherein the density of the plurality of grooves in the second direction is gradually reduced from two ends of the transducer to the center of the transducer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of ultrasonic, and particularly to an ultrasonic transducer array and an ultrasonic probe. Background Art

[0002] The method of generating ultrasonic waves with an ultrasonic transducer has wide applications in many fields, such as generating high-quality ultrasonic images in the medical field. When generating ultrasonic waves with an ultrasonic transducer, the resolution of the ultrasonic image will be affected by the side lobe effect. Generally speaking, by changing the thickness of the piezoelectric material used to generate ultrasonic waves, the side lobe effect can be effectively suppressed to eliminate the side lobe energy, improve the signal-to-noise ratio, and thereby improve the resolution of the ultrasonic image. In addition, by suppressing the side lobe effect of ultrasonic waves, the aperture of the ultrasonic transducer can be reduced, and then the size of the ultrasonic probe system can be reduced. On the other hand, when ultrasonic waves are incident on a test object, such as human tissue, the ultrasonic waves are attenuated and phase-changed due to absorption by the test object. By suppressing the side lobe effect of ultrasonic waves, the interference caused by the side lobes of ultrasonic waves can be reduced. Therefore, how to enable the ultrasonic transducer to effectively suppress the side lobe effect is an important issue in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic transducer array and an ultrasonic probe, which can cut the transducer array to change the ultrasonic waveform output by the transducer array and suppress the side lobe power of the output ultrasonic waves.

[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides an ultrasonic transducer array and an ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic transducer array is used to generate ultrasonic waves and includes: a plurality of transducers arranged along a first direction, each of the plurality of transducers having a plurality of grooves arranged along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the plurality of grooves extending along the first direction.

[0005] Wherein the density of the plurality of grooves along the second direction decreases from both ends of the transducer towards the center of the transducer.

[0006] Preferably, the density of the plurality of grooves along the second direction corresponds to an energy distribution function, and the energy distribution function makes the power difference between the main lobe and the side lobe of the ultrasonic wave greater than 20 dB.

[0007] Wherein, the energy distribution function is a Kaiser window.

[0008] Preferably, the transducer is divided into a plurality of equal parts along the second direction, and the number of the grooves in each of the plurality of equal parts corresponds to the distribution of an energy distribution function, and the energy distribution function makes the power difference between the main lobe and the side lobe of the ultrasonic wave greater than 20 dB.

[0009] Preferably, the transducer is divided into a plurality of equal parts along the second direction, and the number of the grooves in each of the plurality of equal parts corresponds to the distribution of an energy distribution function. The number of the plurality of equal parts is N, and the number of the grooves in the i-th equal part is n i is in the following relationship and is unconditionally rounded down to an integer with an integer digit:

[0010]

[0011] where E i is the energy of the energy distribution function at the i-th equal part, E max is the maximum energy of the energy distribution function, L is the width of the transducer along the second direction, and d is the width of the groove.

[0012] Preferably, the transducer is divided into a plurality of equal parts along the second direction, and the central equal part of the plurality of equal parts does not have a groove.

[0013] Preferably, the depth of the plurality of grooves decreases from both ends of the transducer towards the center of the transducer.

[0014] Preferably, the depth of the groove is greater than or equal to one half of the height of the transducer.

[0015] Preferably, the width of the transducer along the second direction is one half of the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave;

[0016] Each of the plurality of transducers is rectangular, wherein the short side of the rectangle extends along the first direction, and the long side of the rectangle extends along the second direction.

[0017] Preferably, at least one of the number and the depth of the plurality of grooves is symmetrically distributed with respect to the center of the transducer.

[0018] An ultrasonic probe, comprising:

[0019] A handheld housing having a first end and a second end;

[0020] An acoustic lens disposed at the first end or the second end of the handheld housing; and

[0021] The ultrasonic transducer array, which is disposed in the handheld housing and close to one side of the acoustic lens.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the present invention can cut the transducer array to change the ultrasonic waveform output by the transducer array, suppress the sidelobe power of the output ultrasonic wave, improve the focusing function of the ultrasonic wave generated by the transducer array, and further improve the resolution of the detected ultrasonic image. Description of the Drawings

[0023] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 is a side view of an ultrasonic transducer array according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 3 is a top view of an ultrasonic transducer array according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 4 is a side view of a transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 5 is a partial side view of a transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 6A is the energy distribution function of a transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 6B is the groove number distribution diagram of a transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 7A 、 Figure 7B 、 Figure 7C is the waveform distribution of the ultrasonic wave emitted by a transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention under different window functions.

[0031] Figure 8 is the radiation pattern of the ultrasonic wave emitted by a transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0032] To further understand the purpose, structure, features, and functions of the present invention, the following is a detailed description in conjunction with the embodiments.

[0033] In the specification and claims, certain terms are used to refer to specific elements. Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that manufacturers may use different terms to refer to the same element. The specification and claims do not use the difference in names as a way to distinguish elements, but use the difference in functions of elements as the criterion for distinction. The term "comprising" mentioned throughout the specification and claims is an open-ended term and should be interpreted as "including but not limited to".

[0034] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to Figure 1 . The ultrasonic probe 10 includes: a handheld housing 20, an ultrasonic transducer array 100, and an acoustic lens 130.

[0035] The handheld housing 20 is an elongated housing having a first end 20A and a second end 20B located on opposite sides of the housing. In some embodiments, the material of the housing is plastic or other similar materials, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The size of the housing is suitable for single-handed holding by the user, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0036] The acoustic lens 130 is disposed at the first end 20A or the second end 20B of the handheld housing 20 and can be used to focus the ultrasonic waves US emitted by the ultrasonic transducer array 100 and reduce the reflection of the ultrasonic waves US incident on the object to be measured. In some embodiments, the acoustic lens 130 is located at one of the first end 20A or the second end 20B of the handheld housing 20, and the user holds the other of the first end 20A or the second end 20B of the handheld housing 20. For example, in the present embodiment, the acoustic lens 130 is located at the first end 20A of the handheld housing 20, and the user holds the second end 20B of the handheld housing 20. In some embodiments, the material of the acoustic lens 130 is rubber or other materials having similar properties, and the present disclosure does not limit it. In some embodiments, the acoustic lens 130 is a convex lens.

[0037] The ultrasonic transducer array 100 is disposed within the handheld housing 20 and adjacent to one side of the acoustic lens 130. The ultrasonic transducer array 100 emits ultrasonic waves US, which are focused by the acoustic lens 130 after passing through the acoustic lens 130 and irradiate the target object. The specific structure of the ultrasonic transducer array 100 will be described below.

[0038] Figure 2 is a side view of an ultrasonic transducer array according to an embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 2 shown, the ultrasonic transducer array 100 includes a substrate 110, a flexible circuit board 112, a first electrode 114, a transducer layer 120, a second electrode 116, and an acoustic matching layer 118.

[0039] In addition to carrying the ultrasonic transducer array 100, the substrate 110 can be used to absorb the ultrasonic waves radiated by the transducer layer 120 in the direction of the substrate 110 and avoid interference caused by the reflection of the ultrasonic waves by the substrate 110.

[0040] The flexible circuit board 112 is disposed above the substrate 110, and the first electrode 114 is disposed above the flexible circuit board 112 and electrically connected to the flexible circuit board 112 for the transducer layer 120. The flexible circuit board 112, the first electrode 114, and the second electrode 116 located above the transducer layer 120 apply a voltage to the transducer layer 120 to cause the transducer layer 120 to generate ultrasonic waves. The present disclosure does not limit the materials of the flexible circuit board, the first electrode, and the second electrode.

[0041] The acoustic matching layer 118 is located above the second electrode 116. Due to the too large acoustic impedance difference between the acoustic lens 130 and the transducer layer 120, when the ultrasonic wave US generated by the transducer layer 120 directly impinges on the acoustic lens 130, a large reflection will occur on the incident surface of the acoustic lens 130, resulting in ultrasonic energy loss. Therefore, an acoustic matching layer 118 is required between the transducer layer 120 and the acoustic lens 130 to achieve the matching between the transducer layer 120 and the acoustic lens 130, so as to reduce the reflection when the ultrasonic wave US impinges on the acoustic lens 130. In some embodiments, the material and thickness of the acoustic matching layer 118 are determined according to actual needs. Generally, the thickness of the acoustic matching layer 118 is about one quarter of the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave US, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0042] The acoustic lens 130 is located above the acoustic matching layer 118 for converging the ultrasonic wave US emitted by the transducer layer 120 and reducing the reflection of the ultrasonic wave US incident on the object to be measured.

[0043] The structure of the transducer layer 120 will be described below.

[0044] Figure 3 is a top view of an ultrasonic transducer array according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 .

[0045] The transducer layer 120 is located between the first electrode 114 and the second electrode 116 and is electrically connected to the flexible circuit board 112, the first electrode 114, and the second electrode 116.

[0046] The transducer layer 120 includes a plurality of transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M, and the plurality of transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M are arranged along the first direction (X direction). In this embodiment, the number of transducers in the transducer layer 120 is M, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. In some embodiments, M can be 50-200, and M can also have other values according to actual needs, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0047] In some embodiments, the materials of the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M are piezoelectric materials. Therefore, when the same voltage is applied to the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M through the flexible circuit board 112, the first electrode 114, and the second electrode 116, the piezoelectric materials in the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M will vibrate due to the applied voltage, thereby generating ultrasonic waves US.

[0048] In some embodiments, each of the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M has the same shape and structure. For example, each of the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M has the same length and width. In some embodiments, each of the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M is rectangular, where the short side of the rectangle extends in the first direction (X direction), and the long side of the rectangle extends in the second direction (Y direction).

[0049] Since each of the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M has the same shape and structure, when the same voltage is applied to the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M through the flexible circuit board 112, the first electrode 114, and the second electrode 116, the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M can generate the same ultrasonic waves US and superimpose them to generate an ultrasonic beam with sufficient energy.

[0050] Please refer to Figure 3 . As Figure 3 shown, each of the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M has a plurality of grooves 122 arranged in the second direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the first direction (X direction), and the plurality of grooves 122 extend in the first direction (X direction). The density of the plurality of grooves 122 in the second direction (Y direction) decreases from both ends of the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M towards the center of the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M. The relationship between the transducers 120-1, 120-2... 120-j... 120-M and the grooves 122 will be described below.

[0051] Figure 4 is a side view of a transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to Figure 4 . Since Figure 2 and Figure 3Each transducer 120-1, 120-2…120-j…120-M has the same properties. Therefore, without loss of generality, taking the transducer 120-j as an example, the structure of the transducer 120-j will be described, where j can be any positive integer between 1 and M.

[0052] Figure 4 is Figure 3 a side view of the transducer 120-j in Figure 4 As shown, the transducer 120-j is disposed above the substrate 110. To simplify the drawing, Figure 4 the flexible circuit board 112 and the first electrode 114 are not shown in

[0053] The width of the transducer 120-j in the second direction (Y direction) is L, which is the same as the width of the transducer layer 120 in the second direction. In some embodiments, the width L of the transducer 120-j in the second direction (Y direction) is half of the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave emitted.

[0054] The transducer 120-j is divided into multiple equal parts in the second direction (Y direction). As Figure 4 shown, the transducer 120-j is divided into N equal parts in the second direction (Y direction), which are sequentially the first equal part 120-j-1, the second equal part 120-j-2…the i-th equal part 120-j-i…the N-th equal part 120-j-N. In some embodiments, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. In some embodiments, the range of N can be 10-100, but N can also be selected according to actual needs, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0055] When the transducer 120-j is divided into multiple equal parts in the second direction, each equal part 120-j-i (i is an integer between 1 and N) can be regarded as an individual ultrasonic wave emission source for emitting ultrasonic waves of a specific frequency. In this embodiment, the frequency of the ultrasonic wave is 7.5 MHz, but in other embodiments, the frequency of the ultrasonic wave can also be other appropriate frequencies according to actual needs, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. When the N equal parts 120-j-1 to 120-j-N of the transducer 120-j emit ultrasonic waves simultaneously, the ultrasonic waves emitted by each equal part will be superimposed on each other, and the superimposed ultrasonic beam will have a specific waveform.

[0056] Figure 5 is a partial side view of a transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, Figure 5 is Figure 4 the i-th equal part 120-j-i of the transducer 120-j. As Figure 5 shown, the height of the i-th equal part 120-j-i is H, and the width is D.

[0057] In this embodiment, the i-th equal division 120-j-i has two grooves 122. Each groove 122 has the same size and shape. The width of the groove 122 is d and the depth is h. In some embodiments, the depth of the groove 122 decreases from both ends of the transducer 120-j towards the center of the transducer 120-j. In some embodiments, the depth h of the groove 122 is greater than or equal to half of the height H of the transducer 120-j.

[0058] The density of the grooves 122 in each equal division along the second direction decreases from both ends of the transducer 120-j towards the center of the transducer 120-j. That is, the number of the grooves 122 is related to the position of the i-th equal division. The number of the grooves 122 is less in the central part of the transducer 120-j and more in the parts near both ends of the transducer 120-j.

[0059] In addition, in some embodiments, at least one of the number and the depth of the grooves 122 is symmetrically distributed with respect to the center of the transducer 120-j.

[0060] When the ultrasonic wave emitted by the transducer 120-j in the third direction (Z direction), the angular distribution of the emitted ultrasonic wave in the plane of the second direction (Y direction) and the third direction (Z direction) has a main lobe generally along the Z-axis direction and side lobes beside the main lobe. To enable the ultrasonic wave to have good imaging quality, the power difference between the main lobe and the side lobes of the ultrasonic wave is greater than 20 dB to avoid the side lobes of the ultrasonic wave interfering with the main lobe.

[0061] To enable the ultrasonic wave emitted by the transducer 120-j to meet the above conditions, the present invention calculates the energy distribution function of the transducer 120-j in an analog manner, so that after adjusting the energy distribution of each equal division 120-j-i (i is an integer between 1 and N) of the transducer 120-j, the emitted ultrasonic wave can have the characteristic that the power difference between the main lobe and the side lobes of the ultrasonic wave is greater than 20 dB.

[0062] Specifically, in an analog manner, the present invention first makes each equal division 120-j-i of the transducer 120-j emit ultrasonic waves with the same energy, and after passing these ultrasonic waves through a window function, calculates the energy distribution function emitted by the transducer 120-j to find the energy distribution function of the transducer 120-j that meets the condition that the power difference between the main lobe and the side lobes of the ultrasonic wave is greater than 20 dB.

[0063] Generally speaking, common window functions include rectangular, Hamming window, Hanning window, Kaiser window, Tayler window, etc. In the present invention, various window functions and their corresponding parameters are tested. The energy distribution function corresponding to the Kaiser window meets the requirement that the power difference between the main lobe and the side lobe of the ultrasonic wave is greater than 20 dB. Specifically, in some embodiments, when the window function is the Kaiser window and the parameter beta is 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0 (abbreviated as Kaiser window 3.0, Kaiser window 4.0, or Kaiser window 5.0), it can be applied to different ultrasonic probes 10, and the obtained energy distribution function will be more suitable for measurement under certain conditions. For example, a shorter short-axis probe (e.g., 4.4 mm) is suitable for application with Kaiser window 3.0, while a longer short-axis probe (e.g., 5 mm or above) is more suitable for application with Kaiser window 4.0 or Kaiser window 5.0.

[0064] Figure 6A is the energy distribution function of the transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6B is the groove number distribution diagram of the transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to Figure 6A . Figure 6A For dividing the transducer (such as Figure 4 the transducer 120-j in) into 44 equal parts along the second direction, the energy distribution function (shown as the smooth 3.0 curve in the figure) is the Kaiser window 3.0.

[0065] In Figure 6A , the number represented by each point in the energy distribution function represents how many times the energy emitted by that part (such as the i-th equal part 120-j-i) in the transducer is the maximum energy that this part can emit. For example, when i = 10, the value is approximately 0.65, indicating that the energy emitted by the 10th equal part is 0.65 times the maximum energy of this equal part.

[0066] Since the energy emitted by the i-th equal part of the transducer is proportional to the surface area of the i-th equal part, in order to reduce the energy emitted by the i-th equal part of the transducer, the surface area of the i-th equal part can be reduced to lower the energy emitted by the i-th equal part. In some embodiments, the method of reducing the i-th equal part of the transducer can be, for example, using a blade to cut out a plurality of grooves 122 on the surface of the transducer 120-j. Therefore, the density of the grooves 122 along the second direction (Y direction) corresponds to the energy distribution function, and the energy distribution function makes the power difference between the main lobe and the side lobe of the ultrasonic wave greater than 20 dB.

[0067] The method for determining the number of grooves 122 in the i-th equal division of transducer 120-j is as follows. The number of equal divisions of transducer 120-j is N, and the number of grooves 122 in the i-th equal division is ni. Then ni satisfies the following relationship and is rounded down to an integer:

[0068]

[0069] where E i is the energy of the energy distribution function at the i-th equal division, E max is the maximum energy of the energy distribution function, L is the width of transducer 120-j in the second direction, and d is the width of groove 122.

[0070] The following is an example for illustration. In other embodiments, the parameters can be adjusted according to actual requirements and are not limited to this embodiment. In this embodiment, if L is 4400 μm and L is divided into 44 equal divisions, then the width of each equal division is L / N = D = 100 μm, where D is Figure 5 the width of the i-th equal division 120-j-i in

[0071] If the width of the cutting blade is d = 15 μm, then the following situations occur according to Equation (1).

[0072] If E i / E max is greater than 0.85, then according to Equation (1), this equal division is not cut. The emitted energy is 1.00 times the maximum energy.

[0073] If E i / E max is equal to or less than 0.85 and greater than 0.7, then according to Equation (1), this equal division is cut once to generate one groove 122. The emitted energy is 0.85 times the maximum energy.

[0074] If E i / E max is equal to or less than 0.7 and greater than 0.55, then according to Equation (1), this equal division is cut twice to generate two grooves 122. The emitted energy is 0.70 times the maximum energy.

[0075] If E i / E max is equal to or less than 0.55 and greater than 0.40, then according to Equation (1), this equal division is cut three times to generate three grooves 122. The emitted energy is 0.55 times the maximum energy.

[0076] If E i / E maxIf it is equal to less than 0.40 and greater than 0.25, then according to Equation (1), this equal division is cut four times to generate four grooves 122. The emitted energy is 0.4 times the maximum energy.

[0077] If E i / E max is equal to less than 0.25 and greater than 0.10, then according to Equation (1), this equal division is cut five times to generate five grooves 122. The emitted energy is 0.25 times the maximum energy.

[0078] According to the above calculations, the energy distribution of each equal division 120-j-i of the transducer 120-j is as Figure 6A shown by the gradient Kaiser window 3.0 curve. And the number of grooves of each equal division 120-j-i of the transducer 120-j is as Figure 6B shown.

[0079] As Figure 6A shown, the energy density function is maximum in the central region and minimum in the parts near both ends. Therefore, the corresponding number of grooves is the least in the central region and then gradually increases towards both ends. As Figure 6B shown, among the N (N = 44) equal divisions 120-j-i of the transducer 120-j (where i is an integer between 1 and N), the central equal division (for example, i is an integer between 15 and 30) does not have the groove 122. The groove 122 density (i.e., the number) decreases from both ends of the transducer 120-j (for example, i is 1 or 44) towards the center of the transducer 120-j.

[0080] The following takes the comparison of the energy distribution functions calculated using the Kaiser window 3.0 and the commonly used rectangular window under different window functions as an example.

[0081] Figure 7A 、 Figure 7B 、 Figure 7C are the waveform distributions of the ultrasonic waves emitted by the transducer according to the embodiments of the present invention under different window functions.

[0082] Figure 7A is the beam pattern emitted by a single transducer under different window functions. As Figure 7A shown, when the window function is the Kaiser window 3.0, the energy ratio between the main lobe and the side lobes has a more obvious difference. This indicates that when the window function is the Kaiser window 3.0, the reflected energy at non-main measurement angles can be significantly reduced, so that the energy emitted and received by the transducer is more concentrated on the main lobe.

[0083] Figure 7B is the ultrasonic signal received under different window functions when the transducer is used as a receiver. As Figure 7BAs shown, when the window function is the Kaiser window 3.0, since the interference caused by the sidelobes reflected at non-primary angles is significantly reduced, therefore, compared with the case where the window function is a rectangular window, the trailing end of the received signal has a much smaller bounce, thus reducing the distortion of the measurement points.

[0084] Figure 7C It is the amplitude envelope diagram of the ultrasonic signals emitted under different window functions when the transducer is used as a receiver. As Figure 7C shown, when the window function is the Kaiser window 3.0, it can be observed that the bounce size and duration at the trailing end of the envelope are significantly reduced and shortened. This indicates that when the window function is the Kaiser window 3.0, other unnecessary reflections can be effectively suppressed.

[0085] Figure 8 It is the radiation pattern of the ultrasonic waves emitted by the transducer according to the embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 8 shown, in polar coordinates, it can be seen more clearly that the energy ratio between the main lobe at 0 degrees of the ultrasonic wave and the energy on both sides is more significantly widened. The power ratio between the main lobe and the sidelobe has expanded from 13 dB to more than 30 dB. It can be seen from this that when the Kaiser window 3.0 is directly designed on the probe, the generation of sidelobes in the ultrasonic wave can be effectively suppressed.

[0086] In summary, the present invention cuts the transducer array to change the waveform of the ultrasonic waves output by the transducer array and suppress the sidelobe power of the output ultrasonic waves, so as to improve the focusing function of the ultrasonic waves generated by the transducer array, and further improve the resolution of the detected ultrasonic images.

[0087] The present invention has been described by the above related embodiments. However, the above embodiments are only examples for implementing the present invention. It must be pointed out that the disclosed embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention. On the contrary, modifications and refinements made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention fall within the scope of the patent protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic transducer array for generating ultrasonic waves, characterized in that, Comprising: A plurality of transducers arranged along a first direction, each of the plurality of transducers having a plurality of grooves arranged along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the plurality of grooves extending along the first direction. Wherein the density of the plurality of grooves along the second direction decreases from both ends of the transducer towards the center of the transducer.

2. The ultrasonic transducer array according to claim 1, wherein The density of the plurality of grooves along the second direction corresponds to an energy distribution function that makes the power difference between the main lobe and the side lobe of the ultrasonic wave greater than 20 dB. Wherein the energy distribution function is a Kaiser window.

3. The ultrasonic transducer array according to claim 1, wherein The transducer is divided into a plurality of equal parts along the second direction, and the number of the grooves in each of the plurality of equal parts corresponds to the distribution of an energy distribution function that makes the power difference between the main lobe and the side lobe of the ultrasonic wave greater than 20 dB.

4. The ultrasonic transducer array according to claim 1, wherein The transducer is divided into a plurality of equal parts along the second direction, and the number of the grooves in each of the plurality of equal parts corresponds to the distribution of an energy distribution function. The number of the plurality of equal parts is N, and the number of the grooves in the i-th equal part is n i is in the following relationship and is unconditionally rounded down to an integer with the decimal part discarded: where E i is the energy at the i-th equal division of the energy distribution function, E max is the maximum energy of the energy distribution function, L is the width of the transducer along the second direction, and d is the width of the groove.

5. The ultrasonic transducer array according to claim 1, wherein The transducer is divided into a plurality of equal parts along the second direction, and the central equal part of these plurality of equal parts does not have grooves.

6. The ultrasonic transducer array according to claim 1, wherein, The depth of the plurality of grooves decreases from both ends of the transducer towards the center of the transducer.

7. The ultrasonic transducer array according to claim 1, wherein The depth of the groove is greater than or equal to one half of the height of the transducer.

8. The ultrasonic transducer array according to claim 1, wherein The width of the transducer along the second direction is one half of the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave. Each of the plurality of transducers is rectangular, wherein the short side of the rectangle extends along the first direction and the long side of the rectangle extends along the second direction.

9. The ultrasonic transducer array according to claim 1, wherein, At least one of the number and depth of the plurality of grooves is symmetrically distributed with respect to the center of the transducer.

10. An ultrasonic probe, characterized in that, Comprising: A handheld housing having a first end and a second end. An acoustic lens disposed at the first end or the second end of the handheld housing. And An ultrasonic transducer array as claimed in any one of claims 1 - 9, the ultrasonic transducer array being disposed within the handheld housing and adjacent to one side of the acoustic lens.

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