Theory and operation of 2-D array piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducers.

Piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducers (pMUTs) are a new approach for the construction of 2-D arrays for forward-looking 3-D intravascular (IVUS) and intracardiac (ICE) imaging. Two-dimensional pMUT test arrays containing 25 elements (5 x 5 arrays) were bulk micromachined in silicon substrates. The devices consisted of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film membranes formed by deep reactive ion etching of the silicon substrate.

Low-cost, scalable laser scanning module for real-time reflectance and fluorescence confocal microscopy.

We present a low-cost, high-speed, retrofitted laser scanning module for microscopy. The cage-mounted system, with various available fiber-coupled sources, offers a real-time imaging alternative to costly commercial systems with capabilities for conventional or confocal reflectance and fluorescence applications as well as advanced laser scanning microscopy implementations. Reflectance images of a resolution target and confocal images of fluorescent polystyrene beads are presented for system characterization.