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When I search on DigiKey for ultrasonic transducers, all I get back is the circular transducers that are sold for the various DIY projects. i.e. the picture below:

enter image description here

However, the "medical" ultrasound devices have a wand, that houses an array of what seems like a linear ultrasound transducers. i.e. the picture below:

enter image description here

Question is, what is the correct term to name (search for) the rectangular shape vs the circular shape transducers?

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    \$\begingroup\$ "Linear transducer." I've worked with such wands... 128 elements, Operating frequency something like 9MHz. If you could see inside the cable, there are 128 foil-shielded micro co-ax cables inside, each about 3 human hairs wide. \$\endgroup\$
    – rdtsc
    Commented Oct 23, 2019 at 18:47
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    \$\begingroup\$ @rdtsc They work as a phased array, right? \$\endgroup\$
    – DKNguyen
    Commented Oct 23, 2019 at 19:27
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    \$\begingroup\$ @DKNguyen they can be phased or out of phase, linear or curved. The Linear or curve physical design is created in order design the "array" or "fan " view of returned image. (This video: youtube.com/watch?v=s23_d-qeEn4&t=747s [at 7:47] explains this very well). From my understanding, the phasing is done in order to overcome depth and material issues. \$\endgroup\$
    – KingsInnerSoul
    Commented Oct 24, 2019 at 12:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ @rdtsc would you know where to get these Linear Transducers? I was wondering if I can just get the element itself, and design the rest? \$\endgroup\$
    – KingsInnerSoul
    Commented Oct 24, 2019 at 13:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm not seeing any offerings. They must all be custom-made. \$\endgroup\$
    – rdtsc
    Commented Oct 24, 2019 at 13:55

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US transducers use an array of piezo-electric ceramics mechanically tuned to desired frequencies. You can usually buy what you're looking for, or order custom parts, at places like https://piezotechnologies.com/

Note that the handle you're looking at is probably many individual crystals in an array, not a single element. The US device often sends out a complete wavefront.

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