Monsalve Guaracao, Jorge MarioJorge MarioMonsalve GuaracaoMelnikov, AntonAntonMelnikovStolz, MichaelMichaelStolzMrosk, AndreasAndreasMroskJongmanns, MarcelMarcelJongmannsWall, FranziskaFranziskaWallLanga, SergiuSergiuLangaMarica-Bercu, IoanaIoanaMarica-BercuBrändel, TimTimBrändelKircher, MarcoMarcoKircherSchenk, Hermann A.G.Hermann A.G.SchenkKaiser, BertBertKaiserSchenk, HaraldHaraldSchenk2023-11-072023-11-072022https://publica.fraunhofer.de/handle/publica/45654910.1016/j.sna.2022.1138132-s2.0-85136212385An alternative implementation of an electrostatic MUT (Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer), relying on multiple beams that displace along the chip's surface instead of a single membrane displacing perpendicular to it, is presented in this work. With this approach, a design requiring a low bias voltage (24 V) and occupying a small area (3.3 ×3.3 mm², 2D/λ≈0.77) was shown to generate a sound pressure level of 82 dB (re. 20 µPa-rms) at 40 kHz and a distance of 8.9 cm. The high level of damping allows this transducer to operate in a wide frequency range (35-63 kHz). The operation of this device as an ultrasonic receiver was also proven. An implementation of this transducer as a rangefinder requires a strong reduction in the noise level, particularly coming from radio-frequency interference, in order to increase its detection range.enCoulomb-actuated microbeamElectrostatic transductionMicromachined ultrasonic transducerjournal article