A DGIST team built a silicon-photonics optomechanical ultrasound receiver on a single chip. It measures MHz-range airborne ultrasound with 25,000× higher responsivity per sensing area than commercial PZT sensors and can be manufactured on standard 8-inch silicon foundries.
A single-chip silicon photonic sensor with an ultrathin cantilever detects MHz ultrasound through air without contact, enabling inspection of contamination-sensitive components.
Active sensing area is 0.0004 mm² (30 μm × 13.5 μm), and measured responsivity per effective area is over 25,000 times that of commercial ultrasonic sensors.
The device uses standard semiconductor fabrication on 8-inch wafers, allowing simultaneous production of sensors tuned to different frequencies by layout changes.
Researchers at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) developed a miniature optical ultrasonic receiver that is thinner than a human hair and built entirely with semiconductor fabrication processes. The device detects megahertz-range ultrasound transmitted through air without contacting the target. Its size and sensitivity make it suitable for inspecting objects that cannot tolerate contact or contamination.
The sensor integrates an optical circuit and a micromechanical structure on a single silicon chip using silicon photonics. An ultrathin cantilever vibrates when struck by airborne ultrasound. Those vibrations change the wavelength and intensity of light traveling in a nearby waveguide and ring resonator. The optical changes are converted into electrical signals that represent the ultrasonic waveform.
The active acoustic sensing area is 0.0004 mm² (30 μm × 13.5 μm). Despite the tiny footprint, the team reports a receiving responsivity per effective sensing area more than 25,000 times higher than a commercial piezoelectric (PZT) ultrasonic sensor. That gain in per-area sensitivity helps overcome rapid signal attenuation that normally limits airborne detection at MHz frequencies.
The sensor was fabricated via a multi-project wafer process compatible with existing 8-inch silicon wafer foundry infrastructure. No changes to standard contract manufacturing processes are required. By altering design layouts on the same wafer, sensors tuned to different operating frequencies can be produced simultaneously, enabling scalable manufacturing and design variation.
Practical implications and near-term development
Conventional ultrasonic nondestructive testing commonly uses a coupling medium such as gel to transmit signals between transducer and target. That contact method is unsuitable for contamination-sensitive parts like some semiconductor wafers, secondary batteries, and certain composite materials. An air-coupled ultrasonic receiver that combines high frequency, high sensitivity, and miniaturization can inspect such parts without contact.
The DGIST team plans to develop high-density array versions that place dozens of receivers on a single chip, which would support faster area scanning and higher-resolution imaging. The researchers also identified potential application extension into medical and bioimaging.
Next steps mentioned by the researchers
The team intends to integrate dozens of receivers into arrayed chips to form high-density, multi-receiver optical ultrasonic systems. They plan to adapt the platform for a broader set of applications, including medical and bioimaging work.
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