Modeling a Fluid-Coupled Single Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer Using the Finite Difference Method

A complete model was developed to simulate the behavior of a circular clamped axisymmetric fluid-coupled Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT). Combining Finite Difference and Boundary Element Matrix (FD-BEM), this model is based on the discretization of the partial differential equation used to translate the mechanical behavior of a PMUT. In the model, both the axial and the transverse displacements are preserved in the equation of motion and used to properly define the neutral line position. To introduce fluid coupling, a Green’s function dedicated to axisymmetric circular radiating sources is employed. The resolution of the behavioral equations is used to establish the equivalent electroacoustic circuit of a PMUT that preserves the average particular velocity, the mechanical power, and the acoustic power. Particular consideration is given to verifying the validity of certain assumptions that are usually made across various steps of previously reported analytical models. In this framework, the advantages of the membrane discretization performed in the FD-BEM model are highlighted through accurate simulations of the first vibration mode and especially the cutoff frequency that many other models do not predict. This high cutoff frequency corresponds to cases where the spatial average velocity of the plate is null and is of great importance for PMUT design because it defines the upper limit above which the device is considered to be mechanically blocked. These modeling results are compared with electrical and dynamic membrane displacement measurements of AlN-based (500 nm thick) PMUTs in air and fluid. The first resonance frequency confrontation showed a maximum relative error of 1.13% between the FD model and Finite Element Method (FEM). Moreover, the model perfectly predicts displacement amplitudes when PMUT vibrates in a fluid, with less than 5% relative error. Displacement amplitudes of 16 nm and 20 nm were measured for PMUT with 340 µm and 275 µm diameters, respectively. This complete PMUT model using the FD-BEM approach is shown to be very efficient in terms of computation time and accuracy.