Simulation and Optimization of Characteristics of Sparse Ultrasonic Phased Array

To deal with the phase blurring problem of sparse ultrasonic phased array,a placement strategy was adopted to eliminate grating lobes and suppress side lobes.The transmit array and receive array were placed in the upper and lower row respectively,and the piezoelectric ultrasound probes with a diameter of 16mm were adopted.Array factor(AF) and directivity diagram of the phased array were obtained based on the assumption of piston-style vibration and far ultrasound field.The characteristics of phased arrays composed of elements of different size,distance or number were simulated and optimized.The side lobes of the optimized phased array were suppressed effectively,and the structure of the optimized one was more compact.Its lateral resolution is up to 4.09°,and scanning range has expanded from 30° to 50°.The sparse ultrasonic phased array can be used to detect obstacles in the air.