Steven R. Freeman, Marshall K. Quick, Marc A. Morin, R. Carver Anderson, Charles S. Desilets, Thomas E. Linnenbrink, Matthew O'Donnell
ABSTRACT The principles of oversampling are exploited in a simple beamforming architecture using a single bit delta-sigma (Delta Sigma) analog to digital converter (A/D) on every channel. The high sampling rate required for the single bit A/D provides adequate delay accuracy for high quality beamforming using elementary sample manipulations. Images produced with this beamformer exhibit significant artifacts directly related to dynamic focusing. However, a simple digital recoding technique following delays permits dynamically focused beamforming without degrading image quality. The simplicity of this beamformer compared to conventional methods may facilitate very large channel count or low power beamformers suitable for 1.5-D arrays or portable scanners.
1999 IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Vol. 46, pp. 320-332, 1999
© 1999, by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved.