JP2023004096A - Array type ultrasonic transmitting/receiving apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ultrasonic transmitting/receiving apparatus with reduced inspection time.SOLUTION: In an array type ultrasonic transmitting/receiving apparatus 1 of the present invention including an array probe 4 having a plurality of ultrasonic vibrators linearly arranged, where an arrangement direction of the ultrasonic vibrators is defined as a Y-axis direction of a scanning plain, meanwhile, a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction is defined as an X-axis direction, the array probe is moved in the X-axis direction without standing still on the basis of preset scanning conditions, and the array probe performs an electronic scan of sequentially transmitting an ultrasonic beam to a plurality of irradiation points of a test object and receiving reflection waves during movement in the X-axis direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3B

Description

The present invention relates to an array-type ultrasonic transmission/reception device.

2. Description of the Related Art There is an ultrasonic transmission/reception apparatus that irradiates an object such as a semiconductor with ultrasonic waves, generates image information of the inside of the object based on the reflected waves, and detects defects inside the object. According to this ultrasonic transmission/reception device, non-destructive high-resolution inspection can be performed, and the reliability of electronic components can be ensured.

In recent years, there has been a demand for shortening the inspection time due to the high density mounting of semiconductor wafers. In order to realize this, it is essential to shorten the transmission/reception processing of ultrasonic waves.

For this reason, an ultrasonic inspection apparatus has been devised that uses an array probe that is composed of a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged in a straight line and electronically scans these ultrasonic transducers (Patent Document 1).

This ultrasonic inspection apparatus is configured to scan a predetermined width with one electronic scan while the array probe is stationary. Specifically, while a single probe performs processing with one ultrasonic transducer, high-speed processing is realized by performing electronic scanning processing with a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that constitute an array probe.

JP-A-63-177056

The above-mentioned prior art discloses a method of moving the array probe to the next inspection position after completing the electronic scanning process with the array probe stationary, and performing the electronic scanning process again with the array probe stationary. That is, the method in which the array probe is stationary when electronically scanned.

Specifically, the time required to transmit ultrasonic waves from one inspection position to the next inspection position is the sum of the electronic scanning time and the probe movement time.
Further high-speed processing is required in order to shorten the inspection time in the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic transmission/reception apparatus that reduces examination time.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an array-type ultrasonic transmitting/receiving apparatus of the present invention is an array-type ultrasonic transmitting/receiving apparatus including an array probe having a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged in a straight line. In a scanning plane parallel to the subject, the arrangement direction of the ultrasonic transducer is the Y-axis direction of the scanning plane, and the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction is the X-axis direction of the scanning plane, and a preset scanning is performed Based on the conditions, the array probe is moved in the X-axis direction without being stationary, and the array probe sequentially transmits ultrasonic beams to a plurality of irradiation points of the subject while moving in the X-axis direction. An electronic scan for receiving reflected waves is performed.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the inspection time of an ultrasonic transmission/reception device.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the ultrasonic transmission/reception apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure explaining the operation|movement content of the plane scanning of a probe in an ultrasonic transmitter-receiver. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an irradiation point of an ultrasonic beam of a probe; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing positions of irradiation points of ultrasonic beams in planar scanning of a probe; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a coordinate system in which a scanner control unit scans a plane with a probe;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an ultrasonic transmission/reception device according to an embodiment.

The ultrasonic transmission/reception device 1 includes a triaxial scanner 2 (scanning means) and an ultrasonic array probe (hereinafter referred to as probe). The three-axis scanner 2 scans (plane scans) the probe 4 two-dimensionally in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction with respect to the planar subject 8 . Accordingly, the ultrasonic transmission/reception device 1 can image the planar subject 8 using ultrasonic waves.

The probe 4 is a phased array ultrasonic probe (ultrasonic array probe) in which a large number of transducers are arranged in strips. Specifically, the oscillation timing of some of the multiple transducers (transducer group) in a large number of transducers is controlled to create an ultrasonic convergence beam (ultrasonic beam), and the transducer group is electronically switched. By moving, the irradiation position is changed to irradiate the ultrasonic beam, and the object 8 is one-dimensionally scanned. In this specification, electronic scanning of an ultrasonic beam by a phased array ultrasonic probe is referred to as electronic scanning.
Reception control of reflected waves of ultrasonic beams is also performed by controlling the group of transducers.

Further, the probe 4 may focus ultrasonic waves generated from a single transducer with an acoustic lens and irradiate the subject with the ultrasonic waves, and the transducer may be configured in a plurality of strips. Also in this configuration, electronic scanning of the subject 8 is performed by changing the irradiation position of the ultrasonic beam by electronically switching the transducers.

The probe 4 is immersed in the water filled in the water tank 91 and placed so that the tip of the probe 4 faces the subject 8 . The probe 4 is attached to the 3-axis scanner 2 with a holder 24 .
A water tank 91 is placed on a table 92 .

When scanning the probe 4 two-dimensionally, the 3-axis scanner 2 detects the scanning position based on the linear position or the rotational position (angular position) detected by the built-in encoder for detecting position change. As a result, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 1 can two-dimensionally visualize the relationship between each scanning position (scanning point) of the subject 8 and the echo wave.

The three-axis scanner 2 includes an X-axis scanner 21 and a Y-axis scanner 22 for scanning the probe 4, a Z-axis scanner 23 for varying the distance between the probe 4 and the subject 8, and a holder 24 for holding the probe 4. .
The height of the probe 4 is adjusted by the table 92 before the examination, and the distance from the subject 8 is adjusted by the Z-axis scanner 23 .

The probe 4 is continuously moved at a predetermined speed by the X-axis scanner 21 of the 3-axis scanner 2 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the plurality of transducers are linearly arranged (hereinafter, this direction is referred to as the X-axis direction). The probe 4 is moved (scanned), in other words, the probe 4 is moved in the X-axis direction without standing still. is moved (shift operation) by the scanning width of .

The holder 24 supports a flange 42 provided on the top of the probe 4 so that the probe 4 can move smoothly upward when an upward force is applied. A sensor 3 is provided on the holder 24 to detect that the probe 4 has moved upward.

The control device 10 includes a control unit 18, a transmission/reception command unit 12, a transducer operation signal generation unit 14, a reflected wave signal processing unit 15, a reflected wave image generation unit 16, and a display unit 17. 4 and the display control of echo waves from the subject 8 are performed.

The mechanical control unit 11 drives the X-axis scanner 21 and the Y-axis scanner 22 based on the output of the encoders built into the X-axis scanner 21 and the Y-axis scanner 22 according to the scanning conditions described later, and the probe 4 moves over the object 8. It is a control unit for moving the scanning plane parallel to the subject 8 above.

The transmission/reception command unit 12 is a control unit that commands the transducer operation signal generation unit 14 to generate a transducer operation signal and starts electronic scanning of the probe 4 .

The transducer operation signal generation unit 14 generates transducer operation signals according to the transducer group and scanning order selected by the transmission/reception command unit 12, and transmits the signals to the probe 4 for each scanning point.
The probe 4 irradiates an ultrasonic beam according to the transducer operation signal from the transducer operation signal generator 14 .

The reflected wave signal processing unit 15 receives the signal of the reflected wave of the ultrasonic beam from the probe 4 for each scanning point, provides a gate corresponding to the depth of the object 8 to be measured, and performs gate processing to obtain the reflected wave. A displacement (amplitude) is obtained, and the signal strength is calculated from the displacement.

The reflected wave image generation unit 16 converts the signal intensity of the reflected wave for each scanning point calculated by the reflected wave signal processing unit 15 into a gradation of 0 to 255, for example. A reflected wave of the ultrasonic beam is generated at a boundary surface where the acoustic impedance (density) changes, such as a boundary between the subject 8 and the water in the water tank 91, a material boundary inside the subject 8, a peeled portion, a void portion, or the like. The reflected wave image generator 16 sets the gradation to 0 at the point where there is no reflected wave of the ultrasonic beam, and increases the gradation as the signal intensity of the reflected wave increases.

The display unit 17 displays the signal intensity of the reflected wave of the ultrasonic beam obtained by the reflected wave image generation unit 16 as a grayscale image obtained by planarly scanning the subject 8 . Specifically, black is displayed when the gradation is 0, white is displayed when the gradation is the maximum value, and gray is displayed according to the gradation when the gradation is an intermediate value.
As a result, the ultrasound transmitting/receiving apparatus 1 displays the planarly scanned cavity of the subject 8 (which has a large difference in density from its surroundings) as a white image.

The control unit 18 controls the mechanical control unit 11 and also controls the transmission/reception command unit 12 in synchronization with the encoder output of the X-axis scanner 21 notified from the mechanical control unit 11 . That is, the control unit 18 starts electronic scanning in synchronization with the scanning operation of the probe 4 . As a result, the scanning pitch of the subject 8 in the X-axis direction by electronic scanning of the probe 4 becomes equal to the pitch of the encoder output of the X-axis scanner 21 .

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the contents of planar scanning operation of the probe 4 in the ultrasonic transmission/reception apparatus 1 will be described.
For example, the probe 4 is configured by linearly arranging 192 transducers. A case is shown in which the vibrator is composed of

The ultrasound transmitting/receiving apparatus 1 uses the set position of the subject 8 as the scanning origin (upper left of the scanning area in FIG. 2), specifies the size of the scanning area, and performs planar scanning with the probe 4 .
First, the three-axis scanner 2 is driven to move the probe 4 so that the starting point of electronic scanning of the probe 4 is positioned at the origin of planar scanning. Specifically, since the electronic scan is performed while the probe 4 is moving, the probe 4 is moved including the run-up so that the moving speed when passing the start point of the electronic scan is a predetermined value.

At the origin of planar scanning, the probe 4 performs electronic scanning with the transducers a, b, c, d, e, f, and g, and is scanned in the direction in which the transducers are arranged by the X-axis scanner 21 of the triaxial scanner 2. Move vertically. The probe 4 then performs the next electronic scan in synchronization with the encoder output of the X-axis scanner 21 . The probe 4 repeats this for the width of the scanning area (the size in the X-axis direction).

As described above, the probe 4 repeats electronic scanning while continuously moving the probe 4 in the X-axis direction (scan operation 1) without standing still, and the length in the Y-axis direction is the scanning width of the electronic scanning. In minutes, an ultrasonic beam is applied to a band-shaped scanning area having a width of the scanning area whose length in the X-axis direction is set, and reflected waves from the subject 8 are detected.

At this time, the control device 10 converts the reflected wave from the subject 8 detected by one electronic scan of the probe 4 into the reflected wave of the ultrasonic beam having the same position (scanning row) in the X-axis direction as a reflected wave. is calculated and displayed as a grayscale image.

Next, the probe 4 is moved by the Y-axis scanner 22 of the 3-axis scanner 2 by the scanning width of the electronic scanning (shift operation) in parallel with the direction in which the plurality of transducers are arranged. Then, the probe 4 is moved by the X-axis scanner 21 so that the starting point of the electronic scanning of the probe 4 is at the same position in the X-axis direction as the starting point of the last electronic scanning of the scanning operation 1 described above.

The probe 4 performs electronic scanning with the transducers a, b, c, d, e, f, and g, and the X-axis scanner 21 of the triaxial scanner 2 scans the transducers in parallel in the direction opposite to the scan operation 1. Move in a direction perpendicular to the direction. The probe 4 then performs the next electronic scan in synchronization with the encoder output of the X-axis scanner 21 . The probe 4 repeats this for the width of the scanning area (the size in the X-axis direction).

As described above, the probe 4 repeats the electronic scanning while continuously moving the probe 4 in the X-axis direction (scanning operation 2), and the length in the Y-axis direction is the scanning width of the electronic scanning, and the X An ultrasonic beam is applied to a band-shaped scanning area having a width of the scanning area whose length in the axial direction is set, and reflected waves from the subject 8 are detected.

If the designated scanning area can be covered by the scanning operation 1 and the scanning operation 2 of the probe 4, the control device 10 ends the plane scanning. Then, electronic scanning is performed and scan operation 3, shift operation, and scan operation 4 are performed in the same manner as the previous operation.
The control device 10 repeats the above operation until the specified scanning area is covered, and performs planar scanning of the subject 8 .

In this specification, scan operation 1, scan operation 3, . . . of the probe 4 are referred to as forward scan operations, and scan operation 2, scan operation 4, .

Since the probe 4 performs electronic scanning while continuously moving in the above-described scanning operations 1, 2, 3, and 4, in detail, the X-axis direction of the irradiation point of the ultrasonic beam depends on the irradiation timing of the ultrasonic beam. position is shifted. Next, the relationship between the irradiation timing of the ultrasonic beam and the irradiation point will be described.

FIG. 3A is a diagram for explaining the irradiation point of the ultrasonic beam of the probe 4. FIG.
Irradiation points a, b, c, d, e, f, and g are irradiation points of ultrasonic beams by electronic scanning of transducers a, b, c, d, e, f, and g of the probe 4 . In particular, the irradiation point a is the irradiation point corresponding to the origin of the scanning area, and is the irradiation point of the first ultrasonic beam for electronic scanning synchronized with the encoder output of the X-axis scanner 21 during the scanning operation.

Electronic scanning of the probe 4 is performed during the continuous movement of the scanning motion. The solid-line rectangle in FIG. 3A indicates the position of the probe 4 when the ultrasonic beam is first applied, and the dashed-line rectangle indicates the position of the probe 4 when the ultrasonic beam is finally applied.
The probe 4 irradiates ultrasonic beams sequentially from the irradiation point a toward the other end of the probe 4 . Therefore, the irradiation points b, c, d, e, f, and g are shifted little by little in the scanning direction.

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the positions of the irradiation points of the ultrasonic beams in the plane scans of the scan operation 1 and the scan operation 2 of the probe 4 .
Since the irradiation point a of the probe 4 is electronically scanned in synchronization with the encoder output of the X-axis scanner 21, the position in the X-axis direction is the same between the scan operation 1 and the scan operation 2. FIG. However, the irradiation points b, c, d, e, f, and g are shifted little by little according to the scanning direction.

Next, the planar scanning processing of the probe 4 of the control device 10 will be described in detail.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a control coordinate system in which the control device 10 scans the plane of the probe 4. As shown in FIG.

The mechanical control unit 11 sets the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the ultrasonic transducers of the probe 4 are arranged in the X-axis direction of the scanning plane, and the direction in which the ultrasonic transducers are arranged in the Y-axis direction of the scanning plane. A coordinate system is defined with the position of the probe 4 at the start of the first electronic scan for irradiating the beam as the origin of the scanning plane.
Coordinates (X _k , Y _l ) are the position of the probe 4 when the ultrasonic beam is irradiated to the irradiation point a (the first irradiation point of the electronic scan) for each electronic scan of the probe 4 . Hereinafter, the position of the irradiation point a for each electronic scan represents the position of the probe 4 .

The subscript _k of the Xk coordinate is a number indicating the irradiation point of the ultrasonic beam in the X-axis direction, and takes any value from 0 to n. The _X0 coordinate and the _Xn coordinate indicate the positions of the ends of the movement of the probe 4 in the X-axis direction, and n+1 indicates the number of irradiation points in the X-axis direction of the scanning plane.
The subscript _l of the Yl coordinate is a number indicating the irradiation point of the ultrasonic beam in the Y-axis direction, and takes any value from 0 to m. The Y0 coordinate and the Ym coordinate indicate the positions of the ends of the movement of the probe 4 in the Y-axis direction, and _m + ₁ indicates the number of irradiation points in the Y-axis direction of the scanning plane.

n is obtained by dividing the length in the X-axis direction of the region (scanning area) to be planarly scanned by half the resolution of the ultrasonic transmission/reception device 1 . That is, n is a value obtained by dividing the length of the scanning area in the X-axis direction by the movement distance Dm, which is the distance between the _Xk coordinates.
Further, m is obtained by dividing the length of the region (scanning area) to be planarly scanned in the Y-axis direction by the scanning width of the electronic scanning of the probe 4 .

As described above, the mechanical control unit 11 sets the position of the probe 4 at the start of the first electronic scan for irradiating the subject 8 with an ultrasonic beam as the origin of the scanning plane, and sets the position of the probe 4 at the start of the electronic scan in the Y-axis direction. When the Y coordinate of the position of the probe 4 is Yl, the next position _{Yl+1 of} the probe 4 in the Y-axis direction due to the movement is the position obtained by adding the scanning width of the electronic scan to _Yl , and in the X-axis direction: A control coordinate system is defined in which the X _coordinate of the position of the probe 4 at the start of the electronic scan is Xk.

2 and 3B, that is, when moving the probe 4 in a direction away from the origin, the mechanical control unit 11 controls the X-axis scanner 21 continuously moves the probe 4 from coordinates (X _k , Y _l ) to coordinates (X _k+1 , Y _l ) (k is from 0 to n). Further, when controlling the movement of the probe 4 in the scan operation 2 or the scan operation 4, that is, when moving the probe 4 in a direction approaching the origin, the mechanical control unit 11 causes the X-axis scanner 21 to move the probe 4 to coordinates (X _k , Y _l ) to coordinates (X _k−1 , Y _l ) (k is 0 from n).

Movement speed V _m of probe 4 from coordinates (X _k , Y _l ) to coordinates (X _k+1 , Y _l ) and movement from coordinates (X _k , Y _l ) to coordinates (X _k−1 , Y _l ) The velocity V _m is the moving distance Dm, which is the distance between the X _k coordinates, and the moving time T _m from the coordinates (X _k , Y _l ) to the coordinates (X _k+1 , Y _l ), or the coordinates (X _k , Y _l ) to the coordinates (X _k−1 , Y _l ) by the time T _m .
The movement time _Tm is set equal to the scan time Ts, which is the sum of transmission and reception times at a plurality of electronic scanning irradiation points, so that one electronic scanning can be performed while the probe 4 is moving in the X-axis direction.
Accordingly, in the present invention, when the electronic scan is started at the X _k coordinate, and the electronic scan is completed and the electronic scan process is started at the next X _k+1 coordinate, the first transducer of the array probe is already X _k+1. It will be located at the coordinates. As in the known art, the time required to move from the Xk coordinate to the Xk _{+ 1} coordinate after one-electron scanning is completed is zero.

Further, when the probe 4 moves, fluctuations and air bubbles are generated in the immersed water, which may affect the progress of the ultrasonic beam and/or the reflected wave. Therefore, the moving speed _Vm of the probe 4 must be less than or equal to the maximum speed (Vmax) within which disturbance factors such as water fluctuations and air bubbles do not occur.

Specifically, when the speed of sound in water is 1500 m/sec, the distance from the transducer of the probe 4 to the inspection surface of the subject is 10 mm, and the number of transducers of the probe 4 is 192, the scanning time of one electronic scan is is 0.0025536 seconds. When trying to obtain a resolution for extracting a defect of 0.4 mm, the moving distance Dm is set at 0.2 mm, and the moving speed V _m is determined from the relationship between the moving distance Dm and the moving time T _m (=Ts). 78.320802 mm/sec. The maximum value (Vmax) of the moving speed is 300 mm/sec from the results of previous experiments, and since the moving speed _Vm is within Vmax, disturbance factors such as water fluctuations and air bubbles do not occur.

The mechanical control unit 11 stores this moving speed _Vm as a scanning condition. The mechanical control unit 11 manages the _Xk coordinate by the encoder output of the X-axis scanner 21, and moves the probe 4 at the moving speed _Vm .

At the end of the movement in the X-axis direction, the mechanical control unit 11 moves from the coordinates (X _k+1 , Y _l ) to the coordinates (X _k+1 , Y _l+1 ), or from the coordinates (X _k-1 , Y _l ) to the coordinates (X _{k- 1} , Y _l+1 ), the Y-axis scanner 22 is driven to move the probe 4 in the Y-axis direction.

As described above, the ultrasonic transmitting/receiving apparatus 1 moves the probe 4 in the X-axis direction from X coordinate X _k to X _k+1 while electronically scanning the probe 4 , and moves the probe 4 at the end of the X-axis direction movement. 4 in the Y _- axis direction from Y coordinate _Y1 to Y1 _{+1 ;} and an operation of moving the probe 4 in the Y-axis direction from Y coordinate Y1 to Y1 _{+1 at} the end of movement in the X-axis direction. Scan electronically.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications. The above embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations.

Reference Signs List 1 ultrasonic transmitter/receiver 10 control device 11 mechanical control unit 12 transmission/reception command unit 14 transducer operation signal generation unit 15 reflected wave signal processing unit 16 reflected wave image generation unit 17 display unit 18 control unit 2 3-axis scanner 21 X-axis scanner 22 Y-axis scanner 23 Z-axis scanner 24 Holder 3 Sensor 4 Probe (array probe)
42 flange 8 subject 91 water tank 92 units

In order to solve the above-described problems, an array-type ultrasonic transmitting/receiving apparatus of the present invention is an array-type ultrasonic transmitting/receiving apparatus including an array probe having a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged in a straight line. In a scanning plane parallel to the subject, the arrangement direction of the ultrasonic transducer is the Y-axis direction of the scanning plane, and the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction is the X-axis direction of the scanning plane, and a preset scanning is performed Based on the conditions, the array probe is moved in the X-axis direction without being stationary, and the array probe sequentially transmits ultrasonic beams to a plurality of irradiation points of the subject while moving in the X-axis direction. In an array-type ultrasonic transmission/reception device that performs electronic scanning for receiving reflected waves, the position of the array probe at the start of the first electronic scanning for irradiating the subject with an ultrasonic beam is defined as the origin of the scanning plane of the array probe. , in the Y-axis direction, when the Y-coordinate of the position of the array probe at the start of the electronic scan is Yl, the Y-coordinate _{Yl+1 of} the array probe in the Y-axis direction after the movement is _Yl . When the position is the value obtained by adding the scanning width, when moving in the direction away from the origin, the array probe moves to a position where the X coordinate is from X _k to X _k+1 , and moves in the direction approaching the origin. Sometimes, the array probe is moved from X _k to X _k−1 in X coordinate position, and while electronic scanning is performed, the array probe is moved in the X axis direction from X _k to X _k+1 ; moving the array probe in the Y-axis direction by the scanning width of the electronic scanning so that the Y coordinate is from Yl to _{Yl+1 at} the end of the movement of the forward scanning operation, and the array probe while performing the electronic scanning is moved in the X-axis direction from X _k to X _k-1 , and at the end of the movement in the X-axis direction, the array probe is moved in the Y-axis direction so that the Y coordinate is from Y _l to Y _l+1 . The scanning plane is electronically scanned by alternately repeating an operation of moving by the scanning width and a backward scanning operation .

Claims (6)

An array-type ultrasonic transmission/reception device comprising an array probe having a plurality of linearly arranged ultrasonic transducers,
In a scanning plane parallel to the subject above the subject, the arrangement direction of the ultrasonic transducer is the Y-axis direction of the scanning plane, and the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction is the X-axis direction of the scanning plane,
moving the array probe in the X-axis direction without stopping based on preset scanning conditions;
An array-type ultrasonic transmission/reception apparatus, wherein the array probe performs electronic scanning by sequentially transmitting ultrasonic beams to a plurality of irradiation points of the subject and receiving the reflected waves while the array probe is moving in the X-axis direction. . In the array type ultrasonic transmission/reception device according to claim 1,
When the X coordinate of the position of the array probe at the start of the electronic scan is X _k ,
The scanning condition is a moving speed V _m of the array probe from the X _k to X _k−1 or X _k+1 , which is the X coordinate of the position of the array probe at the start of the next electronic scan. Array type ultrasound transmitter/receiver. In the array type ultrasonic transmission/reception device according to claim 2,
The movement time T _m from the X _k to X _k−1 or X _k+1 , which is the X coordinate of the position of the array probe at the start of the next electronic scan, is the transmission and reception time at the plurality of irradiation points of the electronic scan. set equal to the scan time T _s , which is the sum of
An array-type ultrasound transmitting/receiving apparatus, wherein the moving speed V _m is obtained from the moving time T _m and the moving distance D _m of the array probe from the X _k to the X _k−1 or X _k+1 . . In the array type ultrasonic transmission/reception device according to claim 2,
The moving speed _Vm is within a range in which disturbance factors such as fluctuations and air bubbles that affect the progress of the ultrasonic beam and/or the reflected wave do not occur when the array probe moves in the X-axis direction. An array-type ultrasonic transmitting/receiving device characterized by a maximum speed. In the array type ultrasonic transmission/reception device according to claim 1,
The position of the array probe at the start of the first electronic scan for irradiating the subject with an ultrasonic beam is the origin of the scanning plane of the array probe,
In the Y-axis direction, when the Y-coordinate of the position of the array probe at the start of the electronic scan is Yl, the Y-coordinate _{Yl+1 of} the array probe in the Y-axis direction after the movement is _Yl . the position of the value plus the width,
When moving away from the origin, the array probe moves from X _k to X _k+1 , and when moving toward the origin, the array probe moves from X _k to X _k . - An array-type ultrasonic transmission/reception device characterized by moving to the position of ₁ . In the array type ultrasonic transmission/reception device according to claim 5,
An operation of moving the array probe in the X-axis direction from X _k to X _k+1 while performing electronic scanning, and moving the array probe in the Y-axis direction from Y _l to Y _l+1 at the end of the movement in the X-axis direction. a forward scanning motion consisting of:
An operation of moving the array probe in the X-axis direction from the X-coordinate from X _k to X _k−1 while performing electronic scanning, and moving the array probe in the Y-axis direction from the Y-coordinate from Y ₁ to Y ₁₊₁ at the end of the movement in the X-axis direction. a backward scanning motion consisting of:
is alternately repeated to electronically scan the scanning plane.

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