Eberhard Brunner
Analog Devices

There are major trade-offs to be considered when designing ultrasound front-end circuits. Performance parameters in the front-end circuit components affect diagnostic performance—and conversely, system configuration and objectives affect the choice of components. It is essential for designers to understand the specifications that are of particular importance, their effect on system performance, and how they are affected by integrated-circuit (IC) design trade-offs—in terms of integration and semiconductor process technology—that will limit user design choices. Awareness of these considerations will help the designer to achieve the most advantageous system partitioning. This technical paper starts with a high level system overview, followed a more detailed description of how ultrasound systems work.