Design and Characterization of a Single-Channel Programmable Microcontroller Ultrasonic Pulser-Receiver System

This article presents the first results of a project dedicated to developing a single-channel microcontroller pulse-echo ultrasonic system. The device is simple, compact, and relatively low-cost, capable of producing negative voltage unipolar spikes up to 50 ns wide with a repetition frequency (PRF) ranging from 100 Hz to 4 kHz. We can set the spike amplitude delivered to a transducer with a voltage ranging from 40 V to 100 V, depending on the supply voltage of the source used. It is also possible to change between one and three pulses in a repetition period. A <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">16× 02</tex> LCD is incorporated to guide the user in customizing the signal. Here, we tested the system successfully to determine the properties of liquid media. Notably, the system's tested parameters showed good performance and a commendable response compared to other commercial pulser-receiver devices. Its constructive versatility makes it relatively easy to adapt to the analysis of solid materials, like biological tissue and metal.