Low f-number photoacoustic lens for tight ultrasonic focusing and free-field micro-cavitation in water

Abstract

We demonstrate a photoacoustic lens with a low f-number of 0.61 and a high focal gain of 220 at 15-MHz frequency for laser-generated focused ultrasound (LGFU), which enables free-field micro-cavitation in water. Due to tight ultrasonic focusing (90 μm in lateral and 200 μm in longitudinal spot widths at a distance of 9.2 mm), the lens produces a peak pressure of 20 MPa (positive) using an input laser energy of only 1 mJ/pulse (6-ns temporal width). Remarkably, we confirm single-pulsed micro-cavitation in a free-field condition by using this lens, which has not previously been achieved with LGFU. The free-field cavitation was monitored and characterized in terms of a bubble radius, a lifetime, and a probability. Our result demonstrates that LGFU amplitudes can be sufficiently higher than a threshold for free-field cavitation at a microscale spot, which is a crucial step for cavitation-based therapy with high precision.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Mar 07, 2016
Source ID
10.1063/1.4943369

Entities

People

  • Hyoung Won Baac
  • Jong G Ok
  • L. Jay Guo
  • Taehwa Lee

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
  • National Research Foundation of Korea
  • National Science Foundation
  • Seoul National University of Science and Technology
  • Sungkyunkwan University
  • University of Michigan

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Underwater engineering and Marine Technology.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy