International Journal of Industrial Electronics and Electrical Engineering, ISSN: 2393-2835 Volume-5, Issue-7, Jul.

-2017
http://iraj.in
ULTRASONIC HIGH VOLTAGE PULSER
1
KAJAL V. INGALE, 2Y.B. KALE
1,2
Usha Mittal Institute of Technology, SNDT. Mumbai, Maharashtra India
E-mail: 1kajal.ingale@gmail.com, 2kaleyashwantb@gmail.com

Abstract - The ultrasonic high voltage pulser plays the most important role in an Ultrasonic Flaw Detector and an
Ultrasonic Imaging System used for inspection of different kinds of materials Ultrasonic Testing Techiques for NDE (non-
destructive evaluation) of engineering components have developed extensively over some few years.This system is used for
ultrasonic inspection of zircaloy-2 pressue tubes for pressurised heavy water reactors and for end fittings of PHWRs.The
resolution and ultrasonic properties of different kinds of material is the choice of ultrasonic frequency that can be efficiently
used.The main advantage provided by such imaging system is the possibility of superior quality control due to best defect
sizing.

Index terms - Non destructive Testig , Piezoelectric transducer ,Pulser- receiver.

I. INTRODUCTION resonates when excited by the high-voltage spike

Ultrasonic technique uses transmission of high-
frequency sound waves into a material to detect flaws
or to find out changes in different material
properties.1-15MHz frequency is generally used for
specialized application and frequencies upto 100-150
MHz are also necessary. Mostly piezoelectric
transducer is used in such application. Ultrasonic
waves are created by using excitation of piezoelectric
transducer with high voltage and narrow pulse.
Ultrasonic flaw detector which is mostly used
instrument for non destructive techniques of various
kinds of materials.The pulse generator is the most
critical part in all ultrasonic systems. There are
different kinds of techniques used for exciting
ultrasonic transducer.Ultrasonic testing is a very
versatile inspection method and inspections can be
accomplished in a number of different ways. Pulse
echo is the most commonly used ultrasonic testing
technique , in this technique sound is introduced into
a test object and echoes (reflection) are returned to a
receiver from internal flaws or from the object’s
geometrical surfaces.The Ultrasonic based Non-
Destructive Testing (NDT) is a widely used and well-
established technique for inspecting, testing, or
evaluating of materials, components or assemblies
with features of non-invasiveness, low-cost and real-
time capability. The high voltage pulse generator
(pulser) is the critical part of all ultrasonic imaging
system. The GUI based application in the host
computer (PC) is generally written in languages like
C, Visual C++, Visual C#, VB, Java etc. USB
Controller generates pulses with desired pulse width
and pulse repetition frequency (PRF). High voltage
pulser board also has a provision of onboard pulse
generation using low voltage timing control circuit.
The high voltage pulser generates high voltage pulses
to excite an ultrasonic transducer through discharge
capacitor. Ultrasonic transducer converts pulse
electric energy into acoustic waves. The ultrasonic
transducer is based on a piezoelectric disc, which
pulse. These vibrations are transferred into the test
piece. The ultrasonic wave propagates through the
test piece and reflected back to the transducer.
Different applications requires different pulse
characteristics like B-mode imaging requires short
pulses with wide bandwidth to achieve good axial
resolution, Doppler imaging requires multiple pulses
(tone-burst) to acquire flow information. Bipolar
pulses can be used for high frequency ultrasonic
applications and Doppler applications. The
piezoelectric material in the receiving transducer is
induced to vibrate by the received reflected ultrasonic
wave and consequently generates an electrical signal.
The signal is then amplified, filtered and digitized,
and finally visualized on a digital oscilloscope or a
computer screen. Some publication are available that
are offering different pulser topologies for high
voltage pulse generation for various application .
There are four different types of ultrasonic generators
are used for generation of ultrasound frequency: spike
pulser, square wave pulser ,bipolar tone burst
pulser,and step pulser.This paper aims to present high
voltage pulser technique in details.
II.SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
Fig.1. Block diagram of ultrasonic high voltage pulser
The ultrasonic pulser/receiver constitutes the most
vital building block of an ultrasonic flaw detector or

Ultrasonic High Voltage Pulser

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 International Journal of Industrial Electronics and Electrical Engineering, ISSN: 2393-2835
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an Ultrasonic Imaging System used for inspection of
materials. The pulser generates high volt excitation
signal suitable for pulsed ultrasonic
transducer.Overall signal to noise ratio of the system
i.e.amplification of the signal is enhanced using high
gain and high bandwidth receiver.The design of
ultrasonic pulser is based upon very high speed and
High power RF MOSFETs,configured as an
electronic switch.
Ultrasonic Pulser is composed of four components:
Power supply which supplies electrical energy, Low
voltage pulse generator which provides various types
of pulses, MOSFET Driver which drives the power
MOSFET,and the High Voltage RF MOSFET which
is used to generate the high voltage spike signal for
excitation of ultrasonic transducer.
Use of Lead-zirconate-titanate or bismuth titanate
type Piezo electric transducers are most common in
such applications.Ultrasonic waves are generated
when a high voltage, narrow pulse,excites the Piezo
electric transducer.
1. Gate MOSFET Driver and MOSFET
This is the most important stage of the pulser.This
stage must supply the electrical pulse of the desired
voltage to the ultrasonic transducer.The general
pulser contains one switch to produce the leading
edge of high voltage pulse. The trailing edge of the
high voltage pulse is produced by the register pull-up
network.Normally the value of R which is connected
between high voltage DC supply +HV and drain of
the power MOSFET, should be low with the purpose
of getting fast trailing edge response while charging
the capacitor.One active element is responsible for
leading edge.
Fig.3. Interface between MOSFET Driver and Power
MOSFET
Fig.3.shows interface between MOSFET driver and
Power MOSFET.In-built pulse signal has been
applied to the gate driver with specific pulse
width,rise time,fall time,rise voltage and pulse
delay.The waveforms at the gate of the power
MOSFET is shown in Fig.4.The positive-going
corner ring is from the inductance in the VCC supply
path, while the negative-going corner ring is from
inductance in the ground return path to the supply.
The amount of ringing is primarily a function of how
much current is present and the amount of loading. If
the gate of MOSFET has higher capacitive input load
then, pulse ringing effect can be reduced.
Ultrasonic High Voltage Pulser
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Volume-5, Issue-7, Jul.-2017
Fig.4. MOSFET gate input pulse from the Driver
2. Charging capacitor effect on output of the spike
pulser
As mentioned earlier, charging capacitor plays a vital
role in spike pulser design. The Capacitor CC is
charged through the high series resistor RC and a
source-drain RSD resistance of power MOSFET when
it is off. So that the Capacitor CC gradually charges
up to the supply voltage (+HV). During the charging
process there will be a small voltage across the load,
which falls to zero as the capacitor charges up. When
positive edge pulse is applied to the MOSFET, it will
suddenly on and the charge on the capacitor
discharges and it will then decay exponentially.
The output rise time and fall time at drain terminal
depends on the drain capcitor value and load resisor
value. Simulated rise time of the drain voltgae is
specific ns(nano second) during capcior charging
peroid and fall time is also specific ns(nano second)
during capcitor rising period.
The storage time is decresed as value of capactor is
changed from certain nanofarad.So we can get a
sudden trailing edge during charging of external
capacitor.But disadvantage is that peak overshoot is
incresed which can cause oscillations during
exciation of the ultrasonic transducer. so there is a
trade off between peak overshoot and storage time of
charging capacitor. The other solution is to the
reduce drain resistance RC. It also cause fast trailing
edge response but it produce large power drop when
MOSFET is on as current is high due to low
resistance. Then the solution is to use short pulse for
reduction of power.
3. Modes of operation:
Following modes of operation are supported:
(i) Pulse-Echo (PE) mode:
In this mode, a single transducer acts both as the
transmitter and receiver of ultrasound. This mode is
the most widely used type.
(ii) Transmit-Receive (T/R) mode:
In this mode, two separate transducers are used so
that one acts as the transmitter and the other as the
 International Journal of Industrial Electronics and Electrical Engineering, ISSN: 2393-2835
receiver. This mode of operation is suitable for
through transmission investigations where the two
transducers are geometrically aligned and face each
other (with the test job in between). Such an
arrangement is useful when the test objects are large
and the material is attenuative or when pulse echo
methods are not suitable.[7]
III. ADVANTAGES OF
ULTRASONIC PULSER
1. It is sensitive to both surface and subsurface
discontinuities.
2. The depth of penetration for flaw detection or
measurement is superior to other NDT methods.
3. Only single-sided access in pulse-echo and
transmit receive mode.It is highly accurate in
determining reflector position and estimating size
and shape.
4. It provides instantaneous results.Detailed images
can be produced with automated systems.
5. It is nonhazardous to operators or nearby
personnel and does not affect the material being
tested.
6. It has other uses, such as thickness measurement,
in addition to flaw detection.
Demerits of typical ultrasonic pulser:
1. Surface must be accessible to transmit
ultrasound. Skill and training is more extensive
than with some other methods.
2. It normally requires a coupling medium to
promote the transfer of sound energy into the test
specimen.
3. Materials that are rough, irregular in shape, very
small, exceptionally thin or not homogeneous are
difficult to inspect.
CONCLUSION
Ultrasonic spike pulser can be tested using different
kinds of resistive load : (1) With no any external load,
(2) With 50Ω load, and (3) With ultrasonic transducer
load.
Fig.6 Different load condition for testing the performance of
spike pulser: (a) With no load.
Volume-5, Issue-7, Jul.-2017
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By using this above load we can check some
parameters like :Input Pulse Width, Input PRT, Input
Pulse mode, Charging Capacitance CC, Damping
Resistance RD, External Load RLoaD,
The Ultrasonic Pulser Unit is designed for Non-
destructive Testing/Evaluation (NDT/NDE) of
fabricated mechanical components/parts.Ultrasonic
inspection of forgings for end fittings of PHWRs.End
TYPICAL fitting is very critical mechanical component for the
PHWR ( pressurised heavy water reactors.
This pulser is used for Ultrasonic Inspection of
Zircaloy-2 Pressure Tubes (PT) For 220MWe
PHWRs.[3].
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