Ultrasound receivers

Two 8-channel (octal) ulstrasound receivers have been released by Analog Devices.

The AD9272 has low terminated noise for high- and mid-end cart-based ultrasound equipment that needs good image quality and the AD9273 is a power-efficient device for portable systems.

The AD9272’s low input referred noise is 0.75 nV/rtHz at 5 MHz typical, when operating under real-world conditions and 6 dB/rtHz better input dynamic range.

For portable equipment, the AD9273 has a power dissipation of less than 100 mW per channel at 12 bits and 40 mSps, which extends portable ultrasound battery life.

Both units have a variable gain range of up to 42 dB, a selection of anti-alisaing filter options and pin-compatibility with other products in the ADI family.

The AD9272 contains an ADC with a conversion rate of up to 80 mSps and the AD9273 includes an ADC with a conversion rate of up to 50 mSps. The AD9271 has a variable gain range of 30 dB and includes an ADC with a conversion rate of up to 50 mSps.

Both have a serial port interface (SPI) that allows designers to further customise the noise and power performance for any given imaging mode, probe or power requirement.

By changing SPI registers, designers can optimise an ultrasound signal processing architecture for the best possible noise performance or longest battery life.