Design of a Varying Ultrasonic

Frequency Amplifier
Keith Michael C. Basa1, Kristina Paula S. Gomez2, Ferdinand B. Navarro-Tantoco3, Alvin S. Quinio4,
Gerald P. Arada5, and Celso B. Co6
Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering
De La Salle University, Manila
2401 Taft Ave., Malate, Manila 1004, Philippines
1
keith_basa@[Link]
2
kristina_gomez@[Link]
3
ferdinand_navarro-tantoco@[Link]
4
alvin_quinio@[Link]
5
[Link]@[Link]
6
[Link]@[Link]

Abstract— Ultrasonic amplifiers are commonly used for single purpose applications. Therefore, it may not be
different applications such as ultrasonic drilling, fully utilized when a change in ultrasonic frequency
ultrasonic cleaning, and medical applications including requirement arises that is not within the band it is able
cosmetics. This paper aims to design an ultrasonic to supply. On the other hand, an ultrasonic amplifier
amplifier with varying frequency that has a dual-ended
that uses half-bridge or single-ended output presents
output which minimizes equipment size, decreases
power loss, increases efficiency, and increases its power loss, as well as decreasing its performance.
performance. This design of ultrasonic frequency Hence, it is the purpose of this design study to
amplifier will be used for ultrasonic cleaning of fabrics. create a varying ultrasonic frequency amplifier which
The amplifier is composed of transformers, bridge is simpler, and uses an H-bridge or a dual-ended
rectifiers, signal generator and a driver circuit. The output thereby, minimizing equipment size,
driver circuit is also composed of the pre-amplifier and maximizing its utilization, and decreases power loss
the H-bridge. The H-bridge, which is a dual-ended while increasing its performance. The said ultrasonic
output, is an electronic circuit which allows voltage to frequency amplifier will be used for ultrasonic
pass through a load in either direction. The output peak
cleaning of fabrics.
amplitude of the system is at 168V, whereby if an H-
bridge is to be considered the total voltage it may supply
II. DESIGN CONSIDERATION
to the system is 336V. The use of an H-bridge will enable
efficient use of power for the system operation,
decreasing power losses. The frequency output varies A. System Block Diagram
between 28 to 40 kHz.

Keywords— Ultrasonic amplifier, ultrasonic varying

frequency, ultrasonic cleaning, ultrasonic drilling,
H-bridge circuit

I. INTRODUCTION
Ultrasound is a branch of acoustics which has a
frequency range above the audible limit. The term
itself has been linked to the fields of physics,
industrial technology, information and measurement
technology, medicine, and biology.
Today, ultrasounds have been found to be of
numerous uses including industrial and commercial
cleaning of metals and fabrics, industrial drilling, and
cosmetics. Ultrasonic amplifier, which supplies the
required frequency of the system, is one of the main
components found in all equipment that uses
[Link] block diagram
ultrasound. Usually, ultrasonic frequency amplifiers The system block diagram is shown in Figure 1.
are bulky and use single frequency, multi-frequency, The ultrasonic amplifier is composed of 3 sub-
or use a half-bridge. Single and multi-frequency
systems; each
ultrasonic amplifiers are usually used for simple or
subsystem produces a signal with varying frequency diodes serve as a mechanical switch. When current
and high voltage. passes from anode to cathode, and a voltage greater
A 220VAC supply is used to power up the signal than its threshold is supplied, the diode turns on and
generator, pre-amplifier, and the ultrasonic serves as a closed switch. Therefore, during the
transducer. A step-down transformer with a 220VAC positive half cycle of an AC signal, D2 and D3
input and an output of 12VAC and 120VAC, is switches on, while on the other hand during negative
connected from an AC supply. Then, bridge rectifiers half cycle, D1 and D4 switch on. This series of
are connected in series with the transformer output. switching action produces a DC voltage with a ripple
The rectifier will convert AC signal to a DC signal. effect. To stabilize the ripple effect, a capacitor is
From a 12VAC transformer output, a 16.97VDC will be connected across the output. For the purpose of this
produced by the rectifier. This will serve as an input study two capacitors with a resistor in between were
to the pre-amplifier of the driver circuit and signal connected across the output. Wherein the capacitor
generator, while using a voltage regulator. The output charges and then produces a straight DC voltage,
signal from the pre-amplifier will be used as an input while the resistor serves as a voltage divider.
to the H-Bridge switching components that
determines the path thru which current will flow. The D. Signal generator
half side of the H-bridge receives an amplified signal;
while the other half collects the same amplified signal
with a phase shift of [Link] phase shift allows only
half of the H-bridge to turn on and prevent shoot-
through. Furthermore, the frequency to be supplied by
the system should be relatively high to produce
ultrasonic vibrations, therefore requiring a high
switching characteristic for the switching device.

B. Transformer

Fig.4. Schematic diagram of XR-2206.

Signal generator produces signals that may be

VP VS adjusted to different parameters required by the
electronic circuit such as frequency, output voltage,
impedance, waveform, and modulation [1]. Its
[Link] symbol of transformer. oscillating frequency is determined by the capacitor
that is in pin 5 and pin 6 which is connected to the
There are two step-down transformers used. One voltage-controlled oscillator and the timing resistor
has a primary input voltage of 220VAC and a that is on pin 7 that is connected to the current switch
secondary voltage of 12VAC with a current rating of inside the integrated circuit. The duty cycle of the
3A, and another with secondary voltage of 120VAC. rectangular wave is default at fifty percent but it can
The input of the transformer is an AC and outputs the be adjusted by including two resistors on pin 7 and
same type of voltage at the secondary terminals. To pin 8 and connecting pin 11 to pin 9. The voltage of
produce a DC voltage, the secondary voltage output the rectangular can be adjusted by changing the
terminals are connected to a rectifier, which is voltage on the resistor connected to pin 11 [2].
connected to a voltage regulator, L7912. L7912 is An XR-2206 is a monolithic function generator
used as a 12 volts supply for the signal generator and that produces different types of waveforms such as
pre-amplifier. triangular, ramp, sinusoidal and rectangular wave
forms. In this paper, XR-2206 was modified to serve
C. Bridge Rectifier as a rectangular wave signal generator. A capacitor
with a value of 1nF is connected across the voltage
controlled oscillator. While, a 200KΩ, 50KΩ trim
resistors, and 1KΩ resistor was used and configured
in series to achieve a varying frequency for the signal
generator. The 200KΩ trim resistor was used to
provide a course adjust to the frequency, while a
50KΩ resistor serves as a fine adjustment to the
frequency. A 12 volts supply was used to power XR-
2206; on the other hand, the supply at pin 11, enables
Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of bridge rectifier. an output of 5 volts signal.
E. Driver circuit
The bridge rectifier is made up of four 1N4007
diodes, two capacitors with a resistor in between. The
 Drive circuits are used to control the voltage and
current that is required by a load, which is usually a
transducer. It amplifies and conditions the signal from (1)
the signal generator to the needed voltage and current
for the device, which also serves as the controller to where:
the transducer output. A driver circuit is composed of
a pre-amplifier and an H-bridge i(t) – current with respect to time
1) Pre-amplifier C – Capacitance in Farads
dv(t) – differential voltage with respect to time
As shown in Figure 5, the pre-amplifier is d(t) – differential time
composed of an inverter, voltage modulators, resistor-
capacitor filters, and bipolar junction transistors in A TIP31 bipolar junction transistor, in common
common emitter configuration and gate drive emitter configuration, amplifies the signal and
transformers. The schematic diagram is also shown in controls the amount of current entering the gate-drive
Figure 6. transformer. Meanwhile, the resistor at the emitter
controls the current passing through the bipolar
junction transistor. The resistor found at the collector
provides a stabilizing effect to the gate-drive
transformer; it permits the energy forming in the
transformer to have a direction to flow. Moreover, by
connecting a zener diode with a back to back
configuration in parallel with the primary of the gate-
Fig. 5. Pre-amplifier block diagram drive transformer, it removes the oscillation,
distortion from the waveform, and ensures a
rectangular wave output of the transformer. A diode
at the collector serves as a protection from shoot-
through.
The gate drive transformer serves as a galvanic
isolator which serves as a barrier between the pre-
amplifier and the h-bridge that prevents direct current
from flowing to the two systems. It transforms the
voltage waveform from triangular wave to a square
wave to ensure that the h-bridge will have proper
triggering. This is done due to the characteristic
equation of the inductor which is,

(2)
Fig.6. Pre-amplifier schematic diagram
where:
A 74LS04 hex inverter was used as a signal
conditioner. It inverts the incoming signal and sends i(t) – current with respect to time
an identical voltage modulator. This is done to L – Inductance in Henry
achieve two control signals with different phases for dv(t) – differential voltage with respect to time
the H-bridge. d(t) – differential time
On the other hand, a voltage modulator is
constructed with a resistor in series with a It is important to take note that the input to the
potentiometer and a diode in parallel. The voltage gate drive transformer is a triangular wave; while a
level of the rectangular wave signal varies as the rectangular wave input will cause distortions or spikes
value of the resistance of the potentiometer changes. at the output, thereby, triggering an improper
When the voltage level of the signal is decreased, behavior at the h-bridge.
positive output of the gate-drive transformer is also The three magnetic wires of the gate-drive
reduced. This also ensures that the two signals do not transformer were winded at the same time with a ratio
overlap which may cause short circuit on the H- of one is to one. This method of winding creates an
bridge. equal number or turns as well as the value of
Meanwhile, the resistor-capacitor filter, inductance for each magnetic wire. Having equal
connected at the base of the bipolar transistor in a amount of turns and inductance prevents variation of
common emitter configuration, changes the signal the signal. A rectangular waveform will be produced
waveform from rectangular wave to a triangular by the gate-drive transformer that is connected across
wave. This is due to the characteristic equation of the the collector of the bipolar junction transistor and the
capacitor which is, supply, due to its characteristic equation.
2) H-Bridge
 resistor in parallel with respect to the transformer
with a value of 5KΩ will be smooth the signal as
shown in Figure 8.

Four 02N60S5 N-Channel MOSFETs with 600V

and 1.8A and 35Ω rating were used since, no P-
Channel MOSFET was currently available that can
withstand a high voltage rating. It is important for the
MOSFETs to saturate to be able to function well. One
way to know whether a MOSFET does not saturate is
to observe its temperature. If it increases rapidly, it is
a sign that a large amount of voltage is dropped on the
Fig.7. Schematic diagram of H-bridge FET, thereby considered as a waste of power.
Furthermore, there may also be a possibility that the
An H-Bridge is an electronic circuit which allows MOSFETs due to the fact that this is a thermal
voltage to pass through a load in either direction. It is sensitive component, hence, a heat sink should be
usually used in robotics and motor applications which considered with the correct specifications that will
allow it to move forward or backward. H-Bridge is allow proper heat dissipation.
constructed with four switches which in this design is
a CMOS transistor [3].
The H-Bridge was designed to withstand a high III. DATA AND RESULTS
voltage, which is supplied at VDC. Both drain terminal
of M1 and M3 are connected to a 168V supplied A. System Simulation
which comes from the bridge rectifier. However, each
of the MOSFET source terminals is connected to Figure 9, shows the output signal of each of the
drain terminal of M2 and M4 respectively, while its components used in the construction of a varying
source terminal is grounded. The switching action of ultrasonic frequency amplifier. LTSpice was used to
the MOSFETs is determined by the input signal simulate the system operation and behavior.
supplied to the gate terminals, which is delivered
through a gate-drive transformer. Another purpose of
using a gate-drive transformer other than having an
inductance is isolation, which protects the pre-
amplifier. The signal supplied at the gate terminal of
M1 and M4 should be in-phase, and out of phase from
the gate signal of M3 and M2. This prevents the
circuit to short. When the input at gate terminals of
M1 and M4 is high, the switch goes to a closed state
thereby allowing a current to pass through a path
when loaded. Since the input at M3 and M2 are out of
phase, it only switches on when the input at gate
terminals of M1 and M4 are low.
Fig. 9. Signal output from the bottom to top: signal generator,
resistor- filter, gate-drive transformer, and H-bridge capacitor

B. Generator Signal Output

Currently, ultrasonic frequency amplifier

generators are used for different applications,
however, for the purpose of this study, the generator
will be used for an ultrasonic cleaning test machine.
In which case, market-available ultrasonic transducers
are quite limited in terms of the resonating frequency
specifications of 28 KHz, 40 KHz, 80 KHz, 100 KHz,
and 130 KHz, also requiring an input voltage of 300-
500V and a low current rating of about 0.2A.
Figure 10 and Figure 11 show the single-sided
Fig.8. LTSpice simulation of M1 and M4 (above), M2 and M3 output waveform of the varying ultrasonic frequency
(below) output waveforms.
amplifier generator. The output peak amplitude of the
system is at 168V, whereby if an H-bridge is to be
The output signal from the gate-drive transformer
considered the total voltage it may supply to the
has a distortion at the peak, whereby connecting a
system is 336V. The use of an H-bridge will enable
efficient use of power for the system operation,
decreasing power losses. Fig.12. A simple magnetic coil antennae.

Fig 13. A simple magnetic coil antennae wrapped with electrical

tape.

The figures below show that at the point of

switching action of the output, an electromagnetic
Fig 10. Output waveform of ultrasonic frequency amplifier interference with its highest value is produced due to
generator for approximately 28 KHz without load (output the high energy of the system during the said point.
waveform taken is a single side of the H-Bridge).

Figure 14 and Figure 15 below, show that at the

point of switching action of the output, an
electromagnetic interference with its highest value is
produced due to the high energy of the system during
the said point.

Fig 11. Output waveform of ultrasonic frequency amplifier

generator for approximately 40 KHz without load (output
waveform taken is a single side of the H-Bridge).

C. Electromagnetic Interference
Fig 14. Output waveform of ultrasonic frequency amplifier generator
Since, the system produces ultrasonic frequency, for approximately 28 KHz with presence of electromagnetic
it may be hypothesized that an electromagnetic interference.
interference is as well emitted. Hence, a simple
antennae made from a magnetic coil was used to
determine the presence of radio frequency induction.
The simple antenna is shown at Figure 12 and Figure
13 which was connected to the oscilloscope probe.

Fig. 15. Output waveform of ultrasonic frequency amplifier generator

for approximately 40 KHz with presence of electromagnetic
interference.
 IV. CONCLUSIONS Retrieved from:
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the College of
Engineering of De La Salle University, Manila,
Philippines, for the motivation and support that highly
contributed to the successful completion of this paper.

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