Model-based characterization of thin layers using pulse-echo ultrasound
Fredrik Hägglund, Jesper Martinsson, Johan E. Carlson, Carl Carlander · 2007
Measurements performed on a thin multilayered structure will imply a received signal waveform consisting of reverberant overlapping echoes. In this paper the multi-layered structure is modeled by a physical model and the Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) is derived for the model parameters. A general recursive expression for the model is given. The model is evaluated using measurements on a thin three-layered structure, where two glass layers are bonded together. We show that measured signal waveforms can be reconstructed using the estimated parameters, and that physical properties can be extracted from the estimated model parameters. Simulations also show that physical parameters can be estimated for thicknesses of the bonding layer down to 50 μm for a wavelength of 200 μm of the ultrasonic pulse.