Full-matrix capture with a customizable phased array instrument

In recent years, a technique known as Full-Matrix Capture (FMC) has gained some headway in the NDE community for phased array applications. It's important to understand that FMC is the method that the instrumentation acquires the ultrasonic signals, but further post-processing is required in software to create a meaningful image for a particular application. Having a flexible software interface, small form factor, excellent signal-to-noise ratio per acquisition channel on a 64/64 or 128/128 phased array module with FMC capability proves beneficial in both industrial implementation and in further investigation of post-processing techniques. This paper will provide an example of imaging with a 5MHz linear phased array transducer with 128 elements using FMC and a popular post-processing algorithm known as Total-Focus Method (TFM).