With linear phased arrays, if the electronic pattern is curved, the sound beam is ______.

With linear phased arrays, if the electronic pattern is curved, the sound beam is ______.

• A. Steering
• B. Focusing
• C. Defocusing
• D. Narrowing

Answer: (B)

In linear phased arrays, how the element excitations are phased determines whether the beam is steered, focused, or defocused. A curved electronic pattern means the phase delays across the elements are arranged so the emitted wavefronts converge toward a point, producing a focused beam at a specific depth. This concentrates energy and narrows the beam there, yielding better lateral resolution at the focus. If the pattern were curved the other way, it would spread the energy and defocus the beam.

In linear phased arrays, how the element excitations are phased determines whether the beam is steered, focused, or defocused. A curved electronic pattern means the phase delays across the elements are arranged so the emitted wavefronts converge toward a point, producing a focused beam at a specific depth. This concentrates energy and narrows the beam there, yielding better lateral resolution at the focus. If the pattern were curved the other way, it would spread the energy and defocus the beam.