THE BEAM PATTERN PROFILE OF AN ULTRASOUND ARRAY IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE IN ULTRASOUND IMAGING. THIS PROFILE COULD BE ENHANCED BY WEIGHTING THE ELEMENTS OF ARRAY, HOWEVER THIS TECHNIQUE WILL DECREASE THE SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO (S/N) AND CONSEQUENTLY THE QUALITY OF THE OBTAINED IMAGE.
IN THIS RESEARCH THE S/N VARIATION IN WEIGHTING PROCESS IS MATHEMATICALLY ANALYZED AND A NEW METHOD TO OPTIMIZE THE WEIGHTING PARAMETERS IS PROPOSED, WHOSE MAIN OBJECTIVE IS PROVIDING THE DESIRED OUTPUT OF T HE BEAM PATTERN PROFILE OF THE ULTRASOUND ARRAY AS WELL AS THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE S/N.