Wide-Angle Acoustic Beam Steering with Arrays of PiezoCrystal Tonpilz Transducers

The Tonpilz design for SONAR transducers is widely used in large arrays in acoustic systems for undersea threat detection, weapons guidance, communication and the like. Exploiting single crystal piezoelectrics in Tonpilz transducers has led to single transducer elements with enhanced bandwidth, sensitivity, and source level in a smaller, lighter package when compared with legacy piezoceramic elements. This topic addresses the next step, namely, building these single elements into large arrays with good array directivity and low sidelobes when steered over large angles, both in transmission and reception. Critical issues to be addressed include: element uniformity in large scale production, an array mounting structure that prevents element-to-element crosstalk, and minimizing coupling of elements mediated through the medium itself (seawater).