Piezoelectric Single Crystal Property Assessment for Cost-Effective Optimized Naval SONAR Transducers

Navy sonar transducer applications need to be developed that will fully exploit the range of improved performance made possible by the new formulations of piezocrystal materials. Similarly, naval transducer applications and requirements should be used to define the specific piezocrystal material properties that will most benefit naval sonar transducer performance. These new and emerging piezocrystal materials will be characterized using a large signal Stress Dependent Electromechanical Characterization System (SDECS) measurement to provide their linear and non-linear electromechanical properties under a broad range of temperature-field-stress conditions to delineate the composition/properties that optimize performance for a variety of naval sonar transducer applications. Progeny used the Phase I SDEC"s data to model several candidate designs and finally selected the vehicle pinger for the Undersea Tracking Range Equipment (UTRE) Program, which currently uses multiple"pinger"transducers and matching networks to cover its frequency ranges of interest. To cover all frequencies of interest requires maintaining multiple transducers and tuning networks. Also as the size of undersea vehicles become ever smaller, the current size of the legacy pinger transducers becomes problematic. The use of a single small, broadband single crystal transducer solves both the"multiple transducers"inventory problem, and the size problem.