Naval Device Applications of Relaxor Piezoelectric Single Crystals

This Phase II SBIR Proposal addresses the Navy’s vision for the Next Generation Countermeasure (NGCM) by demonstrating the feasibility of a 3-inch diameter ADC MK4. Image Acoustics has teamed with Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems (UEOS), the current supplier of all expendable acoustic countermeasures to the U.S. Navy, to offer a solution that combines a unique new transducer design along with the improved material properties of single crystal material PMN-28%PT. The improved material properties are essential to solving the ADC MK4 acoustics problem in a 3-inch diameter form factor. Because lower operating bands require larger diameters, our team focused the Phase I effort on Channel 1, which represents the biggest design challenge. Image Acoustics designed and modeled a 3-inch diameter single crystal Trioid transducer to meet the ADC MK4 requirements in the Channel 1 frequency band, while UEOS fabricated and tested the design at their Open Water Test Site (OWTS). Phase II will build upon the successful feasibility demonstration for Channel 1 by optimizing the Phase 1 design and expanding the scope to include additional transducer channels required to cover the full ADC MK4 frequency band.