Scalable High Frequency Transmit/Receive Array for Multiple Unmanned Underwater Vehicle and Torpedo Applications

Single crystal apart, over the last 50 years, the US Navy has been constrained to using a defined set of piezoelectric material options for its acoustic transduction materials. This limitation has hindered further advancements in existing autonomous underwater acoustic systems restricting USN capability to meet emerging threats to its undersea superiority.  Textured piezoceramics, now emerge as a new class of acoustic transduction material, which will enable improved detection and communication capabilities of multiple autonomous vehicles such as torpedoes and UUVs as they can be rapidly fielded within existing or with new platforms. Recent demonstrations of textured ceramic materials manufactured at QorTek (TX101) show increased acoustic output levels (+3 to +8dB) and larger operational bandwidths beyond what has been traditionally achieved using conventional piezoceramics (PZT). Importantly, it has also been demonstrated that TX101 based sensor designs provide 6-10dB sensitivity improvement over legacy Navy operational PZT based acoustic transduction devices. Several Navy prime companies verified these performance advances furnished by QorTek textured ceramics for various transducer and sensor designs. Our approach is to build on QorTek and its partner’s expertise on the design space as well on the success of previous demonstrations of textured transducer, textured sensor programs. Considering the established manufacturing capability of TX101 textured ceramics at QorTek, the focus in Phase I will be to optimize the transducer design candidate, and to assemble in targeted configurations for in-water testing in Phase I Option.