Collaborative Development Effort Results in Unique, High Resolution Transducer for 3-D Sidescan Sonar

Materials Systems Inc. (MSI) of Littleton, MA, announces the successful delivery of the production version of a custom designed sidescan/multibeam sonar transducer to Teledyne Benthos (North Falmouth, MA) as a key component of their C3D (3-Dimensional) Sidescan/Bathymetry System.

The MSI C3D transducer was designed to meet Teledyne Benthos' demanding specification, which calls for extended swath width, detection range and image resolution capabilities in operating depths of up to 2,000m.

As a standard feature, the C3D generates real-time, co-registered sidescan images and bathymetric data sets by transmitting as many as 30 pings per second at 200 kHz (100 kHz optional). This capability eliminates the need for the manual editing and merging of data sets that is required when separate sidescan and multibeam systems are operated simultaneously.

To meet these requirements, MSI engineers worked in close collaboration with the Teledyne Benthos design team and utilized their patented injection-molding and layered manufacturing process to model and fabricate a highly-directional, pressure tolerant, broadband transducer that can be manufactured at a cost that allows Teledyne Benthos to remain highly price competitive, as well as to successfully meet the typically short delivery requirements of their clients.

"The proof of performance of the MSI transducer is evident in the high-resolution 3-D acoustic images that our customers are routinely collecting with our new C3D Sonar" said Bill Charbonneau, Product Line Manager for Teledyne Benthos