SONAR TRANSDUCERS AND ARRAYS

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Technical Overview

MSI has an experienced staff of scientists, acoustic designers, engineers, and technicians to meet your new sonar transducer engineering needs. To facilitate transition to production, MSI involves both engineering and manufacturing in all phases of bidding, designing, prototyping and product /process documentation prior to manufacturing.

MSI designs and manufactures piezocomposite sonar transducers and arrays for both active (transmit) and passive (receive) sonar systems. Design frequencies for active sonar transducers have ranged from 8kHz up to 3MHz and for passive systems from 10Hz to 3MHz. In transmit applications, our injection molded piezocomposite sonar transducers and arrays have met even the most stringent Navy applications requirements, including the acoustic source level and duty cycle requirements for torpedo homing arrays. For passive applications, MSI's sonar arrays have been designed into large area one- and two-dimensional arrays for military and commercial underwater imaging systems. MSI's piezocomposite materials and sonar transducers can be designed to withstand extreme operating environments, including long term immersion, full ocean depth pressures and Class A explosive shock.

Since MSI's injection molded piezocomposite can be continuously curved as well as configured with complex aperture shading, novel array designs are possible that cannot be made with tonpilz and other legacy ceramic transducer technologies. The extraordinarily broad bandwidth of piezocomposite allows complex acoustic waveforms to be generated simultaneously on multiple frequency bands from each element in the sonar array. This feature enables new fast multibeam sonar system designs that rely on precise control of the direction and position of the acoustic beams provided by MSI's piezocomposite sonar transducers. The resulting superior signal-to-noise performance possible with MSI's broadband injection molded piezocomposite sonar arrays is especially useful in cluttered littoral sonar operating environments.

MSI's advanced transducer technologies have enabled several new sonar system designs that have raised the bar in sonar operating performance. One example is the Atlas Hydrographic FS30C Fansweep system, which is capable of completing hydrographic surveys far more rapidly than conventional multibeam hydrographic survey sonar. Another is the FarSounder FS-3 forward-looking 3D sonar system that provides ships with an affordable underwater obstacle avoidance capability for the first time. Each of these customers has combined MSI's injection molded piezocomposite sonar array technology with their own innovative signal processing to generate a whole new sonar system capability.

Sonar Transducer Engineering Support Services

Injection molded piezocomposite is an enabling technology. It provides far more acoustic capability and design flexibility than legacy sonar technology. Our engineers can help you to use these new capabilities to upgrade or replace your existing systems. We work with you to integrate our arrays with your signal processing so that you realize the highest overall system performance and business advantage from our sonar array products.

We have extensive knowledge and experience designing and manufacturing acoustic transducers for sonar imaging. Our proven 1D, 2D, and 3D computer design and modeling software allow accurate performance predictions of transmit response, receiving voltage sensitivity, bandwidth, electrical impedance, acoustic beampatterns, and power handling capabilities.

Sonar Transducer Design, Prototyping, and Production

Preliminary sonar transducer design begins with our 1D KLM and Mason models. These are used to establish the geometry of the acoustic stack and optimize the baseline acoustic performance. Then 2D or 3D finite element software, such as PZFLEX™ (Weidlinger Associates, Inc.), may also be used to identify and mitigate unwanted resonant modes.

Once the sonar transducer design and cost modeling are complete, we build and test a prototype transducer array for you to use in verifying your sonar system performance. This may include building representative sub-arrays as part of the engineering activity to validate performance predictions and provide you with data you may need to properly configure your signal processing system.

Once the final design has been verified by prototyping, MSI's manufacturing and engineering team completes the manufacturing documentation needed to produce the finished product on a repeat basis.

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