Wideband and wide beam piezoelectric composite spherical cap transducer for underwater acoustics

A new class of piezoelectric composite spherical cap transducer that produces a wide beam and bandwidth was developed for underwater acoustics. A finite element analysis (FEA) simulation was used to design the transducer. Electroacoustic response measurements in water were made on a transducer to evaluate the performance characteristics and then compared with the FEA results. The measured results show the transducer can provide a 112° beamwidth and a usable frequency band from 215 kHz to 355 kHz. The maximum transmitting voltage response (TVR) of the transducer is 161.7 dB re 1µPa/V@1m at 255 kHz.