Spatially shaped acoustic transducer arrays

Abstract

A shaped acoustic beam pattern that directs acoustic energy in the ± 45° direction with depressed acoustic energy at 0° is described. The shape of the beam pattern is controlled by area shading and the angular radius of the electro-acoustic transducer arrays. The advantage of such arrays is that acoustic energy is directed only in the required space needed at ± 45°, thus minimizing the electrical input power requirements. As a result, the number of electrical wires and the driving circuit requirements is significantly reduced because the same electrical drive voltage can be applied to all the elements in the shaped array. The shaped array described herein can be developed in the form of a one-dimensional (1-D), two-dimensional (2-D), or three-dimensional (3-D) acoustic sonar transducer array (see US Patent 9,286,418 B1, Mar. 15, 2016).