Teledyne RD instruments engineering developments to increase acoustic measurement range

Abstract

Acoustic sensors are commonly used for marine measurement and navigation purposes. Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) measure ocean currents and waves and Doppler Velocity Logs (DVLs) measure instrument motion relative to the sea bed. Both types of instruments perform their measurements by emitting an acoustic signal and measuring the Doppler shift of the return echoes. The maximum sensing range of these instruments is determined by many factors including directivity of the acoustic transducer, spreading losses, frequency-dependent absorption losses, backscatter intensity, and noise in the environment. Users always wish to maximize the range performance in a given application, but there is typically a trade-off between range performance and other parameters such as system size, power, measurement uncertainty, and susceptibility to fading effects. In this presentation, we provide an overview of some of the newest technologies created by Teledyne RD Instruments to improve the achievable range of these instruments. These new technologies include new signal processing algorithms to enhance bandwidth performance while remaining robust against fades and new transducer array technologies to improve the range that can be achieved with a given transducer aperture. These technologies enable greater range performance with a minimal impact to other system parameters.Acoustic sensors are commonly used for marine measurement and navigation purposes. Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) measure ocean currents and waves and Doppler Velocity Logs (DVLs) measure instrument motion relative to the sea bed. Both types of instruments perform their measurements by emitting an acoustic signal and measuring the Doppler shift of the return echoes. The maximum sensing range of these instruments is determined by many factors including directivity of the acoustic transducer, spreading losses, frequency-dependent absorption losses, backscatter intensity, and noise in the environment. Users always wish to maximize the range performance in a given application, but there is typically a trade-off between range performance and other parameters such as system size, power, measurement uncertainty, and susceptibility to fading effects. In this presentation, we provide an overview of some of the newest technologies created by Teledyne RD Instruments to improve the achievable range of the...