Cymbal piezoelectric composite underwater acoustic transducer

The working principle of Cymbal piezoelectric composite underwater acoustic transducer was studied in this paper. PZT-5A piezoelectric ceramic disk was used as piezoelectric phase and brass foil was used as end cap electrode of the Cymbal transducer. The silicon rubber was used as the insulated proof layer of the underwater acoustic transducer. The properties of this transducer used as hydrophone, such as operation frequency, free-field voltage receiving sensitivity and directivity, were investigated. Several kinds of prototype of this transducer were fabricated and the properties of this transducer used as hydrophone were tested. The results show that the properties of this transducer used as hydrophone depend on the dimensions of Cymbal transducer because the piezoelectric properties of this transducer are dependent on the dimensions of Cymbal transducer's end caps. The appropriate dimensions for getting higher free-field voltage receiving sensitivity with -184.7 dB were obtained.