Acoustic beam control in biomimetic projector via velocity gradient

Journal Article · Mon Jul 04 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4955179· OSTI ID:22590584

Gao, Xiaowei; Dong, Erqian; Song, Zhongchang ^[1]; Zhang, Yu; Tang, Liguo ^[1]; Cao, Wenwu ^[2]; Li, Songhai ^[3]; Zhang, Sai ^[4]

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1. Key Laboratory of Underwater Acoustic Communication and Marine Information Technology of the Ministry of Education, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005 (China)
2. Department of Mathematics and Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States)
3. Sanya Key Laboratory of Marin Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics, Sanya Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Science, Sanya 57200 (China)
4. Faculty of Science, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013 (China)

A biomimetic projector (BioP) based on computerized tomography of pygmy sperm whale's biosonar system has been designed using gradient-index (GRIN) material. The directivity of this BioP device was investigated as function of frequency and the velocity gradient of the GRIN material. A strong beam control over a broad bandwidth at the subwavelength scale has been achieved. Compared with a bare subwavelength source, the main lobe pressure of the BioP is about five times as high and the angular resolution is one order of magnitude better. Our results indicate that this BioP has excellent application potential in miniaturized underwater sonars.

• OSTI ID: 22590584
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 109, Issue 1; Other Information: (c) 2016 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BEAMS
CETACEANS
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
CONTROL
DESIGN
EQUIPMENT
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE
RESOLUTION
SONAR
SPERMATOZOA
UNDERWATER
VELOCITY