Advancements in technology and design of NEMS vector hydrophone

Abstract

This paper reports on recent developments to improve the performance of hair vector hydrophone by means of several technological advancements in the fabrication procedures and corresponding sensor design. With fish's lateral line organs as prototypes, NEMS (Nano-Electromechanical System) vector hydrophone with directivity has been designed. This paper describes the meso-piezoresistance effect of resonant tunneling thin-film, and the NEMS hydrophone based on this effect is highly sensitive and small size. The application of bionics structure may improve the low-frequency sensitivity of hydrophone. The calibration test shows that NEMS vector hydrophone's receiving sensitivity is up to -170 dB (0dB = 1 V/lPa), has a good directional pattern in the form of ''8'' shape. The sea test shows that the direction of target can be detected by single NEMS vector hydrophone. In the anechoic tank, it has been verified that NEMS vector hydrophone can track the trajectory of the moving target.

Design, fabrication and characterization of piezoelectric cantilever MEMS for underwater application

“…Ability to enhance signal identification and processing of acoustic datasets of dolphins in the wild marine environment will receive an advancement by underwater acoustic [1]. Humans will be gradually more and more dependent on the marine resources, and underwater acoustic detection equipment with excellent performance is necessary [2].…”

Design of a Novel Medical Acoustic Sensor Based on MEMS Bionic Fish Ear Structure

“…Xue et al proposed a novel MEMS bionic vector hydrophone based on the principle that fish's lateral line organs sense water flow pressure and flow velocity. It can be well applied to underwater detection and has a good frequency response in low frequency and sensitivity [12,13]. Afterwards, Zhang et al optimised and improved this model [14,15], and Liu et al proposed a lollipop-shaped hydrophone that improves the sensitivity [16].…”

Sensitivity and Directivity Analysis of Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Cantilever-Based MEMS Hydrophone for Underwater Applications

“…Hydrophones are underwater acoustic receivers that play an increasingly important role in submarine resources exploration, marine military, underwater noise monitoring, and sonar systems [1]. Hydrophone design and fabrication are based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, combining solid-state physics, mechanics, acoustics, and electronics [2] to detect underwater sounds.…”