Method of manufacturing a tape cast multilayer sonar transducer

Abstract

A manufacturing process provided herein pertains to a single-piece, multi-layer piezoelectric stack in a sonar transducer element utilized in acoustic arrays requiring many thousands of elements. A slurry formed by mixing ceramics, powders, and binders is filtered, dried and cast into a thin film on a moving substrate. When the film has dried, it is removed from the substrate and layered into piezoelectric stacks. Screening a pattern of conductive platinum ink onto a desired layer forms electrodes. Applied heat and pressure forms a unitary body with electrically accessible layers. Burning removes the binders and sintering produces a final density. Dicing the body exposes the desired electrode polarities. A strip of conductive material is applied to connect the electrodes of like polarity and the ceramic parts are polarized. The transducer elements may be arrayed to conform to the curved surfaces such as a ship's hull.