Performance evaluation of a PVDF hydrophone for deep sea applications

The lack of penetration of light and electromagnetic radiation beyond a few meters in the ocean makes acoustics the technique of choice for data transmission, target detection and ocean sensing in general. Acoustic transducers are typically based on piezoelectric materials due to the good response at high frequencies. Depending on the application it can be built using ceramics, polymers and composite materials.In the hydrostatic mode PZT ceramics hydrophones have low performance due to the low hydrostatic piezoelectric stress value. On the other hand, PVDF have shown relatively high hydrostatic mode response. This work presents the development of a PVDF hydrophone for deep sea applications. The hydrophone was subjected to a pressure test up to 25 MPa to evaluate the response variation under high hydrostatic pressure. The results show an increase up to 6 dB sensitivity under 15 MPa pressure.