Directing acoustic radiation using a phased array of piezoelectric transmitters

Abstract

This thesis presents an acoustic phased array system utilizing piezoelectric transducers. The system is capable of operating at arbitrary frequencies into the low megahertz range, with a trade-off between phase accuracy and operational frequency. A maximum of sixteen elements can be introduced to the array and all elements are capable of operating at arbitrary phases relative to each other. Waveform generation is done in MATLAB and LabVIEW is used to interface between a host PC issuing commands and the array itself. Results from tests run using a four element array to demonstrate beam steering and focusing at 11 kHz are included and discussed.