The Department of Defense, specifically the Navy, is seeking innovative solutions for the development of high sensitivity piezo-ceramic materials intended for hydrophone devices through the SBIR program. The objective is to demonstrate improved materials that achieve at least a 6 dB gain in sensitivity over existing solutions for Navigational Sonar Systems (NSS) applications, addressing a long-standing stagnation in sensor design. These advanced materials are crucial for enhancing the performance of Navy acoustic systems, with potential applications extending to commercial maritime sectors, including underwater unmanned vehicles and submarines. The solicitation is set to open on April 23, 2025, with proposals due by May 21, 2025, and further details can be found at the provided source link.

## Description

Piezo-ceramic materials provide the heart of nearly all Navy acoustic transmit and receive systems. There are a wide range of transmit materials available for system designers to choose from. However, for passive receive applications, the number of materials available to design around are limited to 2-3 choices. This technology space has not evolved in 20 years and thus sensor design has also stagnated. With the development of textured ceramic processing technology, new possibilities exist for creating enhanced hydrophone materials [Ref 1]. This could offer system designers more freedom in terms of size reduction, shape, configuration, enhanced signal to noise ratio, and a wider supplier base for material procurement. Prior Navy investments in textured ceramics have focused heavily on materials for transmit applications [Ref 2]. As such, this technology space is maturing rapidly. This SBIR topic seeks to leverage these previous investments and provide new materials for receive-only applications. Specifically materials and manufacturing methods designed to deliver piezoelectric voltage coefficients, g33, g31, and g15, of at least 100 V&middot;m/Nx10-3, 35 V&middot;m/Nx10-3, or 75 V&middot;m/Nx10-3 respectively, with a dielectric constant of at least 500 (unitless) and a dielectric loss tangent of &lt; 0.005 (unitless) (all at 1V drive, 1 kHz frequency) are targeted, as are advanced manufacturing techniques [Refs 2,3,4]. These g-coefficient values represent a 2x increase over the best available materials and are expected to yield the desired minimum improvement in hydrophone sensitivity over a wide range of possible sensor designs. The targeted dielectric constant and loss tangent values are mandated by the need to maintain signal to noise ratio (SNR) performance [Ref 5].

## Objective

Demonstrate improved piezo-ceramic materials and hydrophone devices with at least 6 dB gain in sensitivity over existing solutions for Navigational Sonar Systems (NSS) applications.

## Phase I

Conduct an initial study of the required material properties of highly sensitive piezo-ceramic materials to include the following items:<ul><li> A discussion of how the technology approach will satisfy the advanced material properties requirements. This could include traditional ceramic processing, tape casting, additive manufacturing, or other techniques. </li><li> A discussion of the material chemistry and fabrication processes required to achieve the desired properties including an assessment of risks and risk mitigation strategies. </li><li> Ability to scale processing to part quantities of 1000 should be discussed along with a projected process rate. </li><li> Initial demonstrations of material properties showing feasibility of achieving the desired properties.</li><li> A discussion regarding the material&rsquo;s impact to receive device applications. </li><li> Device modeling and simulation (based on available material properties) to demonstrate free field voltage sensitivity or acceleration sensitivity at frequencies from 1 to 100kHz, although it is not necessary to cover the entire band. </li></ul>The Phase I Option, if exercised, will include the initial design specifications and capabilities description to build prototypes solution in Phase II.

## Phase II

Produce prototype materials in sizes and shapes allowing for prototypes of relevant Navy sensors to be constructed. Produce and demonstrate on representative test pieces, with the accompanying full matrix of piezoelectric coefficients required for accurate simulation of sensor devices per ANSI/IEEE STD 176-1987 [Ref 6]. Demonstrate new device concepts possible with enhanced material properties at the prototype level. Provide advanced characterization of the materials and devices, including property variation with pre-load stress, property variation with temperature, and material microstructure. Deliver three (3) prototype devices for testing as well as the modeling and simulations for further integration including simulated free field voltage sensitivity (FFVS) and beam patterns for devices over the frequency range of 1 to 100 kHz. These simulations should include an assessment of survival of grade A and grade B underwater explosive shock per MIL-S-901D [Ref 7] with recommendations on how to improve the design for shock tolerance. The prototypes shall be delivered by the end of Phase II.

## Phase III: Dual Use Applications

Based on the prototypes developed in Phase II, continue development that must lead to productionization and demonstration of an array of hydrophones leading toward integration within existing submarine housings. Address minimizing lot unit variability. These arrays should be characterized for FFVS and beam patterns. In addition, the arrays should be characterized for survival of grade A and grade B underwater explosive shock per MIL-S-901D test conditions and procedures. In addition to military application, these hydrophones are applicable for other commercial maritime applications. These areas include commercial shipping vehicles, underwater unmanned vehicles (UUV), and submarines.

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