An Improved Cymbal Hydrophone Made of Lanthanum-Modified Lead Zirconate Titanite

Lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanite (PLZT) piezoelectric ceramics has higher piezoelectric and dielectric properties compared with the common lead zirconate titanite (PZT) ceramics. These properties endue the cymbal hydrophones made of PLZT usually with stable performance but lower receiving sensitivity. In order to improve the sensitivity, through a static analysis on hydrophone we did some changes for the PLZT hydrophone by reducing the radius of the piezoelectric ceramics and sealing its boundary. Furthermore, ANSYS simulations were made, and the experiments for the improved PLZT hydrophone and the original one were carried out in water pool. The results show that the receiving sensitivity of the improved cymbal hydrophone made of PLZT is 3 -4 dB higher than that of the original, and that the frequency response still keeps flat within 18 kHz band.