Cost-Effective Technologies for Fabrication of PiezoCrystal Vector Velocity Sensors Navy SBIR FY2012.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2012.2 Topic No.: N122-139 Topic Title: Cost-Effective Technologies for Fabrication of PiezoCrystal Vector Velocity Sensors Proposal No.: N122-139-0255 Firm: Applied Physical Sciences Corp. 475 Bridge Street Suite 100 Groton, Connecticut 06340 Contact: Scott Jensen Phone: (860) 448-3253 Web Site: www.aphysci.com Abstract: Applied Physical Sciences (APS) has developed a plan to improve the design and development of submarine towed array vector sensors that employ single crystal accelerometers so that they meet Navy specifications, but do so at significantly lower cost relative to earlier variants. Tasks in the Phase I study include developing a comprehensive cost-model which will ascertain the feasibility of various fabrication approaches for all the components that comprise the entire sensor. As a part of this process, APS has teamed with TRS Technologies to evaluate innovative electroding and bonding techniques to reduce the costs single crystal accelerometers. With that, the proposed effort centers on a series of analytical and numerical evaluations, proof-of-concept experiments, and an assessement of a prototype vector sensor suitable for towed array applications. Benefits: The vector sensor proposed herein is anticipated to be a high-performance transducer for submarine towed array applications at a substantially reduced cost relative to present sensors already in production, representing significant savings to the government as the technology migrates from research and development to a fleet asset. The vector sensor technology developed herein has direct application to the commercial sector to support oil and gas exploration and environmental monitoring of anthropogenic noise in the ocean environment Return