Science Daily November 30, 2020
High-resolution imaging and mapping of the ocean and its floor has been limited to less than 5% of the global waters due to technological barriers. Researchers at Stanford University present a proof-of-concept system which bridges the gap between electromagnetic imaging in air and sonar imaging in water through the laser-induced photoacoustic effect and high-sensitivity airborne ultrasonic detection. They used air-coupled capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers which is a critical differentiator from previous works and has enabled the acquisition of an underwater image from a fully airborne acoustic imaging system. There is much promise for the scalability of the system to one which could perform high-throughput imaging of underwater in large-scale deployment. Non-contact acoustic-based imaging modalities are of interest to the medical imaging and non-destructive testing communities…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Schematic of proposed airborne sonar system with the exciting laser and receiving ultrasound (US) transducers both on-board an airborne platform… Credit: IEEE Access, 2020; 8: 189945