Acoustic radiation characteristics of a tile projector with performance variations among unit transducers

Abstract

Uniformity in transducer performance is a must-have to ensure the reliable acoustic performance of a tile projector, used for active echo reduction. However, practical limitations imposed by variations in material properties and fabrication errors lead to performance variations among unit transducers, which could degrade the radiation characteristics (transmitting voltage response and directivity) of the tile projector and ultimately the echo reduction performance. In this paper we present a method to minimize these adverse effects via an appropriate placement of unit transducers within the tile projector. To this end, we perform a series of coupled acoustic-piezoelectric simulations, assuming a group of 36 unit transducers having 6 dB variations in transmitting voltage response, to analyze and compare the radiation characteristics of tile projectors under different transducer placement schemes.