Karlsruhe 2011 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 88: Gammaastronomie II

T 88.4: Talk

Tuesday, March 29, 2011, 17:35–17:50, 30.41: 104

PVDF-based acoustic sensors prototype for the study of the thermoacoustic model — Fabian Drinck, •Karim Laihem, Manuel Schumann, and Christopher Wiebush — RWTH Aachen university, Physikzentrum, Otto-Blumenthal Strasse, 52074 Aachen

To measure the ultra-hight energy neutrino flux, studies on a larger IceCube neutrino observatory at the south pole have been intensively investigated in the last years. These studies have introduced a hybrid detection concept including radio and acoustic detection in addition to existing optical detection. The South Pole Acoustic Test Setup (SPATS) was built and deployed to evaluate the acoustic properties of the South Pole ice for the purpose of assessing the feasibility of an acoustic neutrino detection array. The Aachen Acoustic Laboratory (AAL) is supporting these efforts and providing infrastructures for the calibration of PZT-based acoustic sensors used in SPATS, study of a laser-based thermoacoustic model under laboratory conditions and investigating new piezoelectric materials for use in a next generation of acoustic sensors. In this talk we present the R&D status and first results of an acoustic sensor prototype based on PVDF material (Polyvinylidene Fluoride). With a flat frequency response and sensitivity the PVDF response to a thermoacoustic signal has shown the expected bipolar signal free of any superimposed resonances. The analysis of such a clean bipolar signal allow a deeper insight into understanding the thermoacoustic model and leading to a further development of optimized acoustic sensors for deployment at the South Pole.