A laser sensing scheme for detection of underwater acoustic signals

Abstract

A technique to detect underwater acoustic signals by utilizing the resultant surface perturbations is discussed. These perturbations result in an amplitude modulation effect on a laser beam reflected by the water surface. A theory to explain this phenomenon is discussed. A detection system based on this theory was developed. Laboratory investigations were conducted to evaluate the characteristics of the system. Preliminary results indicate that detection based on this technique is possible.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>