Parametric loudspeaker—characteristics of acoustic field and suitable modulation of carrier ultrasound

Abstract

Abstract Due to the inherent nonlinearity of the medium, finite amplitude ultrasound interacts with itself and generates some secondary waves in the sound beam. The parametric loudspeaker, making use of this phenomenon, has a sharp directivity and might be applied to a speech transmission system under the limited environment. In this paper, a numerical analysis method available for high sound pressure levels, where the nonlinear interactions of ultrasound become greatly active, can be used successfully to theoretically design the parametric loudspeaker. It is reported that the numerical computations agree well with the experiments by a circular aperture projector of radius 21 cm and carrier frequency 27 kHz. To develop the parametric loudspeaker for practical uses, the problems on harmonic distortions and the physiological effect on human being must be solved. Based on the theoretical prediction, the reasonable solutions for such problems are considered in accordance with appropriate primary wave modulations.