Hydrophones are underwater microphones for acoustic measurements. Wilcoxon Sensing Technologies hydrophones are built to withstand the rigors of continuous underwater exposure in both sea water and fresh water environments. Each hydrophone uses piezoelectric crystals with a built-in electronic amplifier, to boost the low level signal of pressure waves underwater signals. The output is a dynamic AC signal superimposed upon the DC Bias Output Voltage (BOV).
Vector sensors measure the acoustic pressure and particle acceleration in three orthogonal axes. Four sensing elements, located in a single housing with a common acoustic phase center, combine to produce a cardioid directivity pattern which provides approximately 4.8 dB improvement in the signal to noise ratio over a traditional omni-directional pressure sensor.