Development of an acoustic transceiver for the KM3NeT positioning system

TL;DR

This paper presents the development and testing of an acoustic transceiver designed for precise positioning in the KM3NeT neutrino telescope, featuring a high-pressure resistant transducer and a custom sound emission board.

Contribution

It introduces a novel acoustic transceiver with tailored electronics for deep-sea neutrino telescope applications, including laboratory and in situ testing results.

Findings

Successfully tested in laboratory and shallow sea water environments.

Demonstrated high-pressure resistance and precise timing capabilities.

Ready for integration into KM3NeT infrastructure.

Abstract

In this paper we describe an acoustic transceiver developed for the KM3NeT positioning system. The acoustic transceiver is composed of a commercial free flooded transducer, which works mainly in the 20-40 kHz frequency range and withstands high pressures (up to 500 bars). A sound emission board was developed that is adapted to the characteristics of the transducer and meets all requirements: low power consumption, high intensity of emission, low intrinsic noise, arbitrary signals for emission and the capacity of acquiring the receiving signals with very good timing precision. The results of the different tests made with the transceiver in the laboratory and shallow sea water are described, as well as, the activities for its integration in the Instrumentation Line of the ANTARES neutrino telescope and in a NEMO tower for the in situ tests.