Page 34: of Marine Technology Magazine (May 2011)

34 MTR May 2011

Apart from this, they are also looking forward to work with conglomerates focusing on optical fiber laying. In future, companies which enjoys strong partner relation- ships with government agencies and academic institutions who can provide advanced, customized and cost effective solutions to geographical locations, and those who can reach out to customers more effectively, address their requirements precisely and customize the products will have greater advantage to hold leadership position.

Japan is a world leader in mass produced low-voltage piezoelectric ceramic materials. Its piezoelectric ceramic industry is large and stable. It is aimed at standardized mass production elements, such as: • resonators and filters (ceramic and SAW); • buzzers; • audio transducers; and • alarms.

Excellent technology and superior production tech- niques allow the Japanese to produce these high-volume elements at very low prices.

The leading Japanese piezoelectric ceramic manufactur- ers are, Epson, Kyocera Keinski, Matsushita Electric,

Murata Manufacturing, NGK Spark Plug Company,

TDK, and NEC-Tokin.

European companies such as Physik Instrumente,

Cedrat Technology, 1 Ltd., Morgan Electroceramics,

Noliac, EPCOS, Ceram Tec AG, Ellepteck Resonant and a dozen others are trying to maintain the second position in the world market, close to China.

China, Taiwan, Korea and the rest of the world are tar- geting low cost, high volume devices like resonators, buzzers, speakers used in mobile phones, ultrasonic motors used in digital cameras and transformers and hard disks as used in laptops.

North America, like Europe, enjoys a unique position in research related to application of PZT, PVDF and com- posite materials. Most U.S. companies are engaged in manufacturing high technology, high value piezoelectric devices like sonars, nano-positioning motion control devices, transformers, accelerometers, energy harvesting devices, sensors and switches.

Research Trends

In terms of R&D, several research organizations are working with materials and deposition techniques to cre- ate piezoelectrics with thicknesses ranging from microns to millimeters. Materials being explored include: • lead zirconate titanate (PZT), • zinc oxide (ZnO), and

Airmar Technology Corporation

Airmar Technology Corporation manufactures marine and industrial sen- sors. Airmar products include Piezoflex™ polymer PVDF transducer materials, hydrophones, speed sensors for personal watercraft, and multi-beam arrays for swath bathymetry.

Email: sales@ airmar.com

Web: www.airmar.com

APC International, Ltd.

APC is a global manufacturer and supplier of high quality piezoelectric ceramics and piezoelectric products.

Email: APCSales@ americanpiezo.com

Web: www.americanpiezo.com

CeramTec AG

CeramTec AG is a company of Rockwood Holdings Inc. with headquar- ters in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Rockwood Holdings focuses on specialized chemistry and high-performance materials. The company also produces industrial ceramics. Their product range includes piezo ceramics

Email: info@ ceramtec.de

Web: www.ceramtec.de

Channel Industries

Channel Industries, A Division of Channel Technologies Group (CTG) is a custom manufacturer of piezoelectric elements in lead-zirconate and barium titanate compositions. Since 1959 Channel Industries ceramics have been at the heart of thousands of underwater acoustic applica- tions and systems. Serving military and commercial applications world- wide for over 50 years.

Email: ciisales@ channeltech.com;

Web: www.channelindustries.com

Channel Technologies Group

Channel Technologies Group (CTG) designs, develops, and manufac- tures high-quality piezoelectric ceramics, underwater and ultrasonic transducers, and underwater acoustic equipment, including sonar sys- tems, navigation systems, range systems, and custom acoustic solu- tions. Serving military and commercial applications worldwide for over 50 years.

Web: www.channeltechgroup.com

CTS Electronic Components, Inc.

CTS Electronic Components manufactures a wide range of products based on proprietary formulations of the naval standard PZT5A and

PZT5H materials. Their product list include piezo elements for medical ultrasound imaging transducers, piezo ink jet heads, hydrophones, micro pumps, bimorphs, actuators, and smart/intelligent sensors.

Email: PEPSales@ CTSWireless.com

EDO Cor. Electro-Ceramic Products Div.,

Underwater Acoustic Transducers and Arrays:. EDO's program involve- ment includes wide aperture arrays, SQR-19 and TB-29A towed arrays, depth sounder and underwater telephone arrays. EDO manufactures motion sensors for use in sonar. Depth Sounding Sonars: The U.S. and other navies worldwide rely on EDO to provide precise and dependable depth sounding sonars for safe navigation. EDO has supplied all of the

U.S. Navy's standard AN/UQN-4A depth sounders and has recently begun the rapid development and production of the AN/BQN-17A secure depth sounder, a more rugged COTS depth sounder with stealth features for the U.S. Navy Submarine Force. Underwater Telephone

Companies Serving this Market