Using the Specular Component of Sphere Backscattering for Broadband Transceiver Calibration

Transducers are generally calibrated using triple reciprocity or by reference to a standard. In the case where the transducer is acting as a transceiver, backscattering measurements from tragets with known scattering characteristics can be employed. In the present study the reflected component of the band limited impulse response of a sphere is used to calibrate a broadband transceiver, and comparisons are made with self reciprocity measurements using the reflection from an air – water interface. Both these results are compared with a calibration curve for the transducer obtained using the reference method. The advantage of using a target of known scattering properties is the transceiver calibration can be readily and repeatedly checked, and any changes can be accommodated into the measurement program.