Echo-to-reverberation Enhancement Using a Time Reversal Mirror

Reverberation from rough ocean boundaries often degrades the performance of active sonar systems in the ocean. The focusing capability of the time-reversal method provides a new approach to this problem. A time reversal mirror (TRM) focuses acoustic energy on a target enhancing the target echo while shadowing the boundaries below and above the focus in a waveguide, thereby reducing reverberation. The resulting echo-to-reverberation enhancement has been demonstrated experimentally using a time reversal in the 3-4 kHz band in shallow water.