This paper examines the potential for dual-layer actuators to achieve
radiation efficiencies independent of the backing structure. It presen
ts a simple center-of-mass representation for the device, and uses it
to describe the kinematics of the dual layer actuator system with the
purpose of identifying broad guidelines regarding thickness and freque
ncy range issues. This approach has the advantage of providing a direc
t physical view of the device operation. In this context, it is shown
that these devices work by electrically moving the center of mass of t
he transducer in opposition to the motion of tile adjoining fluid. Whi
le such devices are shown to be generally less efficient than the simp
le parallel-driven double-layer transducer, over much of their operati
ng range the loss in efficiency is found to be only a few decibels.