  The faint fluxes of cosmic neutrinos expected at very high energies require
large instrumented detector volumes. The necessary volumes in combination with
a sufficient shielding against background constitute forbidding and complex
environments (e.g. the deep sea) as sites for neutrino telescopes. To withstand
these environments and to assure the data quality, the sensors have to be
reliable and their operation has to be as simple as possible. A compact sensor
module design including all necessary components for data acquisition and
module calibration would simplify the detector mechanics and ensures the long
term operability of the detector. The compact design discussed here combines
optical and acoustical sensors inside one module, therefore reducing
electronics and additional external instruments for calibration purposes. In
this design the acoustical sensor is primary used for acoustic positioning of
the module. The module may also be used for acoustic particle detection and
marine science if an appropriate acoustical sensor is chosen.
  First tests of this design are promising concerning the task of calibration.
To expand the field of application also towards acoustic particle detection
further improvements concerning electromagnetic shielding and adaptation of the
single components are necessary.

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics