Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T19:23:18.620Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Miniature Silicon Condenser Microphone Improved with a Flexure Hinge Diaphragm and a Large Back Volume

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Hyejin Kim ,
Sung Q Lee ,
Jaewoo Lee ,
Sangkyun Lee  and
Kangho Park
Hyejin Kim
Affiliation:
nolawara@etri.re.kr, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, IT-NT group, 161 Gajeong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-700, Korea, Republic of, +82-42-860-6152, +82-42-860-5608
Sung Q Lee
Affiliation:
hermann@etri.re.kr, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, 161 Gajeong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-700, Korea, Republic of
Jaewoo Lee
Affiliation:
jaewoo@etri.re.kr, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, 161 Gajeong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-700, Korea, Republic of
Sangkyun Lee
Affiliation:
sklee526@etri.re.kr, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, 161 Gajeong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-700, Korea, Republic of
Kangho Park
Affiliation:
pkh@etri.re.kr, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, 161 Gajeong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-700, Korea, Republic of
Get access

Abstract

We have developed a miniature silicon condenser microphone improved with a spring supported hinge diaphragm and a large back volume, which is designed in order to increase sensitivity of microphones. MEMS Technology has been successfully applied to miniature silicon capacitive microphones, and we fabricated the smallest condenser silicon microphone in the presented reports. We used the finite-element analysis (FEA) to evaluate mechanical and acoustic performances of the condenser microphone with a flexure hinge diaphragm. From the simulation results, we confirmed that the sensitivity of a flexure hinge diaphragm can be improved about 285 times higher than a flat diaphragm. The first and second modes occurred at 15,637Hz and 24,387Hz, respectively. The areas of the miniature condenser microphones with a hinge diaphragm are 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm. We measured the impedance characteristics and sensitivities of the fabricated condenser microphones. The sensitivities of microphones are around 12.87 μV/Pa (-60 dB ref. 12.5 mV/Pa) at 1 kHz under a low bias voltage of 1 V, and the frequency response is flat up to 13 kHz.

Keywords

microelectro-mechanical (MEMS)sensoracoustic
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1052: Symposium DD – Microelectromechanical Systems–Materials and Devices , 2007 , 1052-DD06-21
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Zou, Q., Li, A., Liu, L., “Theoretical and experimental studies of single-chip-processed miniature silicon condenser microphone with corrugated diaphragm,” Sens. Act. A, 63, 209 (1997).Google Scholar
2 Ning, N. B., Mitchell, A. W., and Tait, R. N., “Fabrication of a silicon micromachined capacitive microphone using a dry-etch process,” in Digest Tech. Papers Transducers '95 & EUROSENSORS IX(Sweden, 1995), pp.704–707.Google Scholar
3 Scheeper, P. R., Nordstrand, B., Gulloy, J. O., Liu, B., Clausen, T., Midjord, L., and Storgaard-Larsen, T., “A new measurement microphone based on MEMS technology,” J. Microelectromech. Sys., 12, 880 (2003).Google Scholar
4 Bernstein, J. J., borenstein, J. T., “A micromachined silicon condenser microphone with on-chip amplifier,” in Technical Digest of the Solid-State Sensors and Actuators Workshop (1996), pp. 239–243.Google Scholar
5 Pedersen, M., Olthuis, W., Bergveld, P., “A silicon condenser microphone with polyimide diaphragm and backplate,” Sens. Act. A, 63, 97 (1997).Google Scholar
6 Weigold, J. W., Brosnihan, T. J. et al. , “A MEMS condenser microphone for consumer applications,” in IEEE MEMS 2006 Technical Digest (2006), pp. 86–88.Google Scholar
7 Chen, J., Liu, L., Li, Z., Tan, Z., Xu, Y., Ma, J., “On the single-chip condenser miniature microphone using DRIE and backside etching techniques,” Sens. Act. A, 103, 42 (2003).Google Scholar
8 Kressmann, R., Klaiber, M., Hess, G., “Silicon condenser microphones with corrugated silicon oxide/nitride electret membranes,” Sens. Act. A, 100, 301 (2002).Google Scholar
9 Kasai, Takashi, Tsurukame, Yoshitaka, Takahashi, Toshiyuki, Sato, Fumihiko and Horiike, Sumio, “Small silicon condenser microphone improved with a backchamber with concave lateral sides,” in Digest Tech Papers Transducers '07 & EUROSENSORS XXI (France, 2007), pp. 2613–2616.Google Scholar