MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology is more than a scientific curiosity. Commercial MEMS products are being produced using semiconductor manufacturing techniques. What kind of audio devices can be made using this technology? Surveillance, hearing aids, and directional microphones spring to mind. Less obvious are ultrasonics, in-ear translators and surround-sound wallpaper. The small size of MEMS devices brings up issues of physical limits and appropriate size scales for acoustic applications. MEMS microphone/speaker design involves many of the same issues as conventional microphones/speakers, but the scale difference changes their relative importance. Over the past four years, the MEMS lab at Carnegie Mellon University has developed both microphones and speakers using CMOS-MEMS micromachining, and the technology is being commercialized by Pittsburgh startup Akustica.

Author: Neumann, John J. Jr.
Affiliation: Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
AES Convention: 115 (October 2003) Paper Number: 5888
Publication Date: October 1, 2003 Import into BibTeX
Subject: Micromachining (Invited Papers)
Permalink: https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=12399

Click to purchase paper as a non-member or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member and would like to subscribe to the E-Library then Join the AES!

This paper costs $33 for non-members and is free for AES members and E-Library subscribers.

Learn more about the AES E-Library

E-Library Location: (CD aes20)   /pp2003/pp0310/00077.pdf

Start a discussion about this paper!