Piezoelectric MEMS microphones for hearing aids

描述(由申请人提供)：大约3000万美国人患有听力损失，并将从某种形式的听力增强中受益。然而，助听器(HA)的采用率很低，不到25%[Marke，(2010)]，而且那些确实收养了助听器的人要等10年以上才能这样做[Donahue(2010)]。HAS使用率低、延迟时间长的原因是多方面的，包括有效性、价格、舒适性、尺寸和美容问题。显然，有必要改进HAS，以便通过更好的治疗，更有效地帮助听力受损的人改善他们的生活质量和生产力。在这项应用中，寻求开发一种用于HA应用的新型麦克风，作为改善HA有效性和增加利用率的途径之一。特别是，将开发满足助听器行业严格声学要求的第一个压电式微电子机械系统(MEMS)麦克风。这项资助的两个具体目标是：(1)设计和制造MEMS压电换能器元件(2)设计和实现用于读出符合HA应用要求的换能器电信号的放大电子设备。技术可行性将通过麦克风的声学和电学测试来确定。与主导该领域多年的基于驻极体电容式麦克风(ECM)的现有技术相比，新麦克风将：对外部环境更坚固、稳定、易于与封装和加工微电子集成，并以更小的尺寸提供卓越的声学性能。由于用于制造这种器件的MEMS制造基于半导体行业中使用的相同工艺，一旦这些器件的设计得到完善，它们就可以以低成本制造，并易于与加工电子设备集成。我们的最终目标是开发一种能提供比目前更好的声学性能的麦克风，其成本与用于手机的麦克风相当。坚固、稳定和微型麦克风的可用性将改进现有的并促进使用多个麦克风的新HA系统的开发(例如，用于消噪)以及那些可能需要与下游电路紧密集成的系统，这可能是自适应HA所需要的。 公共卫生相关性：尽管大约有3000万美国人患有听力损失，并将从某种形式的听力增强中受益，但助听器(HA)的采用率不到25%[Marke，(2010)]。在这一应用中，将开发一种新类别的HA麦克风，该麦克风将降低成本，并允许开发新类型的HA麦克风。增加对更有效的HAS的利用将通过更好的治疗来改善他们的生活质量和生产力，从而帮助那些听力受损的人。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Roughly 30 million Americans suffer from hearing loss and would benefit from some form of hearing augmentation. However, the hearing aid (HA) adoption rate is low, less than 25 percent [Marke, (2010)] and those who do adopt wait more than 10 years before doing so [Donahue (2010)]. There are a variety of reasons for the low utilization rate and long delay in adopting HAs including effectiveness, price, comfort, size, and cosmetic issues. Clearly there is a need to improve HAs so that those who suffer from hearing impairment can be more effectively helped to improve their quality of life and productivity through better treatment. In this application, the development of a new microphone for HA applications is sought as one avenue to improve HA effectiveness and increase utilization. In particular, development of the first piezoelectric, micro-electro- mechanical system (MEMS) microphones that satisfy the stringent acoustical specifications of the hearing aid industry will be undertaken. The two specific aims of the grant are to (1) design and fabricate the MEMS piezoelectric transducer element (2) design and implement the amplifying electronics for readout of the transducer's electrical signal that meet the requirements for HA applications. The technological feasibility will be determined by acoustic and electrical testing of the microphone. Compared to the existing electret condenser microphone (ECM) based technology that has dominated the field for many years, the new microphone will: be more robust to the external environment, stable, ease integration with packaging and processing microelectronics, and deliver superior acoustic performance at a smaller size. Because the MEMS fabrication applied to create this device is based on the same processes used in the semiconductor industry, once the design of these devices is perfected they can be made at low cost and easily integrated with processing electronics. Our ultimate goal is to develop a microphone that provides better acoustic performance than present HAs at a cost comparable to microphones used for cell phones. The availability of robust, stable, and miniature microphones will improve existing and facilitate the development of new HA systems that utilize multiple microphones (e.g., for noise cancelation) as well as those that may require close integration with downstream circuitry, such might be needed for self-fitting HAs. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Even though roughly 30 million Americans suffer from hearing loss and would benefit from some form of hearing augmentation the hearing aid (HA) adoption rate is less than 25 percent [Marke, (2010)]. In this application, a new class of HA microphones is to be developed that will reduce their cost and enable new types of HAs to be developed. Increased utilization of more effective HAs would help those who suffer from hearing impairment by improving their quality of life and productivity through better treatment.