STTR Phase I: High Performance Piezoelectric MEMS Microphones

这个小型企业技术转移(STTR)第一阶段项目旨在开发一种商业上可行的、自我校准的压电式微电子机械系统(MEMS)麦克风。这些麦克风的声学规格(通过噪声下限、线性度、灵敏度来衡量)将达到或超过现有实验室质量的麦克风。该项目开发的设备将比目前的技术水平小得多(1个数量级)，价格也更低(2个数量级)。此外，这些MEMS传声器将具有就地自校准的能力。自校准麦克风的出现将开启集传感、激励和自适应于一体的仪器质量麦克风的新时代。成功开发高质量麦克风的更广泛的影响/商业潜力，这些麦克风有可能影响每个拥有手机的人使用助听器或其他基于麦克风的通信设备。与现有技术相比，这些麦克风将具有更低的噪音底线和更高的动态范围，从而加强通信。此外，提供非常小(小于1mm2)、灵敏度和自我校准的麦克风可以改进助听器技术，从而帮助听力受损的人。这些麦克风的价格、可制造性和性能，有可能成为从演播室麦克风到手机的各种应用中的主导麦克风技术。自校准麦克风的商业化将打开新的市场和收入来源。“这个奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法111-5)资助的。”

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)Phase I project seeks to develop a commercially viable, self-calibrating, piezoelectric micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphone. The acoustical specifications of these microphones (measured by noise floor, linearity, sensitivity) will meet or exceed those of existing laboratory quality microphones. The devices developed in this project will be significantly smaller (1 order of magnitude) and less expensive (2 orders of magnitude) than the present state of the art. In addition, these MEMS microphones would have the capability of in situ self-calibration. The availability of a self-calibrating microphone would usher in a new age of instrument quality microphones with integrated sensing, actuation and adaptation. The broader impact/commercial potential of successfully developing high quality microphones that hold the potential to affect everyone who has a cell phone uses a hearing aide or other microphone based communication device. These microphones will have a lower noise floor and higher dynamic range than existing technologies thereby enhancing communication. In addition, the availability of very small (less than 1mm2), sensitivity, and self-calibrating microphones could improve hearing aid technology and thereby help the hearing impaired. The affordability, manufacturability, and performance of these microphones, has the potential to become the dominant microphone technology in applications ranging from studio microphones to cell phones. The commercialization of self-calibrating microphones would open up new markets and revenue streams."This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."