Piezoelectric MEMS microphones for hearing aids

描述（由申请人提供）：大约有3000万美国人患有听力损失，并将受益于某种形式的听力增强。然而，助听器（HA）的采用率很低，不到25%[马克，（2010）]，并且那些采用的人在这样做之前等待了10年以上[Donahue（2010）]。使用率低和采用HA延迟时间长的原因有很多，包括有效性、价格、舒适度、尺寸和外观问题。显然，我们有需要改善听觉障碍人士的服务，使他们能得到更有效的协助，透过更佳的治疗，改善生活质素和生产力。在该应用中，寻求开发用于HA应用的新麦克风，作为提高HA有效性和增加利用率的一种途径。特别是，将开发第一个压电微机电系统（MEMS）麦克风，满足助听器行业严格的声学规范。该基金的两个具体目标是：（1）设计和制造MEMS压电换能器元件;（2）设计和实现放大电子器件，用于读出换能器的电信号，以满足HA应用的要求。技术可行性将通过麦克风的声学和电气测试来确定。与现有的基于驻极体电容麦克风（ECM）的技术相比，该技术已在该领域占据主导地位多年，新的麦克风将：对外部环境更加鲁棒，稳定，易于与封装和处理微电子集成，并以更小的尺寸提供上级声学性能。由于用于创建该器件的MEMS制造基于半导体工业中使用的相同工艺，因此一旦这些器件的设计完善，它们就可以以低成本制造并且容易地与处理电子器件集成。我们的最终目标是开发一种麦克风，提供更好的声学性能比目前的HA在成本相当的麦克风用于手机。鲁棒、稳定和微型麦克风的可用性将改进现有的并促进利用多个麦克风（例如，用于噪声消除）以及可能需要与下游电路紧密集成的那些，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，并将受益于某种形式的听力增强，但助听器（HA）的采用率不到25%[马克，（2010）]。在该应用中，将开发新类别的HA麦克风，其将降低其成本并使得能够开发新类型的HA。增加使用更有效的助听器将有助于那些患有听力障碍的人，通过更好的治疗改善他们的生活质量和生产力。

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.