Year: 2024
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Product development is often determined by conflicting demands for more performance and functionality on the one hand and size, cost, and power consumption constraints on the other hand.The resulting trend toward miniaturization has led to the development of MEMS-based loudspeaker technologies specifically designed for in-ear applications.Their full miniaturization potential, however, has not yet been exploited.Based on a previous generation, in this paper, a new MEMS loudspeaker technology is discussed.It operates without a closed membrane and relies on an acoustic shield and a rectangular actuator to significantly increase the generated sound pressure level per unit area.Compared with the previous generation, the active area can be reduced by a factor of three while maintaining the acoustic performance and optimizing damping.The concept is demonstrated using a new in-ear demonstrator featuring two MEMS loudspeakers with an emitting area as small as 2.4 × 2.4 mm² and a maximum sound pressure level of 105 dB SPL and 89.7 dB SPL /mm 2 , respectively.Moreover, a simulation study indicates further potential for design optimization.
Authors: J. Fankhänel, F. Stoppel, T. Giese, I. Pieper, L. Castellanos, C. Eisermann
Institution: Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4391028570