A Novel Audio Transducer Technology
For the first time sound is generated inside a silicon chip. The conventional membrane is replaced by dozens of moving beams located in the interior of a chip.
Video © Fraunhofer IPMS
Electrostatic Actuation
The sound generating beams consist of three electrodes. Between these electrodes an electrostatic field causes a force along each beam and an in-plane deflection. We call this Nanoscopic Electrostatic Drive (NED). Read more about NED in Nature Communications.
Image © Fraunhofer IPMS
Sound Generation Inside the Chip
Dozens or even hundreds of sound generating beams – arranged between a top and a bottom wafer – are moving according to an audio signal. The sound is released through holes in a top and a bottom wafer. Since the "muscles" that drive the beams are contained in each beam, an incredible variety of chip designs is possible. Read more about NED µSpeakers in Microsystems & Nanoengineering.
Image © Fraunhofer IPMS
