From the February 2004 Scientific American Magazine | 0 comments

Micro(mechanical)phones ( Preview )

Integrating microphones and speakers on a chip could be a big deal for MEMS

A MEMS-based microphone chip should help address the poor sound quality produced by many of today's cell phones. The conventional microphone in run-of-the-mill cell phones has only one membrane. The ordinary phone represents a trade-off between a large enough membrane to detect faint sounds and a small enough one to be able to pick up higher frequencies. A MEMS chip does not have to strike this compromise. The first-generation MEMS sound chip will have more than five membranes, each optimized for either sensitivity to soft sounds or detection of a high C. The output from separate membranes can be integrated by the signal-processing electronics on the chip. The same design flexibility can also offer superior sound quality in MEMS-based speakers.

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