MEMS based acoustic transducers are of high interest for in-ear-applications such as hearables and hearing aids. In this paper we present detailed measurements of CMOS compatible MEMS speakers based on electrostatic bending actuators. The results are discussed in the context of basic modeling approaches and analytical calculations. At 500 Hz a sound pressure level of 70 dB was measured with a THD of 5% in a standard ear simulator. The THD is dominated by second-order harmonic distortion products. Future work will focus on increased SPL and reduced distortion with optimized actuator design.

Authors: Ehrig, Lutz; Kaiser, Bert; Schenk, Hermann A. G.; Stolz, Michael; Langa, Sergiu; Conrad, Holger; Schenk, Harald; Männchen, Andreas; Brocks, Tobias
Affiliations: Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, Dresden, Germany; Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Cottbus, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT, Ilmenau, Germany(See document for exact affiliation information.)
AES Conference: 2019 AES International Conference on Headphone Technology (August 2019)
Paper Number: 10
Publication Date: August 21, 2019

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