Piezoelectric MEMS microphone

• US 10,170,685 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2014
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm Technologies Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.), Board of Regents of the University of Michigan (University of Michigan)
• Original Assignee: Board of Regents of the University of Michigan (University of Michigan), Vesper Technologies Inc.
• Inventors: Grosh, Karl, Littrell, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gordon, Bryan
• Application Number:
  US14/208,827
• Publication Number:
  US 20150350792A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,755 Days
• Field of Search: 310330, 310331, 310332
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2201/0257 Microphones or microspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2203/0127 Diaphragms, i.e. structures separating two media that can control the passage from one medium to another; Membranes, i.e. diaphragms with filtering function
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2203/0315 Cavities
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2203/04 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2207/09 Packages
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 3/0021 Transducers for transforming electrical into mechanical energy or vice versa dynamo-electric machines H02K99/00; electrostatic machines H02N1/00; piezoelectric devices H10N30/00
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 7/0032 Packages or encapsulation processes for packaging MEMS B81C1/00261; packaging of smart-MEMS B81C1/0023
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 7/02 containing distinct electrical or optical devices of particular relevance for their function, e.g. microelectro-mechanical systems [MEMS] B81B7/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/00 Piezoelectric transducers; Electrostrictive transducers piezoelectric or electrostrictive elements in general H10N30/00; details of piezoelectric or electrostrictive motors, generators or positioners H10N30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/02 Microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/003 Mems transducers or their use of the electrostatic type H04R19/005
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/302 Sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/306 Cantilevers
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/308 Membrane type
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/50 having a stacked or multilayer structure
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/853 Ceramic compositions

Abstract

A microphone including a casing having a front wall, a back wall, and a side wall joining the front wall to the back wall, a transducer mounted to the front wall, the transducer including a substrate and a transducing element, the transducing element having a transducer acoustic compliance dependent on the transducing element dimensions, a back cavity cooperatively defined between the back wall, the side wall, and the transducer, the back cavity having a back cavity acoustic compliance. The transducing element is dimensioned such that the transducing element length matches a predetermined resonant frequency and the transducing element width, thickness, and elasticity produces a transducer acoustic compliance within a given range of the back cavity acoustic compliance.

Claims

1. A packaged microphone comprising:

a microphone comprising;

a substrate; and

a transducing element having a transducer acoustic compliance, the transducing element comprising a first electrode layer, a piezoelectric layer deposited over the first electrode layer, and a second electrode layer deposited over the piezoelectric material, wherein the first electrode layer is patterned on the substrate, the piezoelectric layer is patterned on the first electrode layer, and the second electrode layer is patterned on the piezoelectric layer; and

a casing mounted to the microphone and having a back wall, wherein a space between the back wall and the transducing element at least partially defines a back cavity having a back cavity acoustic compliance, the casing dimensioned to achieve a predetermined ratio between the transducer and back cavity acoustic compliances.

2. The packaged microphone of claim 1, wherein the microphone comprises a plurality of cantilevered beams, each beam defining a beam body extending from a beam base and terminating in a beam tip, wherein each beam is joined to the substrate along the respective beam base and is substantially free from the substrate along the respective beam body, wherein the plurality of beams are arranged such that each beam body extends from the respective beam base toward the beam base of an opposing beam, wherein the transducer acoustic compliance is the collective compliance of the cantilevered beams.

3. The microphone of claim 2, wherein the plurality of beams is arranged such that an edge of each beam is substantially parallel to an edge of an adjacent beam.

4. The microphone of claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric layer comprises aluminum nitride or doped AlN.

5. The microphone of claim 1, further comprising a second piezoelectric layer deposited directly over the second electrode layer and a third electrode layer deposited directly over the second piezoelectric layer.

6. The microphone of claim 2, wherein the first and second electrode layers of each beam extend from the respective beam base over less than 80% of the respective beam body.

7. The microphone of claim 2, wherein the beams comprise triangular beams, wherein the first and second electrode layers extend from the beam base over less than 80% of the beam body.

8. The microphone of claim 1, wherein the back cavity is dimensioned such that the transducer acoustic compliance is more than 17% of the back cavity acoustic compliance.

9. The microphone of claim 1, wherein the back cavity is dimensioned such that the transducer acoustic compliance is less than 581% of the back cavity acoustic compliance.

10. The microphone of claim 1, wherein the casing further comprises a front wall.

11. The microphone of claim 10, wherein a substrate surface opposing the transducing element is mounted to the front wall.

12. The microphone of claim 10, wherein a portion of the transducing element is mounted to the front wall.