ALTERNATIVE SENSINGSENSING CIRCUIT FOR MEMS MICROPHONE AND SENSINGSENSING METHOD THEREFOF

• US 20080157129A1
• Filed: 04/13/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Hsu, Yu-Chun, Chou, Wen-Chieh
• Granted Patent: US 8,005,242 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/04 Structural association of microphone with electric circuitry therefor in deaf-aid sets H04R25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 19/005 using semiconductor materials
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones

Abstract

An alternative sensing circuit for a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) microphone and a sensing method thereof are provided. The sensing circuit reads out output signals of an MEMS electret microphone or an MEMS condenser microphone. In considering different operating requirements of the different MEMS microphones, for example, low power consumption for the MEMS electret condenser microphone or high sensitivity for the MEMS condenser microphone, the manner of using two kinds of MEMS microphone sensing components in one circuit can significantly increase the flexibility of using the MEMS microphone and can be applied to the application or design of a condenser sensing component.

Claims

1. An alternative sensing circuit for a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) microphone, comprising:

an MEMS condenser microphone component;

an MEMS electret condenser microphone component;

a first switch and a second switch, respectively connected to the MEMS condenser microphone component and the MEMS electret condenser microphone component;

a bias component, having a first end connected to the first switch and the second switch; and

a third switch and a fourth switch, respectively connected to a second end of the bias component, respectively connected to a voltage source and a ground potential, and selectively forming a first current path or a second current path, wherein

when the first switch and the third switch are turned on, the first current path is formed, and the second switch and the fourth switch are turned off, and the first current path allows the MEMS condenser microphone component to obtain a bias from the voltage source through the bias component, such that the MEMS condenser microphone component senses an acoustic wave signal as the output of the sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone,

when the second switch and the fourth switch are turned on, the second current path is formed, and the first switch and the third switch are turned off, and the second current path allows outputting the sensing result of the acoustic wave sensed by the MEMS electret condenser microphone component as the output of the sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone.

2. The alternative sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a direct current (DC) blocking condenser, having a first end connected to the first end of the bias component; and

a buffer amplifier, connected to a second end of the DC blocking condenser, wherein the DC blocking condenser removes the DC part from the sensing result of the acoustic wave signal sensed by the MEMS condenser microphone component or the MEMS electret condenser microphone component, and the sensing result with the DC part removed is output after being amplified by the buffer amplifier.

3. The alternative sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bias component is composed of a resistor, a transistor, or a component that applies voltage bias.

4. The alternative sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first switch, the second switch, the third switch, and the fourth switch are composed of a plurality of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors, and the MEMS condenser microphone component, the MEMS electret condenser microphone component, the first switch, the second switch, the third switch, the fourth switch, and the bias component are integrated on a single chip, and are fabricated by a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process.

5. The alternative sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first switch, the second switch, the third switch, and the fourth switch are composed of a plurality of bipolar-junction-effect transistors (BJTs), and the MEMS condenser microphone component, the MEMS electret condenser microphone component, the first switch, the second switch, the third switch, the fourth switch, and the bias component are integrated on a single chip, and are fabricated by a BJT process.

6. The alternative sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first switch, the second switch, the third switch, and the fourth switch are composed of logic gates, respectively.

7. The alternative sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first switch and the second switch, and the third switch and the fourth switch are complementary switches respectively, and are controlled to be turned on or off by an input signal.

8. The alternative sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first switch, the second switch, the third switch, and the fourth switch are composed of a PMOS transistor and an NMOS transistor.

9. The alternative sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first switch, the second switch, the third switch, and the fourth switch are composed of two BJTs.

10. An alternative sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone, comprising:

an MEMS condenser microphone discrete component;

an MEMS electret condenser microphone discrete component;

a first switch discrete component and a second switch discrete component, respectively connected to the MEMS condenser microphone discrete component and the MEMS electret condenser microphone discrete component;

a bias component, having a first end connected to the first switch and the second switch; and

a third switch discrete component and a fourth switch discrete component, respectively connected to a second end of the bias component, and respectively connected to a voltage source and a ground potential, wherein

when the first switch discrete component and the third switch discrete component are turned on, a first current path is formed, and the second switch discrete component and the fourth switch discrete component are turned off, and the first current path allows the MEMS condenser microphone discrete component to obtain a bias from the voltage source through the bias component, such that the MEMS condenser microphone discrete component senses an acoustic wave signal as the output of the sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone,

when the second switch discrete component and the fourth switch discrete component are turned on, a second current path is formed, and the first switch discrete component and the third switch discrete component are turned off, and the second current path allows outputting the sensing result of the acoustic wave sensed by the MEMS electret condenser microphone discrete component as the output of the sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone.

11. The alternative sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

a DC blocking condenser, having a first end connected to the first end of the bias component; and

a buffer amplifier discrete component, connected to a second end of the DC blocking condenser, wherein the DC blocking condenser removes the DC part from the sensing result of the acoustic wave signal sensed by the MEMS condenser microphone component or the MEMS electret condenser microphone component, and the sensing result with the DC part removed is output after being amplified by the buffer amplifier discrete component.

12. A sensing method for the alternative MEMS microphone, wherein the alternative MBMS microphone comprises an MEMS condenser microphone component, an MEMS electret condenser microphone component, a bias component, and a plurality of switches, the method comprising:

inputting a control signal, wherein when the control signal is in logic 1, a first current path is formed, and when the control signal is in logic 0, a second current path is formed, wherein

when the first current path is formed, the MEMS condenser microphone component is allowed to obtain a bias from a voltage source through the bias component, such that the MEMS condenser microphone component senses an acoustic wave signal and output it as a sensing signal,

when the second current path is formed, the sensing result of the acoustic wave signal sensed by the MEMS electret condenser microphone component is allowed to be output as the sensing signal; and

outputting the sensing signal as the sensing result of the sensing circuit for the MEMS microphone.