SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)Phase I project seeks to develop a commercially viable, self-calibrating, piezoelectric micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphone. The acoustical specifications of these microphones (measured by noise floor, linearity, sensitivity) will meet or exceed those of existing laboratory quality microphones. The devices developed in this project will be significantly smaller (1 order of magnitude) and less expensive (2 orders of magnitude) than the present state of the art. In addition, these MEMS microphones would have the capability of in situ self-calibration. The availability of a self-calibrating microphone would usher in a new age of instrument quality microphones with integrated sensing, actuation and adaptation. The broader impact/commercial potential of successfully developing high quality microphones that hold the potential to affect everyone who has a cell phone uses a hearing aide or other microphone based communication device. These microphones will have a lower noise floor and higher dynamic range than existing technologies thereby enhancing communication. In addition, the availability of very small (less than 1mm2), sensitivity, and self-calibrating microphones could improve hearing aid technology and thereby help the hearing impaired. The affordability, manufacturability, and performance of these microphones, has the potential to become the dominant microphone technology in applications ranging from studio microphones to cell phones. The commercialization of self-calibrating microphones would open up new markets and revenue streams. This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will develop a microphone for the test and measurement (T&M) market that utilizes piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. During Phase I of this project, feasibility was demonstrated by building and testing a microphone with the necessary performance for this market. Specifically, this microphone has a noise floor that is 10 times lower than any piezoelectric MEMS microphone previously demonstrated. The unique device modeling and optimization that allowed for this significant performance improvement enables a new class of microphones. During Phase II of this project, the commercialization effort will be accelerated by partnering with a production foundry to develop a fabrication process, enabling the mass fabrication of these parts. Successful completion of this task requires the repeatable fabrication in a production foundry with yield exceeding 90%. This Phase II project also seeks to further develop self-calibration capabilities, building on a unique aspect of these microphones demonstrated during Phase I. Successful completion of this task will result in a microphone capable of determining its own sensitivity to within 1 dB of that determined by standard calibration methods.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is significant due to the widespread use of microphones in today's markets. This microphone?s unique combination of device simplicity and high performance enables a new class of microphones that fills the gap between extremely low-cost microphones used in consumer electronics applications and extremely high-cost microphones used in laboratories and test facilities. Through discussions with manufacturers and end-users of microphones and related systems, the company have determined that a wide range of applications would benefit from such a device. These microphones will significantly reduce the cost of complex T&M systems such as arrays that can cost more than $1M and improve the accuracy of equipment used by noise control engineers, work safety inspectors, police officers, and many others. Further, this microphone technology not only has the potential to impact the T&M market, but provides advantages for the hearing aid and consumer electronics markets as well. The total addressable market for this technology is more than $2.5B.