A low-noise differential microphone inspired by the ears of the parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea
Miles, R.N. (Creator), Su, Q. (Creator), Cui, W. (Creator), Shetye, M. (Creator), Degertekin, F.L. (Creator), Bicen, B. (Creator), Garcia, C. (Creator), Jones, S. (Creator), Hall, N. (Creator)
A miniature differential microphone is described having a low-noise floor. The sensitivity of a differential microphone suffers as the distance between the two pressure sensing locations decreases, resulting in an increase in the input sound pressure-referred noise floor. In the microphone described here, both the diaphragm thermal noise and the electronic noise are minimized by a combination of novel diaphragm design and the use of low-noise optical sensing that has been integrated into the microphone package. The differential microphone diaphragm measures 1×2 mm2 and is fabricated out of polycrystalline silicon. The diaphragm design is based on the coupled directionally sensitive ears of the fly Ormia ochracea. The sound pressure input-referred noise floor of this miniature differential microphone has been measured to be less than 36 dBA
Downloadable Archival Material, English, 2009-04
Acoustical Society of America, 2009-04