A pinwheel-shaped MEMS microspeaker with enhanced SPL and low harmonic distortion

IF 5.1 3区工程技术 Q2 ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC

Sensors and Actuators A-physical Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-21 DOI:10.1016/j.sna.2026.117505

Rui Liu, Zeyi Wang, Yuanpeng Ma, Dong Zhang, Xiasheng Guo

{"title":"A pinwheel-shaped MEMS microspeaker with enhanced SPL and low harmonic distortion","authors":"Rui Liu, Zeyi Wang, Yuanpeng Ma, Dong Zhang, Xiasheng Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.sna.2026.117505","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Piezoelectric MEMS loudspeakers face limitations in vibration amplitude and sound pressure level (SPL), hindering their adoption in compact audio applications. This work introduces a pinwheel-shaped membrane structure that incorporates rotated cantilevers and folded spring units to enhance acoustic output without increasing the device footprint. Through finite element analysis, the optimized design achieved a 23% improvement in membrane displacement compared to a conventional architecture. Lumped-element modeling predicted an SPL enhancement of up to <span><math><mn>10</mn><mspace></mspace><mrow><mtext>dB</mtext></mrow></math></span> in the frequency range from <span><math><mn>100</mn><mspace></mspace><mrow><mtext>Hz</mtext></mrow></math></span> to <span><math><mn>8</mn><mspace></mspace><mrow><mtext>kHz</mtext></mrow></math></span>. Experimental results validated these predictions, with the fabricated device producing over <span><math><mn>80</mn><mspace></mspace><mrow><mtext>dB</mtext></mrow></math></span> SPL under <span><math><mn>15</mn><mspace></mspace><mrow><mtext>V</mtext></mrow></math></span> drive and maintaining total harmonic distortion (THD) below 1% at <span><math><mn>1</mn><mspace></mspace><mrow><mtext>kHz</mtext></mrow></math></span> and <span><math><mn>94</mn><mspace></mspace><mrow><mtext>dB</mtext></mrow></math></span> SPL. Furthermore, the influence of DC bias on nonlinear distortion was systematically investigated. Results showed that a moderate DC bias effectively suppressed second-order harmonic distortion, while low-voltage AC-driven operation also maintained low THD, aided by the built-in polarization of the PZT film. The proposed design offers a structurally robust and high-performance solution for piezoelectric MEMS loudspeakers, demonstrating significant potential for energy-efficient micro-acoustic systems in next-generation portable devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21689,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 117505"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1000,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Sensors and Actuators A-physical","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924424726000567","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/1/21 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Piezoelectric MEMS loudspeakers face limitations in vibration amplitude and sound pressure level (SPL), hindering their adoption in compact audio applications. This work introduces a pinwheel-shaped membrane structure that incorporates rotated cantilevers and folded spring units to enhance acoustic output without increasing the device footprint. Through finite element analysis, the optimized design achieved a 23% improvement in membrane displacement compared to a conventional architecture. Lumped-element modeling predicted an SPL enhancement of up to

10 dB

in the frequency range from

100 Hz

8 kHz

. Experimental results validated these predictions, with the fabricated device producing over

80 dB

SPL under

15 V

drive and maintaining total harmonic distortion (THD) below 1% at

1 kHz

and

94 dB

SPL. Furthermore, the influence of DC bias on nonlinear distortion was systematically investigated. Results showed that a moderate DC bias effectively suppressed second-order harmonic distortion, while low-voltage AC-driven operation also maintained low THD, aided by the built-in polarization of the PZT film. The proposed design offers a structurally robust and high-performance solution for piezoelectric MEMS loudspeakers, demonstrating significant potential for energy-efficient micro-acoustic systems in next-generation portable devices.

查看原文本刊更多论文

一种具有增强声压级和低谐波失真的风车形MEMS微扬声器

压电式MEMS扬声器在振动幅度和声压级（SPL）方面受到限制，阻碍了其在紧凑型音频应用中的应用。这项工作引入了一个风车形的膜结构，它结合了旋转悬臂和折叠弹簧单元，以增强声学输出，而不增加设备的占地面积。通过有限元分析，与传统结构相比，优化设计的膜位移提高了23%。集总元建模预测，在100Hz至8kHz的频率范围内，声压级增强高达10dB。实验结果验证了这些预测，在15V驱动下制造的器件产生超过80dB SPL，并且在1kHz和94dB SPL下保持总谐波失真（THD）低于1%。此外，系统地研究了直流偏置对非线性畸变的影响。结果表明，适度的直流偏压可以有效地抑制二阶谐波畸变，而低压交流驱动的工作也保持了低THD，这得益于PZT薄膜的内置极化。提出的设计为压电MEMS扬声器提供了结构坚固且高性能的解决方案，展示了下一代便携式设备中节能微声系统的巨大潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Sensors and Actuators A-physical 工程技术-工程：电子与电气

CiteScore

8.10

自引率

6.50%

发文量

630

审稿时长

49 days

期刊介绍： Sensors and Actuators A: Physical brings together multidisciplinary interests in one journal entirely devoted to disseminating information on all aspects of research and development of solid-state devices for transducing physical signals. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical regularly publishes original papers, letters to the Editors and from time to time invited review articles within the following device areas: • Fundamentals and Physics, such as: classification of effects, physical effects, measurement theory, modelling of sensors, measurement standards, measurement errors, units and constants, time and frequency measurement. Modeling papers should bring new modeling techniques to the field and be supported by experimental results. • Materials and their Processing, such as: piezoelectric materials, polymers, metal oxides, III-V and II-VI semiconductors, thick and thin films, optical glass fibres, amorphous, polycrystalline and monocrystalline silicon. • Optoelectronic sensors, such as: photovoltaic diodes, photoconductors, photodiodes, phototransistors, positron-sensitive photodetectors, optoisolators, photodiode arrays, charge-coupled devices, light-emitting diodes, injection lasers and liquid-crystal displays. • Mechanical sensors, such as: metallic, thin-film and semiconductor strain gauges, diffused silicon pressure sensors, silicon accelerometers, solid-state displacement transducers, piezo junction devices, piezoelectric field-effect transducers (PiFETs), tunnel-diode strain sensors, surface acoustic wave devices, silicon micromechanical switches, solid-state flow meters and electronic flow controllers. Etc...