The present invention relates to acoustic detectors and microphones, and in particular, to a microphone with very high sensitivity, in which the detection mechanism is based on electron surface tunneling.
Electron surface tunneling is a well known phenomenon. It is predicted by quantum mechanical theory, and is exploited in surface tunneling microscopes (STM) capable of distinguishing individual atoms on surfaces. The quantum theory of surface tunneling focuses on the possibility that an electron can jump from the electron cloud on the surface of one material to an electron cloud on the surface of another material. An important feature is that the two materials are physically separated by a “forbidden” region in which free electrons are not allowed to exist. Examples of materials for such a forbidden region are electrical insulators, a vacuum, and dry air. An electron can only survive for a very short time in the “forbidden” region. If an electron makes it across the region, it is said to have “tunneled” through the region.
A basic prior art experiment 10 which demonstrates surface tunneling is shown in
It is important to realize from equation (1) that there is an exponential dependence between the tunneling current i and the distance d from the tip 12 to the surface 11. Therefore, even minute changes in distance d will lead to a significant change in the tunneling current i. In
Bringing the tip 12 in such close proximity to the surface 11 and maintaining its distance d without touching the surface 11 presents a tremendous control problem. A large scale “equivalent” of this control problem would be to drive a car at 60 mph up to a wall and stopping without hitting the wall, such that the bumper is less than 0.1″ from the wall. With the use of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, it has become possible to realize prior art devices, such as device 20, shown in
One approach for realizing a microphone 30 using a tunneling tip 31 is shown in
There are a number of problems with this basic structure. First, the fabrication of such a MEMS structure is very complicated and difficult to realize. The result would be that the cost of the device would be exceedingly high when compared to other microphone technologies. Second, the cantilever 32 will have a significant sensitivity to vibration, due to its inertial mass, which will manifest itself as an artifact in the microphone signal. The vibration sensitivity will be much higher for this structure than other comparable microphone structures based on other detection methods (e.g., piezoelectric or capacitive). In addition, the resonance frequency of the cantilever tip 31 is bound to fall within the frequency range of interest in the microphone 30, which will make control of the tip deflection extremely difficult or impossible.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to realize a novel structure based on MEMS technology, in which the fabrication of a tunneling tip and pressure sensitive membrane is integrated to lower the fabrication cost of the device.
It is another object of the present invention to reduce the vibration sensitivity of the tunneling microphone to a level comparable to other MEMS microphone detection technologies.
It is a further object of the present invention to design the tunneling microphone structure such that a wide acoustic bandwidth can be achieved.
The present invention is an electron surface tunneling microphone in which a tunneling tip is integrated with a pressure sensitive membrane on a single support substrate. The tunneling tip is mounted on a rigid perforated suspension plate that is fabricated on the support substrate. As a result, the vibration sensitivity of the microphone is reduced to that of the membrane. Also included on the suspension plate are at least one, and preferably a plurality of control electrodes, which are used to move the membrane into close proximity to the tunneling tip. Movement of the membrane relative to the tunneling tip is controlled by applying an electrical potential between the control electrodes and the membrane, causing the membrane to bend towards the electrodes, and hence the tip, due to electrostatic attraction. The perforated suspension plate includes a number of openings to allow air in the gap between the membrane and suspension plate to escape, and thereby reduce viscous damping and associated noise in the microphone.
The materials for the tunneling tip and control electrodes are preferably metals that will not react with the ambient in which the microphone is placed. Such metals include gold, platinum, and palladium. The pressure sensitive membrane is preferably made of a similar metal, but can be reinforced with a dielectric or semi-conducting material for mechanical support. Reinforcement materials preferably include silicon, polycrystalline silicon, silicon nitride, and silicon dioxide. Preferably, the support substrate and perforated tip suspension plate are made from materials such as silicon, silicon nitride, and silicon dioxide.
In operation, an electrical potential Vm is applied between the conductive membrane and the control electrodes on the rigid suspension plate. In addition, another electrical potential is applied between the tunneling tip and the conductive membrane and the electrical current through the tunneling tip is monitored. As the membrane is pulled towards the tunneling tip, at some point a tunneling current will begin to flow in the tunneling tip. The control voltage Vm is subsequently adjusted to achieve a steady-state tunneling current in the tip. As the membrane responds to differential acoustic pressure variations, it moves, and therefore upsets the steady-state tunneling current. In a feedback loop, the control voltage is instantly adjusted to return the membrane to the steady-state condition. As a result, the constant adjustment of the control voltage is a direct measure of any sound pressure incident on the membrane.
a through 8h are cross-sectional diagrams of the electron tunneling microphone structure at various stages of a fabrication process according to the present invention.
The present invention is an electron surface tunneling microphone with very high sensitivity in which a tunneling tip is integrated with a pressure sensitive membrane on a single support substrate.
A preferred embodiment of the electron surface tunneling microphone structure 40 of the present invention is shown in
Preferably, tunneling tip 43 and control electrodes 45 are made from metals that will not react with the ambient in which the microphone 40 is placed. Such metals preferably include gold, platinum, and palladium. The pressure sensitive membrane 42 is preferably made of a similar metal, but can be reinforced with a dielectric or semi-conducting material for mechanical support. Reinforcement materials preferably include silicon, polycrystalline silicon, silicon nitride, and silicon dioxide. The support substrate 41 and perforated tip suspension plate 47 preferably are made from materials such as silicon, silicon nitride, and silicon dioxide.
In operation, an electrical potential or control voltage Vm is applied between the membrane 42, which is conductive, and the control electrodes 45 on the rigid suspension plate 47. In addition, another electrical potential or voltage is applied between the tunneling tip 43 and the conductive membrane 42, and the resulting electrical current through the tunneling tip 43 is monitored. Typically, these voltages are in the range of 1 to 10 volts. As the membrane 42 is pulled towards the tunneling tip 43, at some point a tunneling current i will begin to flow in the tunneling tip 43. The control voltage Vm is subsequently adjusted to achieve a given tunneling current in the tip 43, which is a steady-state condition. As the membrane 42 responds to differential acoustic pressure variations, it moves and therefore upsets the tunneling current i according to
One embodiment of a circuit for achieving the required control function of the tunneling microphone 40 is the block diagram 50 shown in
A further explanation of the principle of operation of the microphone 40 of the present invention is shown in
A preferred fabrication process of the electron tunneling microphone according to the present invention is shown in
In
In
As shown in
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In
Although the present invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment and process, it is not intended that the invention be limited to that embodiment and process. Modifications of the embodiment and process within the spirit of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims that follow.
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/568,691, filed May 7, 2004, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in this application.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60568691 | May 2004 | US |