Prototype Optical Bionic Microphone with a Dual-Channel Mach–Zehnder Interferometric Transducer

A prototype optical bionic microphone with a dual-channel Mach–Zehnder interferometric (MZI) transducer was designed and prepared for the first time using a silicon diaphragm made by microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. The MEMS diaphragm mimicked the structure of the fly Ormia Ochracea’...

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Main Authors: Xin Liu, Chen Cai, Kangning Ji, Xinyu Hu, Linsen Xiong, Zhi-mei Qi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-04-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/9/4416
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author Xin Liu
Chen Cai
Kangning Ji
Xinyu Hu
Linsen Xiong
Zhi-mei Qi
author_facet Xin Liu
Chen Cai
Kangning Ji
Xinyu Hu
Linsen Xiong
Zhi-mei Qi
author_sort Xin Liu
collection DOAJ
description A prototype optical bionic microphone with a dual-channel Mach–Zehnder interferometric (MZI) transducer was designed and prepared for the first time using a silicon diaphragm made by microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. The MEMS diaphragm mimicked the structure of the fly Ormia Ochracea’s coupling eardrum, consisting of two square wings connected through a neck that is anchored via the two torsional beams to the silicon pedestal. The vibrational displacement of each wing at its distal edge relative to the silicon pedestal is detected with one channel of the dual-channel MZI transducer. The diaphragm at rest is coplanar with the silicon pedestal, resulting in an initial phase difference of zero for each channel of the dual-channel MZI transducer and consequently offering the microphone strong temperature robustness. The two channels of the prototype microphone show good consistency in their responses to incident sound signals; they have the rocking and bending resonance frequencies of 482 Hz and 1911 Hz, and their pressure sensitivities at a lower frequency exhibit an “8”-shaped directional dependence. The comparison indicates that the dual-channel MZI transducer-based bionic microphone proposed in this work is advantageous over the Fabry–Perot interferometric transducer-based counterparts extensively reported.
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spelling doaj.art-1d37de27c31c4901a0b5079b5048611d2023-11-17T23:44:06ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-04-01239441610.3390/s23094416Prototype Optical Bionic Microphone with a Dual-Channel Mach–Zehnder Interferometric TransducerXin Liu0Chen Cai1Kangning Ji2Xinyu Hu3Linsen Xiong4Zhi-mei Qi5State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaA prototype optical bionic microphone with a dual-channel Mach–Zehnder interferometric (MZI) transducer was designed and prepared for the first time using a silicon diaphragm made by microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. The MEMS diaphragm mimicked the structure of the fly Ormia Ochracea’s coupling eardrum, consisting of two square wings connected through a neck that is anchored via the two torsional beams to the silicon pedestal. The vibrational displacement of each wing at its distal edge relative to the silicon pedestal is detected with one channel of the dual-channel MZI transducer. The diaphragm at rest is coplanar with the silicon pedestal, resulting in an initial phase difference of zero for each channel of the dual-channel MZI transducer and consequently offering the microphone strong temperature robustness. The two channels of the prototype microphone show good consistency in their responses to incident sound signals; they have the rocking and bending resonance frequencies of 482 Hz and 1911 Hz, and their pressure sensitivities at a lower frequency exhibit an “8”-shaped directional dependence. The comparison indicates that the dual-channel MZI transducer-based bionic microphone proposed in this work is advantageous over the Fabry–Perot interferometric transducer-based counterparts extensively reported.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/9/4416optical directional microphoneMach–Zehnder interferometerbionic MEMS silicon diaphragmtemperature robustnesshigh sensitivity
spellingShingle Xin Liu
Chen Cai
Kangning Ji
Xinyu Hu
Linsen Xiong
Zhi-mei Qi
Prototype Optical Bionic Microphone with a Dual-Channel Mach–Zehnder Interferometric Transducer
Sensors
optical directional microphone
Mach–Zehnder interferometer
bionic MEMS silicon diaphragm
temperature robustness
high sensitivity
title Prototype Optical Bionic Microphone with a Dual-Channel Mach–Zehnder Interferometric Transducer
title_full Prototype Optical Bionic Microphone with a Dual-Channel Mach–Zehnder Interferometric Transducer
title_fullStr Prototype Optical Bionic Microphone with a Dual-Channel Mach–Zehnder Interferometric Transducer
title_full_unstemmed Prototype Optical Bionic Microphone with a Dual-Channel Mach–Zehnder Interferometric Transducer
title_short Prototype Optical Bionic Microphone with a Dual-Channel Mach–Zehnder Interferometric Transducer
title_sort prototype optical bionic microphone with a dual channel mach zehnder interferometric transducer
topic optical directional microphone
Mach–Zehnder interferometer
bionic MEMS silicon diaphragm
temperature robustness
high sensitivity
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/9/4416
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