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MEMS Microphones as Ultrasonic Transducers: Nonlinear Electrostatic Actuation and a Parametric Array Prototype

2026/08/03 by Xiaoyu Niu, Zihuan Liu, Ehsan Vatankhah +2
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #eess.AS #physics.app-ph

paper · pdf

14 pages, 9 figures. Expanded article based on work presented at the 183rd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. This version adds a 28-die parametric-array prototype, analytical and finite-element modeling, and extended discussion. An earlier meeting abstract covering part of this work appeared in J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 152, A50-A51 (2022), DOI: 10.1121/10.0015506

arxiv created 2026/08/03 · arxiv updated 2026/08/04

Abstract

This paper investigates commercial-style capacitive MEMS microphone dies as air-coupled ultrasonic transmitters under nonlinear pull-in and snap-back actuation and demonstrates a compact parametric-array prototype. A single die produces large diaphragm displacement and measurable ultrasonic pressure in air. A 28-die array driven at 83 and 93 kHz generates a directional component at the 10 kHz difference frequency. Measurements are compared with analytical radiation theory and finite-element modeling, and the effects of aperture, fill factor, device uniformity, and receiver nonlinearity are discussed.

Citations