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january 2014 docid025704 rev 1 1/18 AN4426 application note tutorial for mems microphones introduction this application note serves as a tutorial for mems microphones, providing general characteristics of these devices, both acousti c and mechanical, as well as summarizing the portfolio available from st. mems microphones target all audio applicat ions where small size, high sound quality, reliability and affordability ar e key requirements. based on mems (micro-electrical- mechanical systems) sensor technology, our microphones meet price points set by traditional electric condenser microphones (ecm), while feat uring superior reliability and robustness. mems microphones from st are designed using common techniques but also with industry-unique and innovative packagi ng that offers slimmer form factors and outperforms traditional devices. both analog- and digital-input, top- and bottom-port solutions are available. their best-in-class snr makes st's mems microphones suitable for applications beyond typical consumer app lications, such as phonometers and sound- level meters that require a high dynamic range. www.st.com
contents AN4426 2/18 docid025704 rev 1 contents 1 mechanical specifications, co nstruction details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 acoustic parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.1 sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.2 directionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.3 snr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.4 dynamic range and acoustic over load point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 2.5 equivalent input noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 2.6 frequency response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2.7 total harmonic distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 2.8 psrr and psr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 3 mems microphone portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 4 revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
docid025704 rev 1 3/18 AN4426 list of figures 18 list of figures figure 1. mems microphone inside package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 figure 2. mems transducer mechanical spec ifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 figure 3. capacitance change principle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 figure 4. 4 x 5 package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 figure 5. 3 x 4 package - bottom port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 figure 6. 3 x 4 package - top port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 figure 7. faraday cage in st?s mems microphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 figure 8. rf immunity simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 figure 9. emc test setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 figure 10. rf test disturbance signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 figure 11. rf immunity test results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 figure 12. omnidirectional microphone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 figure 13. a-weighted filter response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 figure 14. acoustic and electrical relationship - analog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 figure 15. acoustic and electrical relationship - digital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 figure 16. mp45dt02 frequency response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 figure 17. mems microphone portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 figure 18. mems microphone notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
mechanical specifications, construction details AN4426 4/18 docid025704 rev 1 1 mechanical specifications, construction details a microphone is a dual-die device consisting of two components, the integrated circuit and the sensor, which are housed in a package using techniques that are proprietary to st. figure 1. mems microphone inside package the sensor uses mems technology (micro-el ectrical-mechanical systems) and it is basically a silicon capacitor. the capacitor consis ts of two silicon plates/surfaces. one plate is fixed while the other one is movable (res pectively, the green plate and the grey one shown in the following figure). the fixed surface is covered by an electrode to make it conductive and is full of acoustic holes whic h allow sound to pass through. the movable plate is able to move since it is bonded at onl y one side of its structure. a ventilation hole, allows the air compressed in the back chamber to flow out and consequently allows the membrane to move back. the chamber allows the membrane to move inside but also, in combination with the ch amber created by the package will affect the acoustic performance of the microphones in terms of frequency response and snr. figure 2. mems transducer mechanical specifications so basically the microphone mems sensor is a variable capacitor where the transduction principle is the coupled capacitance change between a fixed plate (back plate) and a movable plate (membrane) caused by the incoming wave of the sound. am17596v1 mems sensor asic (application specific integrated circuit)
docid025704 rev 1 5/18 AN4426 mechanical specifications, construction details 18 figure 3. capacitance change principle the integrated circuit converts the change of the polarized mems capacitance into a digital (pdm modulated) or analog output accordi ng to the microphone type. finally the mems microphone is housed in a package with the sound inlet placed in the top or in the bottom part of the package, hence the top-port or bottom-port nomenclature of the package. st manufactures microphones using industry- wide techniques, but also has developed innovative packaging to achieve improved performance of the microphones. packaging techniques will be discussed in further detail. the 4x5 package is widely us ed to house the digital microphone mp45dt02. it is a common packaging technique in a top-port configuration where the asic is placed under the sound inlet with glue on top (glob top) in order to pr otect the circuit from li ght and the mems sensor is placed beside the integrated circuit (a) . the two silicon compon ents are fixed to the substrate and the pads of the device are on the bottom side. the resonant chambers are identified depending on the position of each cham ber with respect to the membrane and the incoming sound. in this case, considering t he incoming direction of the sound, the front chamber is created by the package and the chamber inside the mems, behind the mems membrane, is the back chamber. this configurat ion allows protecting the mems from dust and particles falling into the package but results in a low snr and frequency response with a peak in the audio band. figure 4. 4 x 5 package the 3x4 package is used in st to produce both the bottom- and the top-port digital microphones, mp34db01 and mp34dt01. consider ing the bottom configuration first, this structure is depicted in the following figure. the asic and the mems sensor are fixed to the substrate and the pads of the device are on bott om side as well. the sound inlet is obtained by drilling the substrate acco rding to the position of t he mems sensor. the package a. 4 x 5 microphone with and without glob top are both available.
mechanical specifications, construction details AN4426 6/18 docid025704 rev 1 encloses all the components. in this configur ation the front chamber is the cavity of the mems sensor and the package creates the back chamber. this design optimizes the acoustic performance of the microphone in terms of snr and also allows obtaining a flat response across the entire audio band. the draw back of this solution is represented by the assembly of this microphone. usually the bottom-port microphones are soldered on the pcb. the thickness of the board modifies th e volume of the front chamber, degrading the flat response of this type of microphone (r efer to an4427, ?gasket design for optimal acoustic performance in mems microphones? for details). in order to minimize the artifacts caused by this environment, a flex cable is recommended to be used. additionally, the bottom-port microphones have a ringed metal pad around the hole. a very careful soldering process is required to avoid dust or soldering paste from entering in the sound port, damaging the mems membrane. figure 5. 3 x 4 package - bottom port the 3x4 top-port configuration is basically a mirrored bottom-port microphone. the asic and the sensor are placed close to each other, the sensor is still un der the soun d inlet but these two components are attached to the top of the structure, in other words, the asic and mems are fixed to the package lid, not to the substrate. the pads are on the substrate and thus on the bottom side of the microphone. this configuration, covered by st patents, allows optimizing all the benefits of the bo ttom-port microphone in terms of acoustic performance (i.e. maximized snr and flat band) and all the benefits related to the top-port configuration during the assembly process. figure 6. 3 x 4 package - top port another package used in st is a 3.76 mm by 2.95 mm, approximately called 3 by 3. this package is a bottom-port configuration and is used for the analog microphone mp33ab01 which is fully aligned with the digital bottom -port device. summarizing, it has the same
docid025704 rev 1 7/18 AN4426 mechanical specifications, construction details 18 package construction and the same performance. this is the best microphone offered by st in terms of snr. mems microphones housed in a plastic packag e are protected from ra diated disturbances by embedding in the plastic package a metal shield which serves as a faraday cage. the model in the following figure sh ows how the faraday cage is implemented in st?s plastic packages. figure 7. faraday cage in st?s mems microphones the next figure shows the simulation of an el ectric field in open space. by applying an electric field source outside the microphon e package, the faraday cage is able to considerably attenuate the field inside the micr ophone structure. the temperature grade of the e field is an easy way to plot the results. figure 8. rf immunity simulation in addition to the simulation, st has a de dicated test to evaluate immunity, ?microphone durability to emc disturbances (digital microphone emc immuni ty test rev0.3)?. microphones are subjected to rf disturbances using a proper jig with the following setup.
mechanical specifications, construction details AN4426 8/18 docid025704 rev 1 figure 9. emc test setup basically the test consists of placing the microphone under an antenna radiating a disturbance signal of 1 khz am modulated in the range [0.8, 3] ghz. the rf amplitude differs depending on the frequency range according to the following criteria: ? +33dbm in the range [0.8, 2.4] ? +17dbm in the range [2.4, 3.0] figure 10. rf test disturbance signal the carrier of the disturbance is 1 khz since it is an audio signal. hence, the rf immunity of the microphone is evaluated by measuring the re sidual of the carrier at the output of the signal generator rf amplifier emc jig in out rf out rf in +33dbm @450,900 1800mhz rf antenna dig mic quality board vdd gnd data clk decimator board pc attenuator+50 termination amplified rf out labview routine power meter coupler bring out 3.3v level signals and send them to labview routine signal generator rf amplifier emc jig in out rf out rf in +33dbm @450,900 1800mhz rf antenna dig mic quality board vdd gnd data clk decimator board pc attenuator+50 termination amplified rf out labview routine power meter coupler only level shifters are used to bring out 3.3v level signals and send them to labview routine
docid025704 rev 1 9/18 AN4426 mechanical specifications, construction details 18 microphone. the next figure shows the result of the peak at 1 khz measured when applying the rf disturbance on top of an mp34dt01. figure 11. rf immunity test results -110 -105 -100 -95 -90 -85 -80 -75 -70 -65 -60 0 500 1000 1500 2000 1khz peak value [dbfs] carrier frequency [mhz] rf immunity results of mp34td01
acoustic parameters AN4426 10/18 docid025704 rev 1 2 acoustic parameters 2.1 sensitivity the sensitivity is the el ectrical signal at the microphone ou tput to a given acoustic pressure as input. the reference of ac oustic pressure is 1 pa or 94 dbspl@1khz. the sound pressure level, expressed in decibel, dbspl=20*log(p/po ) where po = 20pa is the threshold of hearing. 20*l og(1pa/20pa) = 94 dbspl ? for analog microphones the sens itivity is expressed in mv rms /pa or dbv/pa ? for digital microphones the sensitivity is expressed in dbfs dbv ? ? dbfs. it is not correct to compare differen t units. as given in the above equations, dbv is in reference to 1v rms instead of dbfs where the reference is the digital full scale. 2.2 directionality the directionality indicates the variation of th e sensitivity response with respect to the direction of the arrival of the sound. mems mi crophones from st are omnidirectional which means that there is no sensitiv ity change to every different po sition of the source of the sound in space. the directionality can be indicate d in a cartesian axis as sensitivity drift vs. angle or in a polar diagram showing the sensitivity pattern response in space. the following figure depicts the directio nality in these two reference systems. figure 12. omnidirectional microphone 2.3 snr the signal-to-noise ratio specifies the ratio bet ween a given reference signal to the amount of residual noise at the microphone output. the reference signal is the standard signal at the microphone output when the sound pressure is 1pa @ 1 khz (microphone sensitivity). the noise signal (residual noise) is the mi crophone electrical output at silence. this parameter includes both the noise of the mems element and the asic. concerning this sum, the main contribution to noise is gi ven by the mems sensor, the integrated circuit contribution can be considered negligible. typically, the noise level is measured in an anechoic environment and a-weighting the acquisi tion. the a-weighted filter corresponds to the human ear frequency response.
docid025704 rev 1 11/18 AN4426 acoustic parameters 18 figure 13. a-weighted filter response 2.4 dynamic range and acoustic overload point the dynamic range is the difference betwee n the minimum and maximum signal that the microphone is able to generate as output. ? the minimum signal is the smallest audio signal that the microphone can generate distinctly from noise. in other words, the minimum signal is equivalent to the residual noise. ? the maximum audio signal is that whic h the microphone can generate without distortion. it is also called acoustic overlo ad point (aop). actua lly, the specification allows up to 10% in terms of distor tion at the acoustic overload point. 2.5 equivalent input noise a microphone is a sound-to-electricity tran sducer which means that any output signal corresponds to a specific sound as input. the equivalent input noise (ein) is the acoustic level, expresse d in dbspl, corresponding to th e residual noise as output. for example, a digital microphone with a sens itivity of -26 dbfs and a 63 db as snr: residual noise = -26-63 = -89 dbfs this sum transposed in the acoustic domain is: ein= 94-63= 31 dbspl the following figures summarize the relationship between the acoustic and electric domains related to each of the parameters listed above. figure 14 and figure 15 illustrate this for analog and digital microphones, respectively.
acoustic parameters AN4426 12/18 docid025704 rev 1 figure 14. acoustic and electrical relationship - analog figure 15. acoustic and electri cal relationship - digital 120 110 100 90 70 80 50 60 40 30 20 10 0 -120 -110 -100 -90 -70 -80 -50 -60 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 94dbspl aop 30 snr=63db -26dbfs dynamic range=89db acoustic domain (dbspl) digital domain (dbfs) sensitivity line noise line digital microphone example ein 31 dbspl residual noise -89 dbfs
docid025704 rev 1 13/18 AN4426 acoustic parameters 18 2.6 frequency response the frequency response of a microphone in terms of magnitude indicates the sensitivity variation across the audio band. this parameter also describes the deviation of the output signal from the reference 0 db . typically, the reference for th is measurement is exactly the sensitivity of the micr ophone @ 0 db = 94 dbspl @ 1 kh z. the frequency response of a microphone can vary across the audio frequency band depending on three parameters: the ventilation hole, the front chamber geometry, and back chamber geometry. the ventilation hole and the back chamber geometry have an im pact on the behavior at low frequencies while the behavior at high frequencies depends on the geometry of the front chamber only. behavior at high frequencies can be a resonance peak caused by the helmholtz effect. this resonance is the phenomenon of air resonance in a cavity. as a matter of fact, it depends on the dimension of the front chamber of the mi crophone, representing the sound cavity in which the air resonates. a microphone with a flat frequency response is suitable when natural sound and high intelligib ility of the system is required. the following figure shows the response of the mp45dt02. it shows a roll-off at low frequencies and a peak around 18 khz caused by the large front chamber (b) of this microphone. figure 16. mp45dt02 frequency response the frequency response of a microphone in terms of phase indicates the phase distortion introduced by the microphone. in other words, the delay between the sound wave moving the microphone membrane and the electrical signal at the microphone output results in that this parameter includes both the distor tion due to the membrane and the asic. b. a detailed explanation of the helmholtz resonance princi ple and its effect on the chambers of the microphone is given in section 2: acoustic parameters .
acoustic parameters AN4426 14/18 docid025704 rev 1 2.7 total harmonic distortion thd is the measurement of the distortion affe cting the electrical output signal of the microphone given an undistorted acoustic signal as input. thd+n is expressed as a ratio of the integer in a specified band of the power of the harmonics plus the power of noise and the power of the undistorted signal (fundamental). equation 1 typically st indicates the thd+n measured in the (50 hz - 4 khz) band for a given undistorted signal 1 khz @ 100 dbspl. 2.8 psrr and psr psrr indicates the capability of the asic to reje ct noise added to the supply voltage. to evaluate this parameter, a tone of v in = 100 mvpk-pk @ 217 hz (gsm switching frequency in phone applications) is added to the power su pply and then the amplitude of the output is measured. the added noise can be either a square wave or sinusoidal wave. typically the square wave is preferred since it is the worst case. psrr is the ratio of the residual noise amplitude at the microphone output (v out @ 217 hz) to the added spurious signal on the supply voltage. it is typically expressed in db as given in the equation below: equation 2 psrr = 20 x log [(v out @ 217 hz) / (v in @ 217 hz)] the capability of the integrated circuit to reje ct noise added to the supply voltage can also be expressed with another parameter that is the psr. basically it is simply a measurement of the output when noise of 100 mvpk-pk @ 217 hz is superposed to the supply voltage. consequently expressed in db as given in the equation below: equation 3 psr = 20 x log (v out @ 217 hz) to evaluate either the psrr or psr, proper s ealing of the sound inlet or measurements performed in an anechoic chamber are reco mmended to avoid mixing the superimposed noise with that of the noise floor of the out put. finally, in the microphone datasheets psr is commonly given instead of psrr. ?
docid025704 rev 1 15/18 AN4426 mems microphone portfolio 18 3 mems microphone portfolio figure 17. mems microphone portfolio st?s portfolio includes digital and analog microphones. the commercial products are named using the notation depicted in the following figure. figure 18. mems microphone notation mp34db01 mp : microphone 34 : package size d : digital (otherwise a for analog) b : bottom port (otherwise t for top) 01 : device revision example mp45dt02 : mems microphone, 4x5 wide, digital, top-port, revision 02
mems microphone portfolio AN4426 16/18 docid025704 rev 1 the following table provides a complete overview of the microphones offered by st. additionally it serves as a summary for selecting the appropriate microphone among the st portfolio as the features of both di gital and analog microphones are given. table 1. features of mems microphones parameter mp45dt02 mp34db01 mp34dt01 mp33ab01 mp33ab01h sensitivity -26 dbfs -26 db fs -26 dbfs -38 dbv -38 dbv directivity omnidirectional omnidirectional omnidirectional omnidirectional omnidirectional snr 61 db 62.5 db 63 db 63 db 66 db aop 120 db 120 db 120 db 125 db 125 db ein 33 db 31.5 db 31 db 31 db 28 db thd+n <5% @ 115 db <5% @ 115db <5% @ 115db <5% @ 120db <5% @ 120db psr -70 dbfs -70 dbfs -70 dbfs -75 dbv -75 dbv max. current consumption 650 a 600 a 600 a 250 a 250 a package dimensions 4.72x3.76x1.25 mm 3x4x1 mm 3x4x1 mm 3.76x2.95x1 mm 3.76x2.95x1 mm port location top port bottom por t top port bottom port bottom port operating temperature -40c docid025704 rev 1 17/18 AN4426 revision history 18 4 revision history table 2. document revision history date revision changes 09-jan-2014 1 initial release
AN4426 18/18 docid025704 rev 1 please read carefully: information in this document is provided solely in connection with st products. stmicroelectronics nv and its subsidiaries (?st ?) reserve the right to make changes, corrections, modifications or improvements, to this document, and the products and services described he rein at any time, without notice. all st products are sold pursuant to st?s terms and conditions of sale. purchasers are solely responsible for the choice, selection and use of the st products and services described herein, and st as sumes no liability whatsoever relating to the choice, selection or use of the st products and services described herein. no license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual property rights is granted under this document. i f any part of this document refers to any third party products or services it shall not be deemed a license grant by st for the use of such third party products or services, or any intellectual property contained therein or considered as a warranty covering the use in any manner whatsoev er of such third party products or services or any intellectual property contained therein. unless otherwise set forth in st?s terms and conditions of sale st disclaims any express or implied warranty with respect to the use and/or sale of st products including without limitation implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particul ar purpose (and their equivalents under the laws of any jurisdiction), or infringement of any patent, copyright or other intellectual property right. st products are not designed or authorized for use in: (a) safety critical applications such as life supporting, active implanted devices or systems with product functional safety requirements; (b) aeronautic applications; (c) automotive applications or environments, and/or (d) aerospace applications or environments. where st products are not designed for such use, the purchaser shall use products at purchaser?s sole risk, even if st has been informed in writing of such usage, unless a product is expressly designated by st as being intended for ? automotive, automotive safe ty or medical? industry domains according to st product design specifications. products formally escc, qml or jan qualified are deemed suitable for use in aerospace by the corresponding governmental agency. resale of st products with provisions different from the statements and/or technical features set forth in this document shall immediately void any warranty granted by st for the st product or service described herein and shall not create or extend in any manner whatsoev er, any liability of st. st and the st logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of st in various countries. information in this document supersedes and replaces all information previously supplied. the st logo is a registered trademark of stmicroelectronics. all other names are the property of their respective owners. ? 2014 stmicroelectronics - all rights reserved stmicroelectronics group of companies australia - belgium - brazil - canada - china - czech republic - finland - france - germany - hong kong - india - israel - ital y - japan - malaysia - malta - morocco - philippines - singapore - spain - sweden - switzerland - united kingdom - united states of america www.st.com

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