Spiral-Shaped Piezoelectric MEMS Cantilever Array for Fully Implantable Hearing Systems

Fully implantable, self-powered hearing aids with no external unit could significantly increase the life quality of patients suffering severe hearing loss. This highly demanding concept, however, requires a strongly miniaturized device which is fully implantable in the middle/inner ear and includes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Micromachines (Basel) 2017-10, Vol.8 (10), p.311
Main Authors: Udvardi, Péter, Radó, János, Straszner, András, Ferencz, János, Hajnal, Zoltán, Soleimani, Saeedeh, Schneider, Michael, Schmid, Ulrich, Révész, Péter, Volk, János
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accelerometers
Aluminum
aluminum nitride (AlN)
Analog circuits
Archimedean spiral
artificial basilar membrane
Biocompatibility
CMOS
cochlear implant
Ear
Energy harvesting
finite element analysis
frequency selectivity
Hearing aids
Mathematical models
Metal oxides
micro-electromechanical system (MEMS)
Microelectromechanical systems
Micromachining
Microprocessors
Open circuit voltage
piezoelectric cantilever
Piezoelectricity
Surgical implants
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Summary:Fully implantable, self-powered hearing aids with no external unit could significantly increase the life quality of patients suffering severe hearing loss. This highly demanding concept, however, requires a strongly miniaturized device which is fully implantable in the middle/inner ear and includes the following components: frequency selective microphone or accelerometer, energy harvesting device, speech processor, and cochlear multielectrode. Here we demonstrate a low volume, piezoelectric micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) cantilever array which is sensitive, even in the lower part of the voice frequency range (300⁻700 Hz). The test array consisting of 16 cantilevers has been fabricated by standard bulk micromachining using a Si-on-Insulator (SOI) wafer and aluminum nitride (AlN) as a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) and biocompatible piezoelectric material. The low frequency and low device footprint are ensured by Archimedean spiral geometry and Si seismic mass. Experimentally detected resonance frequencies were validated by an analytical model. The generated open circuit voltage (3⁻10 mV) is sufficient for the direct analog conversion of the signals for cochlear multielectrode implants.
ISSN:2072-666X
2072-666X
DOI:10.3390/mi8100311