Novel Hinge Mechanism for Vacuum Transduction High Performance Capacitive Mems Microphones

In this paper, we present the design, fabrication and first experimental results of a microscale hinge mechanism allowing the mechanical transfer of a force between two atmospheres. When applied to the design of a capacitive MEMS microphone, this mechanism allows the division of the device into two separate parts: a pressure harvesting membrane in air, linked to a capacitive transducer sitting in vacuum. Theoretically, this separation should result in very low acoustical and mechanical noises, thereby increasing overall microphone performance (estimated SNR>75dB(A)), while maintaining a small device footprint (<;2mm
²
).