SBIR Phase I: Low-cost, High-performance Microphones Enabled by MEMS Integration Innovation

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will lay the foundation for creation of a new microphone with performance characteristic of the highest precision measurement microphones today, but with size and cost approaching those of microphones found in consumer electronics. The broader impacts of this project are that by reducing the cost of instrumentation microphones, access to high-quality test and measurement will be more available to schools and educational institutions. Beyond instrumentation applications, having a high performance, low-cost, small-sized microphone can have a strong impact on other consumer markets isuch as the hearing aid market.