An acoustic transducer comprising a substrate; and a diaphragm formed by
depositing a micromachined membrane onto the substrate. The diaphragm is
formed as a single silicon chip using a CMOS MEMS (microelectromechanical
systems) semiconductor fabrication process. The curling of the diaphragm
during fabrication is reduced by depositing the micromachined membrane for
the diaphragm in a serpentine-spring configuration with alternating longer
and shorter arms. As a microspeaker, the acoustic transducer of the
present invention converts a digital audio input signal directly into a
sound wave, resulting in a very high quality sound reproduction at a lower
cost of production in comparison to conventional acoustic transducers. The
micromachined diaphragm may also be used in microphone applications.
