Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Seehow Pte. Ltd.

Apoorva Murarka

Vladimir Bulovic

Jeffrey Hastings Lang

Annie I-Jen Wang

Trisha L Andrew

Farnaz Niroui

Corinne E Packard

Wendi Chang

Sarah Paydavosi

Jeffrey C Grossman

LeeAnn Kim

Frank Yaul

Jennifer Jong-Hua Yu

Timothy Manning Swager

Hae-Seung Harry Lee

Ellen May Sletten

Vanessa Wood

Gleb M Akselrod

Parag Deotare

Matthew Eric D'Asaro

Dev Chandan Behera

This invention discloses a method for measuring the rate of angular displacement, of a traveling object, using magnetic field sensing, said method comprising: measuring magnetic field intensity and/or changes in said magnetic field intensity, projected onto a magnetic field sensor coupled to said traveling object, each measurement being per orthogonal rotation axis to provide a magnetic field intensity value per axis and/or a change in magnetic field intensity per axis, as said object's orientation changes with time; determining, number of peaks, present in a measurement sample comprising a set of said measurements, of time duration; and computing said rate of angular displacement, for said traveling object, as a function of said determined number of peaks and said time duration.

Systems and methods for measuring the rate of angular displacement using magnetic field sensing

Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, a headphone device, comprises at least one ear muff comprising a structure to hold the at least one ear muff against an ear of a user, and at least one driver disposed in the at least one ear muff. An earbud comprises an earbud housing having a protrusion to fit into an external acoustic meatus or ear canal of a user, and a driver disposed in the earbud housing. The driver comprises an electrostatic acoustic transducer comprising a substrate comprising a first material to function as a first electrode, a dielectric layer coupled with the first material, wherein the dielectric layer has one or more cavities formed therein, and a membrane coupled with the dielectric layer to cover the one or more cavities and to function as a second electrode.

Electrostatic acoustic transducer utilized in a headphone device or an earbud

Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, a hearing aid comprises a housing and an audio processing system disposed in the housing, the audio processing system comprising at least one amplifier, an earbud formed as part of the housing or coupled to the housing to fit into an external acoustic meatus or ear canal of a user, one or more microphones coupled to an input of the amplifier, and one or more drivers coupled to an output of the amplifier to reproduce an amplified version of an input acoustic wave impinging on the one or more microphones. The audio processing system including a processor coupled between the microphone and the driver, wherein the processor is to provide one or more hearing correction functions. At least one of the one or more drivers or the one or more microphones, or a combination thereof, comprises an electrostatic acoustic transducer.

Electrostatic acoustic transducer utilized in a hearing aid or audio processing system

The disclosure provides methods and apparatus for release-assisted microcontact printing of MEMS. Specifically, the principles disclosed herein enable patterning diaphragms and conductive membranes on a substrate having articulations of desired shapes and sizes. Such diaphragms deflect under applied pressure or force (e.g., electrostatic, electromagnetic, acoustic, pneumatic, mechanical, etc.) generating a responsive signal. Alternatively, the diaphragm can be made to deflect in response to an external bias to measure the external bias/phenomenon. The disclosed principles enable transferring diaphragms and/or thin membranes without rupturing.

Method and apparatus for release-assisted microcontact printing of MEMS

The disclosure relates to method and apparatus for micro-contact printing of micro-electromechanical systems ('MEMS') in a solvent-free environment. The disclosed embodiments enable forming a composite membrane over a parylene layer and transferring the composite structure to a receiving structure to form one or more microcavities covered by the composite membrane. The parylene film may have a thickness in the range of about 100 nm-2 microns; 100 nm-1 micron, 200-300 nm, 300-500 nm, 500 nm to 1 micron and 1-30 microns. Next, one or more secondary layers are formed over the parylene to create a composite membrane. The composite membrane may have a thickness of about 100 nm to 700 nm to several microns. The composite membrane's deflection in response to external forces can be measured to provide a contact-less detector. Conversely, the composite membrane may be actuated using an external bias to cause deflection commensurate with the applied bias. Applications of the disclosed embodiments include tunable lasers, microphones, microspeakers, remotely-activated contact-less pressure sensors and the like.

Tunable light emitting devices and applications thereof

Electromechanical devices described herein may employ tunneling phenomena to function as low-voltage switches. Opposing electrodes may be separated by an elastically deformable layer which, in some cases, may be made up of a non-electrically conductive material. In some embodiments, the elastically deformable layer is substantially free of electrically conductive material. When a sufficient actuation voltage and/or force is applied, the electrodes are brought toward one another and, accordingly, the elastically deformable layer is compressed. Though, the elastically deformable layer prevents the electrodes from making direct contact with one another. Rather, when the electrodes are close enough to one another, a tunneling current arises therebetween. The elastically deformable layer may exhibit spring-like behavior such that, upon release of the actuation voltage and/or force, the separation distance between electrodes is restored. Thus, the electromechanical device may be actuated between open and closed switch positions.

Electromechanical device

A method and apparatus for making analog and digital electronics which includes a composite including a squishable material doped with conductive particles. A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device has a channel made from the composite, where the channel forms a primary conduction path for the device. Upon applied voltage, capacitive actuators squeeze the composite, causing it to become conductive. The squishable device includes a control electrode, and a composite electrically and mechanically connected to two terminal electrodes. By applying a voltage to the control electrode relative to a first terminal electrode, an electric field is developed between the control electrode and the first terminal electrode. This electric field results in an attractive force between the control electrode and the first terminal electrode, which compresses the composite and enables electric control of the electron conduction from the first terminal electrode through the channel to the second terminal electrode.

Electronically controlled squishable composite switch

Method and applications of thin-film membrane transfer

The disclosure is generally directed to fabrication steps, and operation principles for microelectromechanical (MEMS) transducers. In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to a texture morphing device. The texture morphing device includes: a plurality of supports arranged on a substrate to support a deformable mirror; an ITO layer; and a Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) layer. A pair of adjacent supports form a cavity with the ITO layer and the deformable mirror. When the height of the cavity changes responsive to an external pressure, the internal reflection within the cavity is changed. The change in the height of the cavity causes the exterior texture to morph. Similar principles are disclosed for constructing sensor and actuators.

Method and apparatus for forming MEMS device

The embodiments disclosed herein are directed to fabrication methods useful for creating MEMS via microcontact printing by using small organic molecule release layers. The disclose method enables transfer of a continuous metal film onto a discontinuous platform to form a variable capacitor array. The variable capacitor array can produce mechanical motion under the application of a voltage. The methods disclosed herein eliminate masking and other traditional MEMS fabrication methodology. The methods disclosed herein can be used to form a substantially transparent MEMS having a PDMS layer interposed between an electrode and a graphene diaphragm.

Growing community of inventors

Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Apoorva Murarka