Thank you xMEMS Labs and thank you Creative Technologies

  • RickRussell_CA@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Unclear why these are called “solid state”. The main innovation here seems to be bonding the piezoelectric elements to a membrane to serve as the speaker.

    Piezoelectric earphones have been around for a long time; they were popular back in the old days because a crystal radio could drive them at a listenable volume without any external power source, using only the power received from the radio antenna.

    • money_loo@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      How does it work? Well, instead of the coil and magnet system that’s been used for over a century, MEMS drivers rely on a voltage-driven monolithic piezo drive that convert signals into sound. This design sees a silicon diaphragm used for the speaker, with the piezo layer distributed evenly under the diaphragm surface.

      I’m no engineer, but that sounds different than normal speakers to me.

      • RickRussell_CA@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        But it doesn’t imply solid state. There are ways to move air without moving parts, but this device clearly has moving parts.