MIT engineers have developed a paper-thin speaker that can turn any surface into an active sound source. This thin-film speaker made of piezoelectric materials is capable of producing sound with minimal distortion while consuming only a fraction of the power required to run a traditional speaker.
A team of scientists demonstrated a product in the form of a thin film the size of a palm. It is lightweight and produces high-quality sound no matter what surface it is glued to. In addition, the ultra-thin speaker can provide active noise cancellation in a noisy environment such as in an airplane by producing sound of the same amplitude but with the opposite phase. Due to its flexibility, the device can also be used to produce 3D sound.
Unlike the traditional speaker design, the solution of American engineers is to use a thin film of piezoelectric material of a certain shape, on which thousands of micron-sized cones are placed. Each of them begins to vibrate when voltage is applied. There is air movement and thus sound is generated. The engineers used a heat source that is in a vacuum between plastic sheets. It also protects the product from damage. The holes were made using a laser, their size can be made larger to accommodate diffusers with a large radius. This affects the volume of the sound.
Since tiny cones vibrate rather than the entire film, the speaker has a high enough resonant frequency to be used effectively for ultrasound imaging. For example, to determine the location of a person, just as bats do with the help of echolocation. The authors believe that in the future such speakers can be produced in rolls, pasted over walls, car or aircraft interiors.
Source: Trash Box
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