Flexible sound generator based on thermoacoustic effect

Author

Nakajima, Yoshiki ; Sugimoto, Taku

Author_Institution

Sci. & Technol. Res. Labs., Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK), Tokyo, Japan

fYear

2012

fDate

28-31 Oct. 2012

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

4

Abstract

A flexible sound generator based on the thermoacoustic effect was developed. The device consists of a flexible substrate, a thermal insulating layer, and a surface electrode. Very thin films made of organic materials were used as the substrate and insulating layer. We detected sound from this device. Various acoustic properties were also evaluated. These results indicate that the fabricated device generates sound based on the thermoacoustic effect. This device is very thin, lightweight and flexible. It is expected that the device will be applied to flexible sensors, actuators, and loudspeakers.

Keywords

acoustic transducers; electrodes; flexible electronics; loudspeakers; thermal insulation; thin film sensors; actuator; fabricated device; flexible sensor; flexible sound generator; flexible substrate; loudspeaker; organic material; sound detection; substrate layer; surface electrode; thermal insulating layer; thermoacoustic effect; thin film; Acoustics; Electrodes; Films; Frequency response; Generators; Loudspeakers; Substrates;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Sensors, 2012 IEEE

Conference_Location

Taipei

ISSN

1930-0395

Print_ISBN

978-1-4577-1766-6

Electronic_ISBN

1930-0395

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICSENS.2012.6411099

Filename

6411099