• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.373-378
• /
• 2015

The structure of the human ear is divided into the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The inner ear includes the cochlea that plays a very important role in hearing. Recently, the development of an artificial cochlear device for the hearing impaired with cochlear damage has been actively researched. Research has been carried out on the biomimetic piezoelectric thin film ABM (Artificial Basilar Membrane) in particular. In an effort to improve the frequency separation performance of the existing piezoelectric thin film ABM, this paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of the production and performance of a partially etched-type ABM material. $O_2$ plasma etching equipment was used to partially etch a piezoelectric thin film ABM to make it more flexible. The mechanical-behavior characterization of the manufactured partially etched-type ABM showed that the overall separation frequency range shifted to a lower frequency range more suitable for audible frequency bandwidths and it displayed an improved frequency separation performance. In addition, the maximum magnitude of the vibration displacement at the first local resonant frequency was enhanced by three times from 38 nm to 112 nm. It is expected that the newly designed, partially etched-type ABM will improve the issue of cross-talk between nearby electrodes and that the manufactured partially etched-type ABM will be utilized for next-generation ABM research.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.522-528
• /
• 2011

Artificial basilar membranes made of PVDF(polyvinylidene fluoride) are manufactured using microfabrication processes. The mechanical behavior of PVDF artificial basilar membrane was measured to evaluate its performance as a mechanical frequency analyzer using scanning LDV(laser Doppler vibrometer). The experimental setup consists of the microfabricated artificial basilar membrane, a loud speaker connected to an amplifier for generating acoustic pressure of specific spectral pattern, and a scanning LDV with controlling unit for measuring the displacement of the membrane on the incoming acoustic stimulation. The microfabricated artificial basilar membrane was attached tightly upon a package containing a chamber which can be filled with silicone oil before placed on the experimental setup stage. The experiment results showed that the microfabricated artificial basilar membrane has a property as a mechanical frequency analyzer.