OSORIO, MEL ALECS J.

ECE 4P – C

THERMOACOUSTIC SPEAKER

INTRODUCTION: THERMOACOUSTICS

 It is the interaction between temperature, density and pressure variations

of acoustic waves.

 It is based on the idea that sound can be produced by the rapid heating and
cooling of a material instead of through vibrations.

 Involves conversion of heat into sound

 Technologically, thermoacoustic devices have the advantage that they have no

moving parts

THERMOACOUSTIC SPEAKERS

 Thermoacoustic speakers generate sound waves from temperature fluctuations

by rapidly heating and cooling conducting materials. Unlike conventional voice-
coil speakers, thermoacoustic speakers do not rely on vibrations to produce
sound.

 They also generate good quality sound in all directions, enabling them to be
placed on any surface—including curved ones—without canceling out sounds
generated from opposite sides.

DISCOVERY/DEVELOPMENT OF GRAPHENE THERMOACOUSTIC SPEAKERS

 A joint research team led by Professors Choi Jung-Woo, Cho Byung Jin and Kim
Sang Ouk of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
has successively developed an ultra-slim thermoacoustic speaker on September
9th, 2016 that acquires electrical energy from 3D graphene aerogels to generate
sounds without vibrating a thin membrane-like film.

 This thermoacoustic speaker relies on the fundamental basis of air vibrations

transferred from graphene generated thermo-waves. Compared to the
 conventional voice-coil speakers, this speaker generate sounds without film
vibrations, having an advantage of making the speaker ultra-slim.

 The joint team used 3D graphene aerogels acquired from n-doping and reducing
aerogels after freeze-drying oxidized graphene solutions, rather than using
carbon nanotube (CNT) or 2D graphene that show high resistance and low
mechanical stability.

WHAT IS GRAPHENE?

 The simplest way to describe graphene is that it is a single, thin layer of graphite
— the soft, flaky material used in pencil lead. Graphite is an allotrope of the
element carbon.

 Harder than diamond yet more elestic than rubber; tougher than steel yet lighter
than aluminium. Graphene is the strongest known material.

SOME UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF GRAPHENE:

WHY GRAPHENE IS SUITABLE FOR THERMOACOUSTIC SPEAKERS:

• Mechanical properties

 The impressive intrinsic mechanical properties of graphene, its stiffness, strength

and toughness, are one of the reasons that make graphene stand out both as an
individual material and as a reinforcing agent in composites.

 Graphene has a unique combination of properties that is ideal for next-generation

electronics, including mechanical flexibility, high electrical conductivity, and
chemical stability.

FABRICATION PROCESS:
ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES

 Incredibly light, thin and strong

 Improved size

 More efficient

 Production-friendly

 No need for bulky acoustic boxes

DISADVANTAGES

 Availability

 Expensive

 Efficiency of speaker is lowered when a substrate to support the thinness

of the material loses heat

LIMITATIONS

 If thermoacoustic speakers are so great, why haven't they been used before?
Material limitations, really. The principle of thermoacoustics—heating a material
to produce sound—was explained at least as early as 1878, but it's only in recent
times that graphene have made it really feasible, thanks to their durability and
excellent conductive properties.

 No matter how incredible a scientific discovery may be, economics will always
decide success.

APPLICATIONS

 THERMOACOUSTIC HEADPHONES

Inside these earbuds, something big is happening on a very small scale. Set on a tiny
lattice of silicon, electrified nanotubes of carbon produce sound waves as their
temperature fluctuates (thermoacoustic principle). It means these speakers lack the
moving parts of conventional, mechanical models, and as a result are likely to last much
longer.

ADVANCEMENTS AND CONCLUSION

GRAPHENE THERMOACOUSTIC SPEAKERS FOR MOBILE AUDIO SYSTEMS

While graphene has previously been shown to enable thermoacoustics

(and carbon nanotubes have even been used previously to create thermoacoustic
speakers), what sets the KAIST researchers’ work apart is the ease with which the
graphene-based speakers are fabricated. The simple, two-step process, they say, will
make commercial applications more likely.

The researchers believe that because of the simplicity of their fabrication

method, speakers can be mass-produced for use in mobile devices and other
applications. The fact that speakers are flat and don’t vibrate means that can be placed
against walls and even curved surfaces.

Realizing the promise of over a century of thermoacoustic-based speakers, a

simple process means the technology could find its way into portable speakers