Brief History and Overview of Modern Microphone Operation

Erin Dixon-Gonzalez
CM 1621
ECE 340
Friday, November 7th

In 1831, during his experiments with electrical induction, Michael Faraday produced physical
evidence of magnetic induction by passing a magnet through a loop of wire and observing a current
appear. This simple principle of using a magnetic field as a transducer from physical to electrical energy
became integral to many fields of engineering; in particular, the microphones present in your cell phone,
computer, and headsets rely on this phenomenon to function.
The first effective microphone was developed independently by David Edward Huges, Emile
Berliner, and Thomas Edison (1). These early microphones, otherwise known as Carbon Transmitters (1) did
not use magnetic induction, but rather a diaphragm-potentiometer mechanism made of two conductive
plates (or cathode disks) housing carbon granules. The thinner plates acts as a diaphragm, or a thin disk
that vibrates when receiving or producing sound waves(2). As the diaphragm vibrates, the change in
pressure changes the resistance of the component. If a DC voltage is maintained across the component,
the change in resistance creates a measurable change in current that mimics the sinusoidal behavior of the
sound waves observed.
Fig. 1- Carbon Transmitter(3)

This method fell out of favor after the advent of Condenser and Ribbon Microphones, as Carbon
Mics had issues with hiss noise and limited frequency response(4). The first Condenser Mic was developed
in the early 20th century by Henry C Wente; his design, while similar to earlier mics, operated on
changing capacitance rather than resistance. Much like a Carbon Transmitter, a Condenser Mic has a
diaphragm that is one-half of a component that vibrates with nearby sound waves. In this case, however,
the diaphragm is a capacitor plate, and the change in capacitance creates the signal(5). Condenser Mics are
still in regular use to this day, produced by Neumann, Audiotechnia, Shure, and others. (Diagram on
following page)

Fig.2 Condenser Microphone(6)

Condenser Microphones made use of electrical field principles to improve quality, but the first
Microphone to operate by true electromagnetic induction was the contemporary to the Condenser, the
Ribbon Microphone. Invented by Schottky and Gerlach in the early 20 th century, the Ribbon Mic offered
a superior frequency response to a condenser due to the lack of a largely capacitive element(7), as well as
not needing phantom power to operate. Early models of Ribbon Mics, however, were delicate and had
trouble with high energy signals(7).
Fig. 3- Ribbon Microphone(9)

The concept of a Ribbon Microphone is simple- A single band of flexible conductive material
(the ribbon) is held between two permanent magnets(7). This ribbon acts as the diaphragm of the
microphone, and will vibrate as sound waves collide with it. The vibrations of the ribbon within the
magnetic field will induce a voltage in accordance with its motion. This is known as motional emf(8) and
is dependent on (vxB)(8). This reliance on induced current rather than changing capacitance or resistance
means that the signal is a function of velocity rather than displacement. For Condenser and Carbon Mics,
the velocity of sound is translated by the spring qualities of the diaphragm into a displacement, and the
displacement between the two plates will determine the capacitance if all other parameters are held
constant. In a ribbon mic, however, the velocity of the sound wave is directly translated into the velocity
of the band, and this directly into the induced voltage. In this manner, Ribbon Mics, at least during the
20th century, had a much higher fidelity between the sound wave and signal produced.
Additionally, Ribbon Microphones do not have inherently high capacitance in the way Condenser
Microphones do. Given that Z = 1/(jwC), for higher frequencies, Capacitors will have an extremely low
impedance, thus lower influence on the circuit, and thus lower fidelity to the sound signal. Ribbon
Microphones, as an inductive element, will not suffer this loss of accuracy in high frequencies, and even
in the early 20th century were capable of accurately recording frequencies outside of human hearing range.
Ribbon Microphones are still popular in modern audio engineering and are produced by Royer, Avantone,
Shure, and others.
Other inductive microphones are often used in contemporary audio recording, such as Dynamic
Microphones and Electret Microphones. Dynamic Microphones are extremely similar to Ribbon Mics in
function, but use an inductive coil rather than a conductive band(5). Electret Microphones operate in the
same manner, but use an Electret, an artificial electric dipole, rather than a magnet to create the field.
Electret Mics are also cheap and easy to produce and are found in many small electronics (11).
Fig. 4- Dynamic Microphone(10)

Although modern advances in acoustical engineering and audio technology have improved on the
weakness of both Condenser and Ribbon Microphones, recording specialists still used them preferentially
based on the magnetic and electrical principles that they operate on- Condenser Mics and Dynamic Mics
are preferred for high-volume performances and the like, while Ribbon Mics are preferred for very
precise, high pitch, or heavily layered sound(5).

(1) Wikipedia Carbon Microphone

(2) Dictionary.Reference.com
(3) Berliner invents Microphone-E. Van Buskirk, wired.com
(4) Streetdictionary.com Basic Information on the Carbon Microphone
(5) Wikipedia Microphone
(6) Mediacollege.com Condenser Microphone
(7) Wikipedia Ribbon Microphone
(8) Text for ECE 340- Wheeler
(9) Tripod.com Make a Ribbon Microphone
(10)
Mediacollege.com Dynamic Microphone
(11)
Wikipedia Electret Microphone