Sound visualization of smartphone-radiated noise using nearfield acoustic holography

A smartphone contains electronic components that can inadvertently act as sources of unwanted vibration and noise. Also known as the “buzz,” the noise is produced primarily by multilayer ceramic capacitors, the piezoelectric pulsation of which drives the circuit board into vibration, hence sound radiation. Given the close proximity of the smartphone to the ear, the audible noise, albeit low in amplitude, can be a nuisance and degrade the call quality. Thus accurate measurement and analysis of the noise are needed as the first step toward resolving the problem. The popular farfield-based techniques, however, are not applicable to smartphone-radiated noise because of its low sound pressure level (∼20 dB). This paper presents an alternative method based on nearfield acoustic holography (NAH), here tailored for a small mobile device radiating low-intensity noise. The NAH method is shown to be capable of visualizing sound pressure and intensity anywhere near the smartphone as well as the vibration of the circuit board, which could lead to an effective design strategy for a quieter smartphone.