Piezo transducer buzzers are used in a wide range of applications to create variable tones and sounds for alerting and communicating with users. Transducer buzzers differ from their indicator buzzer counterparts in that they require an external driver circuit to create sound. This gives them added flexibility compared to indicators and allows for more varied audio outputs, but also creates additional design work surrounding the driver circuit.
Engineers have many options when it comes to designing in driver circuits and maximising the sound output of their intended application. More basic circuits can simply include an electronic switch and reset resistor, while buffer transistors can be added to reduce power loss. Half-bridge, full-bridge, and resonant driver circuits represent further options for driving a selected piezo transducer buzzer.
The CUI Insights blog post, “How to Increase the Audio Output of a Piezoelectric Transducer Buzzer”, discusses the trade-offs of these various driver circuits for transducer buzzers, so designers can better optimise the output of a selected buzzer.
