A microphone is constructed to be more tolerant to a wide range of relative humidity
conditions without adversely affecting the performance of the microphone. The microphone
includes a housing with a sound port for receiving sound and an electret assembly
for converting the sound into an output signal. The electret assembly includes
a diaphragm and a backplate. The backplate is made of at least two layers, usually
polymeric layers. The first layer of material has a first hygroscopic coefficient
and a second layer of material has a second hygroscopic coefficient. The first
and second layers cause the backplate to bend in response to higher humidity conditions,
thereby minimizing the adverse effects on microphone performance caused by characteristic
changes in the diaphragm at the higher humidity conditions.