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R_Colin_Johnson
Akustica invented the elegant single chip MEMS microphone solution with a ...
kinnar
It is very good option of packaging Analog Transducer along with digital ...
Akustica develops two-chip analog MEMS microphone
R Colin Johnson
3/28/2012 9:36 AM EDT
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Akustica is entering the mobile device market with its first analog
microphone, a low-cost two-chip solution that it hopes will widen its
market share.
The Bosch subsidiary pioneered the single-chip digital MEMS microphone back in 2006, when its biggest competition was analog mics designed for hearing aids.
Akustica is the world leader in digital MEMS microphones with its elegant one-chip CMOS solution that has captured the lion's share of the microphone market for digital devices like laptop computers. However, the larger mobile phone market has been slow to adopt digital microphones, opting instead to stick with the ultra-inexpensive analog microphones produced by high-volume manufacturers like Knowles Acoustics (Itaska, Ill.). Now Akustica, backed by Bosch's high-volume manufacturing capabilities, hopes to carve out a bigger share of the billion-unit mobile phone market.
"Our first analog microphone meets the mobile phone requirements for features, form factor and power, and exceeds even the most stringent performance requirements," said Davin Yuknis, vice president of marketing at Akustica. "What’s more, because we are leveraging the Bosch supply chain--including their MEMS foundry in Germany--we are positioned to meet demand from even the highest-volume customers."
Akustica's AKU340 it its first analog microphone as well as its first to use a two-die solution--a MEMS diaphragm chip wire-bonded to an application-specific-integrated circuit (ASIC) housing the analog amplifier and interface circuitry (see photo) all in a tiny 2.5-by-3.35-by-1 millimeter package. Its small size and 63dB signal-to-noise ratio fit well with the requirements for mobile devices when used singly or in noise-canceling multi-mic arrays.
Akustica was acquired by Bosch in 2009 and will continue to market its unique single-chip digital MEMS microphones as well as the new lower priced analog MEMS mics.
The Bosch subsidiary pioneered the single-chip digital MEMS microphone back in 2006, when its biggest competition was analog mics designed for hearing aids.
Akustica is the world leader in digital MEMS microphones with its elegant one-chip CMOS solution that has captured the lion's share of the microphone market for digital devices like laptop computers. However, the larger mobile phone market has been slow to adopt digital microphones, opting instead to stick with the ultra-inexpensive analog microphones produced by high-volume manufacturers like Knowles Acoustics (Itaska, Ill.). Now Akustica, backed by Bosch's high-volume manufacturing capabilities, hopes to carve out a bigger share of the billion-unit mobile phone market.
Akustica's two-chip analog MEMS mic for cell phones and other mobile devices.
"Our first analog microphone meets the mobile phone requirements for features, form factor and power, and exceeds even the most stringent performance requirements," said Davin Yuknis, vice president of marketing at Akustica. "What’s more, because we are leveraging the Bosch supply chain--including their MEMS foundry in Germany--we are positioned to meet demand from even the highest-volume customers."
Akustica's AKU340 it its first analog microphone as well as its first to use a two-die solution--a MEMS diaphragm chip wire-bonded to an application-specific-integrated circuit (ASIC) housing the analog amplifier and interface circuitry (see photo) all in a tiny 2.5-by-3.35-by-1 millimeter package. Its small size and 63dB signal-to-noise ratio fit well with the requirements for mobile devices when used singly or in noise-canceling multi-mic arrays.
Akustica was acquired by Bosch in 2009 and will continue to market its unique single-chip digital MEMS microphones as well as the new lower priced analog MEMS mics.
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kinnar
3/29/2012 8:09 AM EDT
It is very good option of packaging Analog Transducer along with digital interface, as this reduced the level of expertise required at the time of electronic product design and more better experienced analog designers can put values in the transducer. This is the reason why this kind of products are very widely accepted across the industry.
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R_Colin_Johnson
3/29/2012 2:24 PM EDT
Akustica invented the elegant single chip MEMS microphone solution with a digital interface. The point of this new analog model is that its analog--the ASIC has analog amplifier and conditioning circuitry, but the interface is analog, because cell phone makers are only interesting in price, not quality, so refuse to update their designs for a microphone with a digital interface.
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