MEMS Investor Journal -- The Largest MEMS Publication in the World

STMicro launches MEMS microphones for mobile phones and portable computers

STMicroelectronics, a leading supplier of MEMS devices for consumer and portable applications, introduced this week two new digital MEMS microphones for mobile phone and portable computer applications.  According to IHS iSuppli, the market for MEMS microphones for consumer electronics and mobile handsets is forecast to grow revenue at an annual rate of 24% between 2009 and 2014.  The driving factors include the breakthrough in the use of noise suppression requiring multiple microphones, as well as adoption in new consumer applications beyond handsets and laptops, such as slate tablets and gaming.

Akustica to debut latest MEMS microphone

Akustica, the Pittsburgh-based company that has developed single-chip microphone technology, will unveil a new digital MEMS microphone for laptops, netbooks and tablet PCs next week at the 2011 Globalpress Electronics Summit in Santa Cruz, California.  Akustica's President and CEO Stefan Finkbeiner will present the company's 4th-generation MEMS microphone and its first new product since Akustica joined the Bosch Group in 2009.

Overview of MEMS microphone technologies for consumer applications

by St.J. Dixon-Warren
Engineering and Process Analysis Manager, Chipworks

The extraordinary success of the iPhone 4 lies in the superb integration of multiple sensor technologies in conjunction with a very slick software interface.  In a recent series of MEMS Investor Journal articles, we reviewed the 9DoF motion sensing technology used in the iPhone 4. Here we will discuss the MEMS microphones that have been incorporated into the iPhone 4, and we will then provide a review of some other MEMS microphones seen by Chipworks in recent years.  MEMS microphone suppliers apparently saw a 50% increase in shipments in 2010, and they expect to see a four fold increase by 2014.

ITC Judge: Knowles MEMS microphones infringe Analog Devices' patent

Analog Devices, a provider of MEMS and semiconductor technologies  for signal-processing applications, announced this week that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) reportedly ruled "decisively in favor" of Analog Devices in its lawsuit against Knowles Electronics.

This recent ruling follows ITC's ruling on November 22nd when Administrative Law Judge Robert K. Rogers, Jr. found Knowles Electronics' MEMS microphone packaging patents were invalid, a ruling  that Analog Devices says is consistent with the position taken by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where all of Knowles' asserted claims were rejected in separate reexaminations.

Tufts harnesses MEMS mics to monitor jet aircraft

by R. Colin Johnson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

An innovative micro-electro-mechanical system of 64 silicon microphones has been crafted as a hypersensitive audio array for detailed monitoring of the forces causing turbulence around jet aircraft.

Analog Devices unveils HiFi MEMS mic

by R. Colin Johnson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

A leading supplier of airbag sensors worldwide with more than 500 million units shipped, Analog Devices diversified from accelerometers, gyroscopes, and inertial measurement units with its first MEMS microphone over a year ago.  Recently ADI (NYSE, constituent S&P 500) announced two new MEMS microphones aimed at high-fidelity audio applications such as voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP), voice recognition and hands-free communicators, translators, and dictation applications.

A Universal CMOS MEMS Process?

Unlike the semiconductor industry, MEMS devices have been traditionally manufactured using a variety of highly-specialized processes geared for each specific device.   This variety of MEMS fabrication processes has contributed to higher commercialization costs and longer times to market.  While there are established MEMS processes such as Sandia’s SUMMiT and Microfabrica’s EFAB,  a startup company Akustica is now promoting its CMOS MEMS process as a possible industry standard for monolithic CMOS MEMS devices.  Akustica has focused on MEMS based microphones thus far, but the company claims that its process is versatile and can also be used to make monolithic RF and inertial MEMS products.  We recently spoke with Akustica’s CTO Ken Gabriel.

Sonion MEMS scales up its microphone business

We recently published a review on the current status of MEMS  microphones.  While Knowles Acoustics remains the market leader, companies such as Sonion and Akustica are also going after this exciting opportunity. 

We spoke with Dr. Jacob Philipsen, President of Sonion’s MEMS division, about the company’s current activities, competition, product pipeline and the process of transferring the microphone technology from a university lab prototype to a mass produced commercial product.

MEMS microphones break design mould

by Dr. Richard Dixon, Wicht Technologie Consulting

Silicon micromachined microphones have recently begun to emerge as a competitor technology to the electret condenser microphone (ECM), a device first developed by Bell Labs way back in the 1960s. Today, MEMS microphones amount to just tens of millions of units, but by 2009 will have carved out an estimated $500 million piece of the $2 billion total market for microphones — on average every third microphone will be based on MEMS.

While companies like Panasonic dominate the manufacture of electret microphones, a handful of companies such as market leader Knowles Acoustics and recent entrants, Sonion and Akustica, are supplying this hot market with analog and digital MEMS microphones for mobile phones, notebooks, and consumer products with audio input such as video recorders, digital cameras, dictation devices, and PDAs, in fact, any device requiring an audio input.

CMOS MEMS activities at Akustica

We recently spoke with Dr. Ken Gabriel, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, and Davin Yuknis, Vice President of Marketing, of Akustica about their company's ongoing activities and experiences with CMOS MEMS applications.