Solid-State Fidelity: The Era of Ultra-High-Resolution MEMS Speakers
xMEMS’ solid-state MEMS micro speakers deliver a new level of performance, size, energy efficiency, and uniformity not possible with traditional voice coil speakers through the combination of design innovation and monolithic capacitive piezo-MEMS manufacturing.
xMEMS micro speaker technology is based on the inverse piezoelectric effect using piezoMEMS material and is covered by 90+ patents and over 100 patents pending.
The inverse piezoelectric effect is created by applying an electrical voltage to make the piezoMEMS contract or expand, converting electrical energy to mechanical energy. This energy excites an integrated silicon membrane to move air and generate acoustic sound waves.
Unlike bulk piezoceramics or crystals, which have been used to generate low-grade speakers and buzzers for decades, xMEMS’ piezoMEMS actuators offer an increased range of movement enabling rich, loud audio.
And now, Noble Audio’s new Falcon Max TWS (True Wireless Stereo) and FoKus earbuds will include the groundbreaking MEMS-based driver from xMEMS Labs. Through this partnership, Noble Audio’s Falcon Max headphones will be some of the first to adopt cutting-edge MEMS speaker technology.Â
SOUND QUALITY
Montara, Cowell, and Montara Plus:
Full bandwidth (20Hz-20kHz) with flat frequency response for occluded applications
High-performance tweeter or midrange tweeter for open/leaky applications
Cypress:
Full bandwidth (20Hz-20kHz) for ANC earbuds
+/-1° phase consistency for improved spatial audio performance
No in-band resonances
Superior high-frequency response vs. coil speakers improves:
Clarity
Presence
Speech-in-noise performance for hearing health applications
0.5% THD (94dB @ 1kHz)
Better SPL/mm3
ROBUSTNESS
Monolithic piezoMEMS 10,000g mechanical shock resistance
CONSISTENCY
Highly uniform frequency response and phase
Reliable semiconductor process (JEDEC-qualified)
Eliminates driver matching and calibration
LONGER LISTEN TIMES
Capacitive vs. current-driven architecture reduces driver power consumption
WATER-PROOF
IP58 water immersion and dust resistance without special membrane
PRECISE TRANSDUCTION
The monolithic design eliminates spring and suspension recovery of coil-based speakers
Fast mechanical response (<50μs group delay) enables improved ANC bandwidth of nonstationary noise
Near-zero phase delay increases the maximum noise suppression bandwidth of stationary noise
IMPLEMENTATION
World’s First SMT-ready micro-speaker
Companion piezo amplifier IC (xMEMS Aptos)
SMALL SIZE
1mm thickness
More space for larger batteries or more components
Top or Side-firing package orientations