Infineon introduces encapsulated MEMS microphones with a signal-to-noise ratio of 70 dB

     Infineon Technologies AG will enter the packaged silicon microphone market to meet the demand for high-performance, low-noise MEMS microphones. The analog and digital microphones are based on Infineon's dual-backplane MEMS technology, and the 70 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) makes it stand out. The microphone also has very low distortion at 135 dB sound pressure level (SPL) - 10%. Available in a 4 mm x 3 mm x 1.2 mm MEMS package, the microphone is ideal for high-quality recording and far-field voice capture applications.

     Dr. Roland Helm, Senior Director of Infineon's Power Management and Diversified Markets Division and Head of the Sensor product Series, said: "This is an extension of our mature, high-capacity bare chip MEMS and ASIC business with packaging partners around the world. We will continue to strengthen and grow our bare chip business, while we also address the low-noise premium market with two new packaged microphones."

     Current MEMS microphone technology utilizes a sonic actuated film and a static backplane. Infineon's dual-backplane MEMS technology utilizes a membrane embedded within two backplanes to generate a truly differential signal. This improves high-frequency immunity, ensures better audio signal processing, and increases the acoustic overload point from 10% total harmonic distortion (THD) to 135 dB SPL.

     Its signal-to-noise ratio is 70 dB, an improvement of 6 dB over traditional MEMS microphones. This improvement is equivalent to doubling the distance at which a user can issue a voice command captured by the microphone. In addition, the analog and digital microphones feature excellent microphone-to-microphone matching (±1 dB sensitivity matching and ± 2° phase matching), making them ideal for array-by-array deployment. To this end, the MEMS microphone is ideal for ultra-precise beamforming and noise reduction.