SiSonic™ Consumer MEMS Microphones
With over 20 billion units shipped to date, we are the world leader in MEMS microphones across the Mobile, Ear, and IoT markets. Our broad lineup of analog and digital microphones are available in ever-smaller sizes and lower profiles, while our high-SNR MEMS microphones pave the way to the latest AI voice applications.
| High-quality communication
| Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
| Speech recognition
| Content creation
MEMS Microphone Portfolio
Choosing the Right Microphones
DIGITAL (PDM) OR ANALOG MICROPHONES?
PDM microphones have an integrated ADC and return oversampled PDM data at the supplied clock frequency. Advantages of PDM microphones include superior noise immunity, simpler PCB layout, typically better system SNR and lower overall power consumption. PDM microphones can greatly simplify system design if the processor or CODEC supports a PDM port.
SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO
For far field applications like smart speakers, high SNR microphones result in superior audio pickup. ANC and transparency mode features in TWS need high SNR microphones for better user experience. When comparing analog to PDM microphones, reduce the analog SNR by ~1.5dB to account for the external ADC’s noise contribution.
ACOUSTIC OVERLOAD POINT (AOP)
The AOP is the sound pressure level at 1kHz at which the total harmonic distortion is 10%. At this point, audio is heavily clipped and sounds very distorted. Microphones require a high AOP spec if they are subject to high sound levels (eg. close to loudspeakers, in-ear microphones in earbuds, outdoor applications exposed to wind noise).
ULTRASONIC APPLICATIONS
MEMS microphones inherently have a very usable ultrasonic response from 20kHz to 80kHz or more. The output of the u/s signal must be processed by an amp, CODEC, or ADC that can extract the needed frequencies, usually by using a higher sample rate and/or lower decimation rate.
PORT LOCATION
Bottom port microphones typically have better noise performance than an equivalent top port microphone. For this reason, bottom port microphones are preferred unless mechanical constraints dictate a top port microphone.
SENSITIVITY OF PDM MICROPHONES
Sensitivity of microphones is the reference output for 94dBSPL sound. Higher sensitivity implies more signal for a given sound. In PDM microphones, higher sensitivity does not imply higher performance because gain can simply be applied in the digital domain by multiplying the output code. Dynamic range is a better indicator of microphone performance.
LOW FREQUENCY ROLL-OFF (LFRO)
The LFRO is the -3dB point of the frequency response with respect to the sensitivity at 1kHz. A low LFRO is advantageous for bass frequency pickup and ANC, but it is more sensitive to wind noise and low frequency overload in a feedback ANC system.
MEMS VS. ELECTRET CONDENSER (ECM) MICROPHONES
MEMS microphones are reflow capable SMT devices with stable performance under extreme conditions. They are resistant to power supply noise, humidity, and mechanical shock and vibration . Compared to ECMs, MEMS microphones have wide operating temperature and supply voltage ranges where sensitivity does not drift.
Evaluation Kits
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Test Flex PCBs
Syntiant utilizes flex PCBs when testing microphones. We have a common size and interface such that flexes from any microphone can be used in various test fixtures. The only difference between the test boards of different microphones is the pinout and pad configuration.
Once microphones are mounted on flex circuits or coupons, it is much easier to access the microphone signals. Testing a larger sample size of devices is facilitated if the flexes and coupons are inserted into an 8 position 0.5mm Kyocera connector (MPN 046288008000846).
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Flex-To-Coupon Adapter
Syntiant uses an adapter to be able to use flex circuits with a 2x3 Sullins connector (MPN EBM03DSEN-S243) or for convenient connection with flying wires.
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Evaluation Board “Muskie”
The Muskie microphone evaluation kit allows for simple and easy evaluation of Syntiant SiSonic™ MEMS microphones. Muskie implements dual 6-pin Sullins connectors for stereo pairs of Analog/Differential microphones, Digital microphones, or I2S microphones.