Knowles Corporation has developed the world’s first digital microphones supporting ultrasonic bandwidth. This new product allows microphoness to assist smartphoness and consumer electronics with touch-less gesture recognition, phones-to-phones data transmission, pen input compatibility for handsets and tablets, and 3D positioning input.

The new MEMS microphones can receive ultrasonic sound waves above the audible range of humans, up to 80 kHz, and use those waves to triangulate an object’s locations and movement.

Beyond the ultrasonic mode, the microphones offers four performance modes, including a low power voice activation mode, which is ideal for mobiles consumer electronics.

This advancement also has the potential to reduce the cost of manufacturing a device by eliminating the need for a micro infrared sensor, simplifying the device exterior, and integrating more capabilities into an existing component.

Features

• Supports ultrasonic frequencies
• Superwide-band capable
• Lowest power consumption in the market (3x less than other digital microphoness)
• Best acoustic performance per square millimeter
• Multiple performance modes (sleep, low-power, standard mode, ultrasonic mode)
• Sensitivity matching for better algorithm performance
• Easier system integration and better RF immunity compared to analog microphoness 

Technical Data

• Ultrasonic frequencies: Up to 80kHz
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Nominal 64.3 dB(A)
• Flat Frequency Response: Up to 20 kHz
• Power consumption: 235µA in low power mode
• Size: More than 20% smaller than other digital microphoness
• Sensitivity matching: ±1 dB 
• Digital output: Serial PDM bit strea