William G. Wong
Electronic Design
The Montara MEMS speaker developed by xMEMS Labs is intended for sealed, in-ear personal audio devices
A surface-mount, monolithic MEMS speaker coming by way of xMEMS Labs targets applications such as earbuds. The Montara module is IP57-rated, enabling water- and dust-resistant earbuds without special protective mesh or coverings. It’s only 1 mm thick and can replace multiple balance armature drivers. The speaker delivers a better sound pressure level (SPL) per mm3, and the integrated design eliminates the need for driver matching and calibration.
Montara delivers a flat frequency response at over 110-dB SPL across a bandwidth from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The consistent silicon membrane movement due to the MEMS architecture enables active compensation for low total harmonic distortion (THD) of less than half a percent. A mechanical latency of less than 0.1 ms allows for active noise cancellation (ANC) across a wider frequency range, which would be possible with a conventional speaker. The devices have almost no phase delay, allowing for superior noise suppression of stationary noise.
The current approach to the MEMS implementation also utilizes less power than a comparable speaker. This translates into longer operational times in power-limited battery applications.
The XSM-2300 is available now in a 5-lead LGA, metal cap (6.05 × 8.4 × 0.985 mm) package. A side-firing XSM-2300-S will also be available.
