IN Brief:
- sensiBel has selected Silex Microsystems to manufacture the MEMS element for its optical microphone platform.
- The microphone combines MEMS, ASIC, and optical detection to target higher signal-to-noise and dynamic range performance.
- The agreement gives sensiBel a manufacturing route for a non-standard MEMS architecture as acoustic sensors move into more demanding systems.
sensiBel has formed a manufacturing relationship with Silex Microsystems to support higher-volume production of its optical MEMS microphone platform.
The Norwegian company’s microphone combines a MEMS sensor, an ASIC, and a precision optical detection module that measures movement of the MEMS diaphragm. The digital microphone platform is designed to deliver studio-grade acoustic performance in a surface-mount MEMS format, with an 80dB signal-to-noise ratio, 146dB SPL acoustic overload point, and 132dB dynamic range.
Silex Microsystems will manufacture the MEMS element for the device. Headquartered in Stockholm, Silex is a pure-play MEMS foundry with more than 400 employees and production experience across medical technology, cloud infrastructure, automotive systems, and precision sensing.
The device departs from the conventional capacitive MEMS microphone architecture that has dominated compact audio capture for two decades. By using optical measurement to capture diaphragm displacement, sensiBel is pursuing higher acoustic performance while retaining the size, assembly, and integration benefits associated with MEMS devices.
The microphone is intended for applications where compact packaging and high acoustic performance must coexist. Microphone arrays are now used in voice interfaces, industrial listening systems, audio analytics, robotics, conferencing equipment, headsets, and specialist sensing products. As more of those systems rely on software-based signal processing, the quality of the acoustic signal entering the chain becomes increasingly important.
Noise, distortion, and limited dynamic range at the transducer stage constrain what later digital processing can recover. Higher-performance MEMS microphones can therefore reduce the amount of compensation required elsewhere in the system, particularly in products using beamforming, acoustic classification, voice isolation, or machine-learning-based audio analysis.
The manufacturing route is also significant because complex MEMS devices rarely scale through sensor design alone. They require repeatable process modules, tight mechanical control, specialist packaging, and stable integration between mechanical and mixed-signal domains. That puts the MEMS foundry at the centre of the product, particularly when the sensing mechanism moves beyond standard capacitive structures.
Audio sensing is moving into more difficult operating environments. Industrial systems use acoustic and vibration data for diagnostics and anomaly detection. Automotive and robotics platforms use microphones as part of wider perception systems. Healthcare and professional communications products continue to press for smaller devices with lower noise floors and wider usable dynamic range.
For MEMS suppliers, miniaturisation is no longer enough to differentiate a microphone. The next competitive layer sits in measurable acoustic performance, manufacturable device architecture, and consistent production quality. sensiBel’s agreement with Silex gives its optical MEMS platform a path towards broader customer qualification and volume manufacture.
