Infineon, Hosiden co-operate on silicon microphone activities

NEUBIBERG, GERMANY & OSAKA, JAPAN: Infineon Technologies AG and Hosiden Corp., the leading microphone manufacturers, announced a co-operation on silicon microphones activities. Infineon contributes its semiconductor expertise and MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems) knowledge to develop and produce silicon microphones that are significantly smaller and more rugged than current microphones. Hosiden adds its vast competence in supporting Infineon with electro-mechanics and acoustics, application knowledge for successful integration into devices as well as with Hosiden’s market expertise.

“Our vision and goal is to form a strong alliance with Hosiden,” said Peter Schiefer, vice president and general manager of the Discrete Semiconductors business unit for the Automotive, Industrial and Multimarket business group at Infineon Technologies. “We combine the strengths of two technologically leading companies to jointly develop a family of silicon microphones. These will have smaller package sizes than today’s solutions, enable high-end acoustics for better sound quality and provide digital interfaces for reduced interference.”

The Infineon silicon microphone is more rugged and more immune to RF and shocks compared to classical microphones. It also exhibits higher heat resistance withstanding temperatures of up to 260 C. Due to the high temperature-resistance, it can be soldered without any loss in sensitivity onto a standard PCB and is ideally suited for use on fully automated production lines. Hosiden’s acoustic products include microphones, headset and Bluetooth headset.

A Hosiden spokesman said, ”By combining Hosiden’s acoustic strengths with Infineon’s silicon MEMS and ASIC expertise, we can ensure, that our customers get application-optimized, high quality products earlier in their design cycle, combined with a very high level of customer support from both companies. Our customers ask for the best microphone portfolio, keeping good properties of acoustic, challenging to miniaturize and matching auto-assembly production. With the Infineon partnership, we can close our portfolio gap and offer the best solution for the customer, independent of the various technologies.”