Sennheiser has announced that it is investing seven million Euros in sensiBel, an optical MEMS microphone company, producing microphones at a few millimetres in size.
sensiBel has developed optical MEMS microphones in a miniature size, enabling an improved experience in application areas such as consumer electronics, automotive, conferencing solutions and medical devices.
The sensiBel technology uses light waves to measure the movement of the diaphragm, using a laser to generate light beams that are projected onto the microphone membrane and reflected on a photo detector. The reflected beams are captured and processed an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with a digital output data interface.
The technology also measures minute movements, capturing very low noise levels even in environments with high level of loud background noise. The optical MEMS microphone can also withstand high sound pressure levels to provide a large dynamic range to users. The microphone features a specification of 80 Dba snr (14 dBA noise floor), 132 dB dynamic range, 24-bit digital output and with low power consumption.