To implement ANC, at least two microphones are required, and sometimes many more are employed. Partly due to the rising use of ANC in handsets and other devices, iSuppli now predicts 1.2 billion MEMS microphones will be shipped worldwide in 2013, compared to its previous forecast of 1.1 billion.
"ANC reduces or eliminates ambient noise, silencing background sounds that can make it hard to concentrate, sleep or listen to music or engage in handset conversations," said Jeremie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst, MEMS, for iSuppli. "ANC leverages recent progress made by audio codec companies like Audience or Wolfson Microelectronics in dedicated noise-suppression ICs. ANC leverages MEMS microphones which are preferred over traditional electret condenser microphones (ECMs) for that function."
ANC headsets became popular in 2009. Sony introduced a headset providing up to 99% ambient noise cancellation, and at CES 2010 also introduced the world's first earbud with noise cancellation, iSuppli said.
Nokia recently presented an ANC-equipped headset using 10 MEMS microphones, illustrating how noise cancellation can drive higher volumes. Furthermore, these applications often use higher-performance microphones that command larger price tags.
However, the arrival of ANC in the 1.1 billion unit handset market represents a much more attractive growth opportunity for MEMS microphones.
Two MEMS microphones from Knowles Electronics are found in both Nexus One and Droid, iSuppli noted.
ANC can improve the quality of mobile calls in noisy environments by suppressing background noise, intermittent sounds and echoes. The technology also can automatically adjust voice volume and equalization during calls to adapt to local noise interference. Furthermore, ANC is suitable for voice commands, a feature gaining popularity in mobile handsets.
MEMS microphones offer significant advantages in ANC applications compared to traditional ECMs. These advantages include better performance in terms of size, sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratio and suitability for use with digital signal processors that are required to implement ANC, iSuppli said.
The MEMS microphone market also is benefiting from new applications like digital music players. iSuppli found a high-performance and ultra-thin MEMS microphone from Analog Devices (ADI) that supports the video camera in the iPod. Notebooks also offer also a great opportunity as more and more of them are integrating two digital MEMS microphones.
Labels: Android , Google , HTC
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