Geneva, Switzerland, and Graz, Austria --- STMicroelectronics and USound GmbH collaborate on the industrialization and production of the world’s first miniature piezoelectric MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) actuators for smart audio systems in portable devices. The patented micro-speaker technology from USound aims to replace commonly used balanced-armature and electrodynamic receivers for handsets with a small piezo-MEMS actuator. Manufactured using ST’s industry-leading thin-film piezo-electric (TFP) technology, these actuators will improve scalability and cost while assuring lower power consumption and heat dissipation in hearables and smartphones devices, without compromising audio quality.
The USound/ST technology will be on show in the ST stand at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (Feb 27-Mar 2). The companies anticipate the piezo-electric MEMS actuator will move into production in Q3 of this year and will be shipping in consumer products by the end of the year.
For more info, visit:
http://www.st.com
http://www.usound.com