Sennheiser, together with existing investors, is investing 7 million euros in the Norwegian scale-up business sensiBel. The company has developed optical MEMS microphones which demonstrate first-class sound quality despite their miniature size. The miniature microphones enable a completely new and improved experience in application areas such as consumer electronics, automotive, conferencing solutions, and medical devices.

MEMS microphone

The patented optical ultra-low noise MEMS microphone features 80 dBA Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR), 146 dB SPL Acoustic Overload Point (AOP), <0.5% Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and yet with low power consumption in a small MEMS package with digital output – a quantum leap in performance compared to today’s mainstream MEMS microphones. sensiBel sets a new performance benchmark and brings a true studio-quality performance MEMS microphone in a small package to your products.

Crystal clear recordings

Crystal clear audio and sound capture require low microphone self-noise (high SNR) and low harmonic distortion. The sensiBel team believe you should expect the same audio recording quality in your portable device as with a professional studio microphone. For more sophisticated audio applications, small form-factor microphone array products can be enabled by sensiBel’s extremely low self-noise.

Distortion proof in high-noise environments

Undistorted crystal clear audio and sound capture in a high-noise environments requires a high dynamic range. Distortion-free recordings are now possible in high-noise environments like at a rock concert. Loud thumps and other low frequency sounds that would typically distort your audio, are easily handled by the sensiBel microphone. sensiBel provides 146 dB SPL AOP @ 1kHz and can handle up to 150 dB SPL at lower frequencies.

Flexible platform solution

A digital interface makes system integration easy and provides robustness to noise pick-up. PDM interface enables low-latency and easy integration with current systems. I2S interface can be utilized for unlimited transfer of the entire dynamic range. TDM interface makes multi-microphone integration easy. sensiBel offers all these options.

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