xMEMS Announces Montara Pro MEMS Drivers with Integrated DynamicVent for Intelligent TWS Earbuds and Hearing Aids

xMEMS Labs introduced Montara Pro, a MEMS microspeaker with an integrated solution that opens or closes the vent by sensor fusion input from the system DSP. This approach enables smart TWS earbuds and hearing aids that create best-of-both-worlds user experiences, combining the benefits of closed-fit (occluded) and open-fit earbuds. xMEMS is providing first demonstrations of Montara Pro this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at Venetian Suite 29-325.

xMEMS Labs introduced Tomales, a new monolithic, 1mm-thin profile MEMS tweeter µspeaker, available with top and side-firing package options that simplify speaker placement and positioning to direct audio toward the ear in smart glasses and augmented/extended reality headset applications. This new MEMS driver, which uses the company second generation M2 speaker cell architecture, has an IP58 rating for dust/water that simplifies system integration in these designs.

Back in January 2015, I gave a talk about MEMS loudspeakers, and I have regularly written about MEMS speaker progress. A half decade later, it seems we are finally now moving beyond the industry's joke that MEMS’ development progress can be measured in dog years: it takes 7 human years for each year of MEMS’ progress! The big news is xMEMS Labs, a company founded just in January 2018, has announced it is now in mass production of its Montara, a monolithic MEMS “µspeaker” with a slim 1mm profile, and announced Cowell, the world’s smallest monolithic MEMS µSpeaker, at just 1.15mm high and 3.2mm wide.

xMEMS Labs today introduced Cowell, the world’s smallest monolithic MEMS µspeaker, targeting the replacement of balanced armature drivers in true wireless earbuds and hearing aid designs. At just 22mm3, 56 milligrams, and with a 3.2mm diameter side-firing package, Cowell delivers an impressive 110dB SPL at 1kHz. Cowell is the first speaker to use xMEMS’ 2nd generation M2 speaker cell architecture offering improved SPL/mm2 enabling increased loudness in smaller form factors.

xMEMS Labs confirmed that its first monolithic MEMS µspeaker, Montara, is now in production. Working closely with TSMC as its semiconductor foundry partner, the Montara design has passed all required performance and reliability qualifications and has already been selected by manufacturers for future products. The Santa Clara, California-based company confirms that the Montara was already selected for an upcoming true wireless earbuds design.

In this article for Voice Coil, Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific) recaps MEMS Drivers and related hot technologies for 2021, providing an update about products and companies that stood out in 2020. The article, which summarizes the more extensive reports published by audioXpress in January 2020 and 2021, looks at the impact of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for audio and discusses the implications for other game-changing technologies that reduce size, increase performance, extend battery life, and enhance features and functionality in headphones, wearables and compact speakers.

Following a year of private demonstrations of its novel MEMS speaker design, xMEMS Labs is now coming out of stealth mode with is first piezo-MEMS speaker. Montara is the name for what the company claims to be "the world’s first true MEMS speaker," using a monolithic process that eliminates calibration and driver matching, and is SMT-ready. Montara also offers full-bandwidth (20Hz-20kHz), and is fully water, dust and shock resistant.