xMEMS Announces Mass Production Readiness of Cypress
Shannon Davis
3 weeks ago
xMEMS Labs today announced that its breakthrough Cypress full-range MEMS speaker, together with the Alta-S companion drive ASIC, is now ready for mass production. This milestone represents the industry’s first commercially viable full-range solid-state audio solution capable of meeting the demanding Sound Pressure Level (SPL) requirements for noise-canceling true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds.
With Cypress’ silicon diaphragm, monolithic solid-state construction, lightning-fast mechanical response, and flat, near-zero phase response, earbuds can now achieve wider-bandwidth noise suppression, improved passive noise isolation, and unprecedented sound clarity in a package just 46mm³ and weighing only 98 milligrams (0.003457oz).
Cypress replaces bulky dynamic drivers with a durable, solid-state architecture – freeing valuable space for advanced sensors and longer life batteries in compact, lightweight TWS designs.
“This is the most important milestone yet for our ultrasonic transducer platform and in our mission to bring full-range solid-state audio to wireless earbuds,” said Dr. Chiung Lo, VP of Engineering at xMEMS Labs. “By pairing Cypress with Alta-S, we’re accelerating the industry’s shift to MEMS-based audio—delivering superior sound quality, smaller form factors, and the proven reliability of silicon in the world’s most popular consumer audio device.”
Sound from Ultrasound
Cypress introduces an industry-first approach to audio reproduction: ultrasonic amplitude modulation. Instead of pushing air in the audible band like traditional coil speakers, Cypress generates ultrasonic pulses modulated to mirror the audio signal. As these pulses are demodulated in the air, they transform into rich, detailed sound that more faithfully captures the original recording.
This breakthrough delivers superior time-domain resolution for high-resolution and spatial audio, while producing 40x louder low frequencies than prior xMEMS designs. With SPLs exceeding 140dB as low as 20Hz, Cypress finally makes sound-from-ultrasound a commercially viable, high-performance alternative to legacy moving-coil speakers for ANC earbuds. |
