Bosch has agreed to acquire US-based MEMS microphone technology
firm Akustica.
Akustica has developed a range of digital and analogue micro
electromechanical microphones featuring CMOS MEMS (micro
electro-mechanical systems) technology.
See:
Akustica unveils MEMS microphone for VoIP
The attraction of the CMOS-based micro mechanical technology is
that it allows for the integration of transducer elements and
associated integrated circuits in a single chip.
Bosch has its own MEMS sensor products which are used in the
automotive market and Akustica has sold over five million MEMS
microphones.
“The strategic acquisition of Akustica with their outstanding
application of sophisticated MEMS technology complements our
growing semiconductor business and ideally complements our ongoing
MEMS activities,” said Dr. Stefan Kampmann, executive v-p, Bosch
Automotive Electronics.
Akustica
has worked with German mixed-signal foundry X-Fab
Semiconductor to produce the CMOS microphone
design based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology
which can offer noise cancellation.