xMEMS introduces Sycamore 1mm-thick micro speaker for smart watches and more

xMEMS Labs unveiled its Sycamore micro-speaker components for smart watches, XR glasses and goggles as well as open-fit earbuds.

These are all-silicon devices — just a millimeter thick — are made from the company’s Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) technology, where the tiny mechanical structures are crafted out of silicon on semiconductor chips.

They’ve been in the works for many years. I first heard about them in 2020, when Joseph Jiang, Xmems CEO, talked about the tech behind the speaker chips. Now they’re finally getting into the market. In the meantime, xMEMS has also announced its “fan on a chip” micro cooling solutions for electronics.

These are very cool products that can help these devices get smaller and smarter. The Sycamore speakers are one seventh the size and one third the thickness of conventional dynamic speaker drivers, Santa Clara, California-based xMEMS said.

xMEMS Labs has created a platform for piezoMEMS innovation. And it has led to xMEMS Sycamore, the company’s latest breakthrough in micro fidelity (µFidelity) audio.

xMEMS Sycamore is the first-ever full-range, all-silicon, near-field micro speaker for enjoying full-range
sound from open wireless stereo (OWS) earbuds, smart watches, smart glasses, augmented/virtual reality headsets, and other compact, mobile electronics.

It is based on the company’s revolutionary “sound from ultrasound” platform which creates full-frequency sound from ultrasonic waves in a 1-mm thin chip.

“With Sycamore, mobile electronics can now achieve thinner, more stylish form factors while maintaining
big, rich sound,” said Mike Housholder, xMEMS’ VP of marketing and business development, in a statement. “With better performance at both the low and high ends, Sycamore delivers powerful, full-range audio for smart watches, smart glasses, and any other small, mobile form factor that engineers dream up.”

Unlike the first-of-its-kind xMEMS Cypress µSpeaker, which delivers full-range audio for occluded, in-ear,
active noise-cancelling (ANC) earbuds, Sycamore is designed to perform in open-air listening devices.

At just 1-millimeter thin, Sycamore removes a critical constraint in design of thin mobile electronics by replacing 3-mm thick legacy dynamic driver speakers, while also requiring less back volume area. With its first-order low frequency roll-off, it can match mid-bass performance of legacy drives while offering as much as 11dB headroom in sub-bass extension.

Sycamore also pushes the performance envelope on high-frequency sound — by as much as 15dB above 5KHz over legacy drivers — making it an ideal near-field µSpeaker tweeter alternative for laptops automotive and portable Bluetooth speakers.

“The applications for Sycamore µSpeakers are limited only by designers’ imagination,” Housholder said. “In smartphones, Sycamore offers a higher-quality earpiece speaker for clearer calls and greater privacy. In cars, Sycamore’s size, weight and performance makes it a micro-sized tweeter for headrests, headliner and pillar placements. And of course, not only does Sycamore’s audio performance deliver a full sound experience for smart watches and glasses, but its size allows designers to create sleeker, fashion-forward products that consumers will love.”

Sycamore measures just 8.41 x 9 x 1.13 mm and weighs only 150 milligrams. It is one-seventh the size of
a conventional dynamic-driver package and one-third the thickness, which is critical when integrating into
ever-thinner electronics like smart watches and glasses. As an all-silicon, solid-state µSpeaker, Sycamore
is IP58 rated to be rugged and sweat-resistant for active users.

xMEMS Sycamore is based on the same fabrication process as the xMEMS Cypress in-ear ANC µSpeaker and the groundbreaking xMEMS XMC-2400 micro-cooling (µCooling) fan on a chip. With one manufacturing platform, xMEMS can quickly deliver multiple different xMEMS micro products to support
rapid innovation.

xMEMS will be sampling Sycamore in Q1, 2025, with mass production beginning October 2025. xMEMS was founded in 2018 and it has secured more than 190 patents.