By Vesper 179
The VM1010 from Vesper is the world's first ZeroPower Listening™ piezoelectric MEMS microphone. It provides an ultra-low power always-listening solution, bringing voice activation to battery-powered consumer devices.
The VM1010 is a low-noise, single-ended analog MEMS microphone with a Wake-on-Sound mode that allows detection of voice activity while consuming only 10 μA of supply current (or 18 μW of power). In this Wake-on-Sound mode, the microphone detects sounds in the voice band above a configurable acoustic threshold. When the microphone detects a sound above the threshold, it instantly alerts the system of the acoustic event. The system can then switch the VM1010 to normal mode with full audio output within 200 μS. This is fast enough for the VM1010 to capture the sound that exceeds the threshold and send it to the system for processing. This creates the system architecture for ZeroPower Listening.
The VM1010's Wake-on-Sound mode brings voice activation to battery-powered consumer devices while drawing nearly zero power, making it ideal for voice interface devices such as smart speakers, TV remotes, smart earbuds, and smart home products.
The VM1010 has a small 3.76 mm X 2.95 mm X 1.3 mm package and is solder reflow compatible with no sensitivity degradation. It operates in environmentally harsh surroundings because it is dust- and moisture-resistant.