More audio, less interference

Dec 18, 2008 09:38 GMT  ·  By

The development of this new audio filter is meant to go mainstream in the future, even though many users would love to enjoy this new technology starting right now. Even so, the demand for such products isn't all that great for the moment, but, given the fact that the production of music phones is going to at least double in a couple of years’ time, we must admit that we are looking at a, most likely, very popular device to be included in handsets in the future.

STMicroelectronics has figured out that, as the handsets of the future will be getting new designs, improvements regarding the noise reduction and interference level will become mandatory. This new filter, called EMIF02-SPK02F2, wasn't designed just for mobiles, being able to function properly on notebooks, PCs, MP3 players and car audio systems also.

Focusing on the mobile area, the EMIF02-SPK02F2 filter was designed so that it would occupy only 0.89 x 1.26mm of the space of the mobile device and deal with both the built-in speaker and the stereo handset output. In addition, the microphone has also been targeted, so that no interference would disrupt users.

Furthermore, the filter has been specifically created to improve the level of ESD protection, as this is one of the biggest worries of mobile manufacturers, since it is not as high as it used to be. Moreover, thanks to its double clamping structure, this filter can now clamp an ESD spike to the more than reasonable value of 12V, unlike the 300V the normal ESD devices provide.

Also, in order to become a great success, this STMicroelectronics filter has been designed so that it would outmatch any of its competitors. First of all, the discreet component filters don't stand a chance in the face of the EMIF02-SPK02F2, since these occupy an enormous amount of board space, somewhere up to 72% more, plus that such devices have not yet been designed to be fully compatible with tri-band mobiles. Also, the single chip passive filters available at the moment cannot even stand comparison with it, since the level of noise and interference reduction these provide is significantly lower.

All in all, this new filter brings better and stronger audio signals to mobiles, at the same time reducing the outside noise and the jamming signals. Such devices are already in mass production stage and only orders of over 10.000 pieces are accepted.