CTIA, NEW ORLEANS, LA - March 17, 2003 - Achieving another first in consumer microphone electronics, National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE:NSM) today announced technology that puts digital voice quality directly inside electret condenser microphones (ECMs). Previously, the large size and high cost associated with this effort kept manufacturers from implementing digital voice technology in consumer products. National overcame the size-and-cost barrier by putting the digital modulation and gain inside the microphone to dramatically improve sound quality. By integrating several components and simplifying routing, National's "digital voice in a mic" technology reduces overall system cost and enables the smallest possible form factor.
"Today's announcement furthers National's amplifier strategy of providing leading-edge innovation in signal conditioning," said Erroll Dietz, product line director for National Semiconductor's amplifier products group. "With mixed-signal capability so small that it fits inside existing ECMs, this technology is the next step in integrating digital voice directly inside microphones."
The introduction of National's digital voice technology follows the company's recent announcement of its analog "amp in a mic" products, the LMV1012 and LMV1014. These products transformed the market by replacing the decades-old junction field effect transistor (JFET), dramatically improving audio performance and sensitivity in 2- and 3-wire ECMs. Integrating digital output into the microphone is the next step in amplifier technology, delivering the world's first digital output capability to enable built-in gain inside 4-wire ECMs. Applications using this technology are microphones in mobile handsets, PDAs and other portable microphone applications.
"National brings digital sound quality to consumer communications and computing," said Dietz. "To achieve this goal, we're partnering with major microphone suppliers to facilitate digital ECMs, and we intend to release customized products utilizing this technology by the end of the year."
About National's Digital Voice Technology
Integrating the digital output into the microphone improves signal integrity for ease of design with regard to RF immunity. The end products developed using National's digital voice technology will be less sensitive to noise for ease of implementation, resulting in faster design cycle times. With digital modulation integrated into the ECM, the base band partition is now optimized for better audio performance, consumer features, and lower overall system cost.
National's digital voice technology will be shown in National's booth #4619 in Hall E at the CTIA tradeshow in New Orleans, Louisiana from March 17-19.
For More Information
More information on National's digital voice technology is available at http://www.national.com/see/mic. For more information on National's amplifier products, visit http://www.amplifiers.national.com/.
About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor is the premier analog company driving the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of-the-art digital technology, the company is focused on analog-based semiconductor products, which include stand-alone devices and subsystems in the areas of power management, imaging, display drivers, audio, amplifiers and data conversion. The company targets key markets such as wireless, displays, information infrastructure and a broad range of portable applications. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National reported sales of $1.5 billion for its most recent fiscal year. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.
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