Solid State System (3S), a Taiwan-based NAND flash controller design house, expects its in-house developed single-chip MEMS microphone to enter mass production in July 2011. The solution will be targeted at the handset and hands-free headset markets, according to the company.

3S said its MEMS microphone products will be built using CMOS process technology. It is actively seeking orders from China's white-box handset vendors and also brand companies.

3S is expected to see the new product line start bringing in a solid contribution to its revenues at the end of 2011, according to market watchers. Monthly shipments of its single-chip MEMS microphones are likely to top one million units around the year-end.

3S will use 0.35-micron, eight-inch wafer technology at United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) to produce its single-chip MEMS microphones, industry sources have revealed.

3S single-chip MEMS microphone for handsets and hands-free headsets
Photo: Olivia Hu, Digitimes, October 2010