Application Note

AN-1181

Using a MEMS Microphone in a 2-Wire

Microphone Circuit

INTRODUCTION
MEMS microphones are being used to replace electret condenser microphones (ECMs) in audio circuits. These two types of micro-
phones perform the same function, but the connection between the microphone and the rest of the system is different for ECMs and
MEMS microphones. This application note explains those differences and provides design details for a simple MEMS microphone based
replacement circuit.

ECM CONNECTIONS TO AUDIO CIRCUITS

An ECM has two signal leads: output and ground. The microphone is biased through a DC bias on the output pin. This bias is typically
sourced through a bias resistor and the signal between the microphone output and the preamp input is AC-coupled.

VBIAS

RBIAS

1µF
OUTPUT
ECM
GROUND

Figure 1.ECM Circuit Connection

An example of a common use of an ECM is as an in-line voice microphone in a headset connected to a phone. In this application, the
connector between the headset and the phone has four pins: left audio output, right audio output, the microphone signal, and ground.
The output signal and DC bias voltage of the ECM are carried on the same signal line in this design. The bias voltage source is
typically about 2.2 V.

MEMS MICROPHONE DIFFERENCES

An analog MEMS microphone does not use an input bias voltage on its signal pin. Rather, it is a three-terminal device with separate
pins for power, ground, and output. The VDD pin is usually supplied with 1.8 to 3.3 V. The MEMS microphone’s signal output is biased
at a DC voltage, usually at or close to 0.8 V. In a design, this output signal is typically AC-coupled.

A key advantage of using a MEMS microphone instead of an ECM is its improved power supply rejection (PSR). A MEMS microphone
typically has a PSR of at least −70 dBV, while an ECM has no power supply rejection because the bias voltage is connected to the
microphone directly through a resistor.

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 AN-1181
CIRCUIT CHANGES TO REPLACE AN ECM WITH A MEMS MICROPHONE
The basic challenge to using a MEMS microphone in a system originally designed around an ECM is that there are not separate signals
for power and the microphone output, such as with the headset microphone. A MEMS microphone can be used in a design like this if
some small changes are made to the circuit. First, the DC bias provided downstream in the signal chain must be isolated from the
output signal of the microphone. Second, this DC bias must be used to power the MEMS microphone without allowing the output signal
of the microphone to interfere with the power supply. The DC bias isolation can be provided with an AC-coupling capacitor and the
MEMS microphone power can be provided from a carefully-designed circuit that serves as a voltage divider and a low-pass filter. The
ADMP504 MEMS microphone is used as an example in the following design. A 2.2 kΩ bias resistor is used here.
R1

C2 VBIAS

VDD
2.2kΩ
ANALOG
MEMS C1 1µF
MICROPHONE MICROPHONE
OUTPUT OUTPUT SIGNAL
GND

GROUND

HEADSET
CONECTOR

Figure 2. MEMS Microphone with a Single Wire for Power and Output Signal

Figure 2 shows an example of a design that achieves this. In a headset design, the portion of the circuit to the left of the headset
connector would be in the actual headset, and the 2.2 kΩ bias resistor and 1 μF coupling capacitor would be in the source device,
such as a smartphone.

Resistors R1 and RBIAS form a voltage divider with the MEMS microphone to bring the VBIAS voltage down to the supply voltage at the VDD
pin. Depending on the values of VBIAS, RBIAS and the desired VDD voltage, Resistor R1 may need to be very small, as is seen in the example
below. The necessary series resistance (RBIAS + R1) can be calculated by modeling the microphone as a resistor through which a fixed
current is flowing. The typical supply current of the ADMP504 when VDD = 1.8 V is 180 μA. Using Ohm’s law with 1.8 V on VDD, this
microphone can be modeled as a 10 kΩ resistor. The voltage divider equation used to solve for the appropriate value for resistor R1 is:
[Microphone VDD] = [Bias voltage] × (10 kΩ/(10 kΩ + R1 + RBIAS)).
From this equation, it can be calculated that a 2.2 kΩ RBIAS resistor and a 499 Ω R1 resistor divide the voltage from the 2.2 V bias voltage to
the 1.73 V microphone VDD. There is a trade-off in choosing the value of R1; a higher value results in a lower VDD, but this larger value
may also be necessary to prevent C2 from being too large, as described below.

Two different models of this voltage divider are shown in Figure 3. On the left, the ADMP504 microphone is modeled as a 180 μA
current source, and on the right the microphone is modeled as a 10 kΩ resistor with a 1.8 V VDD.

VBIAS VBIAS
2.2V VDD 2.2V

R1 RBIAS R1 RBIAS

IMIC RMIC
180µA 10kΩ

CURRENT SOURCE RESISTOR

MODEL MODEL

Figure 3.Voltage Divider Models

Document Number: AN-1165--00 Page 2 of 4

Revision: 1.0.
Rev Date: 12/31/13
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Capacitor C2, and Resistor R1 form a low-pass filter to filter the audio output of the microphone from its voltage supply signal. This
filter corner frequency should be far below the lower filter corner of the microphone itself. Designing the low-pass filter to be at least
two octaves below the microphone’s lower corner frequency is a good starting point. For the ADMP504, this corner is at 100 Hz. A 10
μF capacitor and a 499 Ω R1 resistor give a filter with a 31 Hz corner frequency. A larger capacitor or resistor lowers this corner
frequency even further, but the resistor size for this filter must be balanced with its contribution to the voltage divider that is supplying
VDD to the microphone.

The equation for the low-pass filter’s −3 dB point is

f−3 dB = 1/(2π × R1 × C2)
where
R1 is the resistor in the voltage divider.
C2 is the low-pass filter capacitor.

Capacitor C1 AC-couples the microphone output so that its biased output is isolated from the microphone bias voltage supplied from the
phone. This capacitor also forms a high pass filter with RBIAS, R1, and the microphone’s equivalent resistance for a given VDD. The
total resistance to be considered in calculating the high-pass filter corner frequency is the series resistance of RMIC and R1 in parallel
with RBIAS. This resistance can be calculated by the equation RTOTAL = ((RMIC + R1) × RBIAS)/(RMIC + R1 + RBIAS).

For the example given here, RTOTAL = 1810 Ω. The high-pass filter corner frequency is given by
f−3 dB = 1/(2π(RTOTAL × C1)
For a filter corner at least an octave below the low-frequency roll-off of the ADMP504 at 100 Hz, C1 should be at least 1.8 μF.

Figure 4 shows a complete headset circuit using the ADMP504 MEMS microphone and appropriate resistor and capacitor values, based
on the given VBIAS and RBIAS values with which we’ve been working.
R1
1.8V 499Ω

C2
10µF

VDD

C1
ADMP504 1.8µF
OUTPUT AC SIGNAL + DC BIAS

GND

GROUND

Figure 4. Circuit with ADMP504 MEMS Microphone

CONCLUSION
The circuit described here allows a MEMS microphone to be used in a design where there are not separate signals available for
power and the microphone output. The circuit uses only two capacitors and one resistor to enable a MEMS microphone to be used
in a 2-wire microphone circuit.

Document Number: AN-1165--00 Page 3 of 4

Revision: 1.0.
Rev Date: 12/31/13
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InvenSense believes this compliance information to be correct but cannot guarantee accuracy or completeness. Conformity
documents for the above component constitutes are on file. InvenSense subcontracts manufacturing and the information contained
herein is based on data received from vendors and suppliers, which has not been validated by InvenSense.

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InvenSense believes this environmental information to be correct but cannot guarantee accuracy or completeness. Conformity
documents for the above component constitutes are on file. InvenSense subcontracts manufacturing and the information contained
herein is based on data received from vendors and suppliers, which has not been validated by InvenSense.

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Document Number: AN-1165--00 Page 4 of 4

Revision: 1.0.
Rev Date: 12/31/13