Norwegian deep-tech firm sensiBel has partnered with Irish industrial manufacturing company X-Celeprint to scale high-volume production of its optical-detection module, optoKore, utilizing Micro-Transfer Printing (MTP) technology. The collaboration aims to overcome traditional photonics assembly limits by enabling wafer-level manufacturing for high-performance acoustic sensors and digital microphones.
Micro-Transfer Printing Drives Wafer-Level Scale
According to sensiBel CEO Kieran Harney, the micro-electronics industry has long sought a means to overcome the traditional limitations in photonics assembly. By adopting X-Celeprint’s MTP platform, sensiBel can now combine tiny, non-native components onto a single substrate with precise nanoscale alignment. This shift replaces slower, higher-cost die-bonding methods with fast array transfers of multiple device types, including lasers, modulators, photodetectors, amplifiers, and passive optics, as detailed by X-Celeprint.
Moving to MTP aligns the fabrication of the optoKore module directly with standard microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) processes at a wafer scale. As a result, sensiBel can manufacture thousands of optical modules on a single wafer. X-Celeprint CEO Peter Smyth noted that the platform supports high-volume manufacturing environments while maintaining extreme precision, positioning sensiBel to meet demand in consumer electronics and other mass markets.
Inside the optoKore Optical Detection Module
The optoKore module serves as the core optical-detection module inside sensiBel’s microelectromechanical systems sensors, combining a traditional ASIC and MEMS sensor. As sound waves strike the MEMS diaphragm, the internal optical path shifts. The module measures diaphragm displacement across a range—from femtometers to micrometers—and converts those physical changes directly into a digital audio signal.
According to technical specifications released by sensiBel, this optical approach yields a high dynamic range exceeding 136dB, a broad frequency response spanning from direct current (DC) to megahertz (MHz), low power consumption, and a miniature footprint in the cubic millimeter range. These engineering attributes allow sensiBel’s digital microphones to achieve a minimum signal-to-noise ratio of 80dBA, an acoustic overload point exceeding 146dB SPL, and a total dynamic range surpassing 132dB.
Market Implications for Consumer Electronics
The strategic manufacturing agreement addresses a fundamental scaling barrier for high-performance acoustic sensors. By shifting production to X-Celeprint’s automated MTP tools—located across operational facilities in Europe and Asia—sensiBel secures the fabrication capacity required for high-volume commercial deployment.
The partnership highlights a broader industry shift toward heterogeneous integration, where disparate optical and electronic components are fused at nanoscale precision without sacrificing manufacturing throughput. With high-volume production lines scaling up, sensiBel and X-Celeprint aim to transition advanced optical acoustic sensing from specialized applications to mainstream consumer hardware.