Erik Jensen, Head of Wireless System Integration, Denmark—WSAudiology
“A common way to combat interference among components is to make the device larger, but that is not an option for some kinds of devices.”
Physical configuration of components, radio interference, and power consumption are the biggest challenges when making small wireless devices such as hearing aids. Each of these elements affects the others in the device.
When you make a small device, you must put processors, sensors, radio-frequency (RF) components, and power supply close together in the same small package. That design creates a problem for RF immunity because all these different components create noise. A common way to combat interference among components is to make the device larger, but that is not an option for some kinds of devices. The issue becomes even more complicated when you have different radios in the same small device. It’s not just RF immunity within the device itself, either. The device must be immune from other sources of RF noise in the environment, such as mobile phones, Wi-Fi, and television.
Power consumption is another significant challenge, especially in small devices such as hearing aids that must operate for a full day between charges. In normal use, a hearing aid is not always using its RF connectivity functions, however it consumes the most power when it is transmitting. There’s always a trade-off among power consumption, connectivity range, and size.
This is an excerpt from 8 Experts on Overcoming Challenges of RF Solution Design. The eBook was generously sponsored by Murata Electronics and Mouser Electronics.
