Sanyo Semiconductor Co Ltd announced the "LC70301LG" noise cancellation SoC (system-on-a-chip) as the company's second noise cancellation SoC following the "LC70300W" announced in October 2007.

Compared with the first product, the new product has a lower power consumption, a smaller size and a lower price, while featuring enhanced noise cancellation quality. Sanyo Semiconductor is aiming at having the chip employed in mobile phones, IC recorders and other mobile devices.

The predecessor, the LC70300W, was used in professional communication devices but seems to have failed to meet the requirements of consumer product manufacturers.

Sanyo Semiconductor will attempt to enter the mobile consumer product market with this product.

"We will aim at gaining 30% share in the noise cancellation IC market," said Hideki Ohashi, the company's seniro manager, LSI Business HQ, System Division, IP Development Dept.

The new SoC has already been adopted in an IC recorder, he said.

Sanyo Semiconductor doubled the noise cancellation accuracy and the noise cancellation level of the LC70300W to develop the LC70301LG. In other words, compared with the predecessor, which cut the background noise of air conditioners and trains (including the Shinkansen bullet train) by up to 90%, the latest product can reduce such noise by up to 95%.

In addition, consumption current was lowered from 30mA to 15mA. The package has been changed from the previous 64-pin SQFP (10 x 10 x 1.7mm) to 68-pin FLGA (6.0 x 6.0 x 0.8mm), slashing the area and the volume by 64% and 83%, respectively. Sample pricing was lowered from ¥1,500 (approx US$15.3) to 1,000. And the price will be about half that of the first product when mass-produced, the company said.

Sanyo Semiconductor will start sample shipments of the LC70301LG from December 2008 and volume production at 300,000 units per month in about mid 2009. Also, the company is planning to announce the "LC70310BG," the third product in the series, which will be even smaller and more power efficient than the LC70301LG.