Single Chip Handles Voice Recording And Playback

The ISD5108 ChipCorder, which holds from four to eight minutes of voice recording, can easily be embedded into a host of products. The chip's user-selectable sampling rate ranges from 4 to 8 kHz, so designers can trade off sound quality and recording duration (the higher the sampling rate, the better the quality but the shorter the duration). The internal memory array can be used to store the audio as well as digital data. The ISD5116 version packs double the record time. The ChipCorder comes in either a 28-lead 300-mil SOIC or an 8- by 13.4-mm TSOP or as a bare die. Samples of the ISD5108 are immediately available. It costs about $6 each in 1000-unit lots.