xMEMS New µCooling Fan-on-a-Chip Solution for Smart Glasses Recognized at Sensors Converge 2025

xMEMS Labs announced the expansion of its µCooling fan-on-a-chip platform into XR smart glasses, providing the industry’s first in-frame active cooling solution for AI-powered wearable displays. The XMC-2400 monolithic silicon MEMS air pump device was recognized at the Sensors Converge 2025 conference, where it received the award for the Best MEMS Solution, while xMEMS was distinguished as Startup of the Year during the event. 
 

As smart glasses designs are being developed and multiple companies are testing different features to see what could possibly work, developers are combining AI processors with microspeakers and microphone arrays, sensors, high-resolution AR displays, and in some cases even advanced cameras. To power and manage all those features, thermal management has become a major design constraint. 

Total device power (TDP) is increasing from today’s 0.5–1W levels to 2W and beyond, driving significant heat into the frame materials that rest directly on the skin. Conventional passive heat sinking struggles to maintain safe and comfortable surface temperatures for devices worn directly on the face for extended periods.

The xMEMS µCooling solution addresses this critical challenge by delivering localized, precision-controlled active cooling from inside the glasses frame itself – without compromising form factor or aesthetics.

“Heat in smart glasses is more than a performance issue; it directly affects user comfort and safety,” says Mike Housholder, VP of Marketing at xMEMS Labs. “xMEMS’ µCooling technology is the only active solution small, thin, and light enough to integrate directly into the limited volume of the eyewear frame, actively managing surface temperatures to enable true all-day wearability.”

 

As the company shared, thermal modeling and physical verification of µCooling in smart glasses operating at 1.5W TDP has demonstrated a 60–70% improvement in power overhead (allowing up to 0.6W additional thermal margin); up to 40% reduction in system temperatures, and up to 75% reduction in thermal resistance.

“These improvements directly translate to cooler skin contact surfaces, improved user comfort, sustained system performance, and long-term product reliability – critical enablers for next-generation AI glasses designed for all-day wear,” xMEMS adds.

xMEMS µCooling’s solid-state, piezoMEMS architecture contains no motors, no bearings, and no mechanical wear, delivering silent, vibration-free, maintenance-free operation with long-term reliability. Its compact footprint – as small as 9.3 x 7.6 x 1.13mm – allows it to fit discreetly within even the most space-constrained frame designs.

Since it announced the µCooling concept – a clever adaptation of its existing MEMS microspeaker technology – xMEMS says that the solution is being tried across smartphones, SSDs, and optical transceivers, with smart glasses now becoming a new promising use case for the technology. The solid-state thermal innovation shows potential for high-performance, thermally-constrained electronic systems. µCooling samples for XR smart glasses designs are available now, with volume production planned for Q1 2026.

 

During the 2025 Sensors Converge conference in Santa Clara, CA, Questex and Fierce Electronics unveiled the 2025 Best of Sensors Awards winners that recognize the most cutting-edge technologies, pioneering leaders, and innovative companies across the sensors, electronics, and embedded systems landscape. Recognizing the groundbreaking advancement, xMEMS’ XMC-2400 µCooling fan-on-a-chip was awarded as Best MEMS Solution, while xMEMS Labs, Inc. was named Startup of the Year. The Best of Sensors Awards winners were selected from an outstanding number of submissions and evaluated by a panel of industry judges.

Founded in January 2018, xMEMS Labs developed a solid-state, monolithic piezoMEMS speaker platform that leverages the scalability of semiconductor manufacturing. xMEMS has over 250 granted patents worldwide for its technology.

www.xmems.com