- New 5.6 GHz Product is World’s Highest Frequency and Widest Bandwidth WiFi BAW Filter -
- Company Now Offers Industry’s Only Tandem 5.2/5.6 GHz BAW Coexistence Filter Solution -
- Challenging Filter Design Demonstrates Unique Capability of Company’s Patented XBAW Technology
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Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKTS) (“Akoustis” or the “Company”), a manufacturer of patented bulk acoustic wave (BAW)
high-band RF filters for mobile and other wireless applications, announces the industry’s first 5.6 GHz WiFi BAW filter and
shipment of first samples of the new product. The AKF-1256 is a high performance, high frequency coexistence filter that operates at 5.6 GHz
in the unlicensed spectrum for high-speed WiFi.
When paired with the Company’s recently introduced AKF-1252, a high performance 5.2 GHz BAW RF filter, Akoustis
now offers the first tandem BAW coexistence filter solution covering both the 5.2 GHz and 5.6 GHz frequency bands in a tri-band
WiFi router.
The Company has begun shipment of AKF-1256 samples to select customer engagements for evaluation and technical
feedback. Akoustis intends to expand sampling to additional target customers, including OEMs, ODMs, SoC and RF module manufacturers
in early calendar 2019.
Jeff Shealy, Founder and CEO of Akoustis, commented, “Now having the first and only tandem 5.2 GHz/5.6 GHz BAW
micro-filter coexistence solution, we are positioned to disrupt the current dielectric resonator (DR) WiFi filter market. Based on
feedback from companies that have sampled or evaluated our 5.2 GHz WiFi filter, we believe there is sizable demand for a BAW filter
solution that covers both the 5.2 GHz and 5.6 GHz frequency bands. Our XBAW filters offer better coexistence performance with a
form factor that is 23x smaller than the DR filters deployed today.”
Mr. Shealy continued, “The technical challenges in developing a 5.6 GHz BAW filter for WiFi cannot be
overstated. With a passband more than 2 times wider than the 5.2 GHz band, our patented XBAW technology has demonstrated its unique
capability to produce high performance BAW filters at frequencies previously unreachable with BAW filters, including sub-6 GHz
frequencies aligned with the emerging 5G mobile frequency spectrum.”
The strategic highlights of the new AKF-1256, include:
- New solution enables tandem 5 GHz WiFi BAW filter solution for tri-band architectures
- The new AKF-1256 offers the same size advantage versus DR filters as the Company’s AKF-1252
- Filter performance further demonstrates the sub-6 GHz capability of the XBAW™ process
- XBAW™ technology compatible with future mobile handsets requiring tri-band and MU-MIMO designs
The AKF-1256 provides low insertion loss covering the U-NII-2C and U-NII-3 bands (mid-point - 5.66 GHz) and addresses the stringent rejection
requirements enabling coexistence with the U-NII-1 and U-NII-2A bands. 5.6 GHz is a challenging band given the wide passband and the high
operating frequency. By comparison, the 5.6 GHz WiFi pass band requires 345 MHz versus the narrower 5.2 GHz WiFi pass band of 160
MHz.
The AKF-1256 filter product features:
• Ultra small form factor 2mm x 2.5mm x 0.9mm
• Single ended Tx/Rx ports
• Ultra-wide passband covering 345 MHz
• High rejection enables coexistence with adjacent WiFi UNII bands
• High power rating, maximum +30dBm
• Low insertion loss passband filter
• Performance over -40C to +85C
• RoHS compliant, Pb-free package
For data sheet and sales inquiries, please contact sales@akoustis.com.
In September, Akoustis completed the final engineering modifications to its AKF-1252, the tandem filter product
complementing the new AKF-1256. The Company has since received pre-production orders for the AKF-1252 from a multi-billion-dollar Tier 1 SoC vendor, as well as a distributor partner, both of which are
expected to ship in the current quarter. Separately, Akoustis has shipped evaluation boards and individual AKF-1252 filters to more
than a dozen potential customers, including the Tier 1 WiFi OEM announced last week.
The AKF-1252 and AKF-1256 are high performance 5.2 GHz BAW RF micro filters designed for use in tri-band WiFi
router applications. The filters are produced using Akoustis’ proprietary XBAW manufacturing process, which delivers high
performance RF filter solutions for frequencies up to 7 GHz to address critical RF filter requirements for existing and next
generation communications applications, including the emerging 5G mobile network. The high power rating satisfies the demanding
requirements of the latest WiFi standards including 802.11ax. The filter solution incorporates standard commercial module packaging
and is compatible with high-volume, lead-free SMT soldering processes.
About Akoustis Technologies, Inc.
Akoustis® (www.akoustis.com) is a high-tech BAW RF filter solutions company that is pioneering
next-generation materials science and MEMS wafer manufacturing to address the market requirements for improved RF filters -
targeting higher bandwidth, higher operating frequencies and higher output power compared to incumbent polycrystalline
BAW technology deployed today. The Company utilizes its proprietary XBAW manufacturing process to produce bulk acoustic wave RF filters for mobile and other
wireless markets, which facilitate signal acquisition and accelerate band performance between the antenna and digital back
end. Superior performance is driven by the significant advances of high-purity, single-crystal and associated
piezoelectric materials and the resonator-filter process technology which drives electro-mechanical coupling and translates to wide
filter bandwidth.
Akoustis plans to service the fast growing multi-billion-dollar RF filter market using its integrated
design and manufacturing (IDM) business model. The Company owns and operates a 120,000 sq. ft. ISO-9001:2015
certified commercial wafer-manufacturing facility located in Canandaigua, NY, which includes a class 100 /
class 1000 cleanroom facility - tooled for 150-mm diameter wafers - for the design, development, fabrication and
packaging of RF filters, MEMS and other semiconductor devices. Akoustis Technologies, Inc. is headquartered in the
Piedmont technology corridor near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by
those sections. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our estimates,
expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans or strategies for the future (including our possible future results of operations,
business strategies, competitive position, potential growth opportunities, potential market opportunities and the effects of
competition), and the assumptions underlying such statements. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not
historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "plan,"
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," “intend,” “forecast,” “seek,” "potential," "continue" and similar words, although
some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances
of future performance. Instead, these forward-looking statements are based on management’s current beliefs, expectations and
assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those currently anticipated include, without limitation, risks relating to the results of our research and development activities,
including uncertainties relating to semiconductor process manufacturing; the development of our XBAWTM technology and
products presently under development and the anticipated timing of such development; our ability to protect our intellectual
property rights that are valuable to our business, including patent and other intellectual property rights; our ability to
successfully manufacture, market and sell products based on our technologies; the ability to achieve qualification of our products
for commercial manufacturing in a timely manner and the size and growth of the potential markets for any products so qualified; the
rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our products; our ability to raise funding to support operations and the continued
development and qualification of our products and the technologies underlying them; and our ability to service our outstanding
indebtedness. These and other risks and uncertainties are described in more detail in the Risk Factors and Management’s Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and
in subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Considering these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking
statements regarding future events and circumstances discussed in this document may not occur, and actual results could differ
materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon
forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements included in this document speak only as
of the date hereof and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or privately any forward-looking
statements, whether written or oral, for any reason after the date of this document to conform these statements to new information,
actual results or to changes in our expectations.
Contact: COMPANY: Tom Sepenzis Akoustis Technologies Director of Investor Relations (980) 689-4961 tsepenzis@akoustis.com The Del Mar Consulting Group, Inc. Robert B. Prag, President 858-794-9500 bprag@delmarconsulting.com
