Akoustis Announces Follow-On Order from a Tier-1 Wireless Telecommunications Customer to Develop Two Additional 5G Mobile BAW Filters
– Additional Order Comes After Company’s Shipment of Initial 5G Mobile Filter in June –
– Delivery of New Sub-6 GHz Ultra-High Band Mobile Filters Expected by the December Quarter –
Charlotte, N.C., Aug. 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKTS) (“Akoustis” or the “Company”), an integrated device manufacturer (IDM) of patented bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high-band RF filters for mobile and other wireless applications, announced today a follow-on purchase order from a multi-billion dollar, tier-1 wireless telecommunications customer to develop two additional, sub-6 GHz coexistence BAW RF filters for 5G mobile devices. This order follows the successful design and prototype shipment of its first 5G mobile BAW filter solution in the June quarter to the same customer.
Under the new purchase order, Akoustis will develop two new sub-6 GHz XBAW filters with expected delivery by the end of December 2019. The final filter solutions will utilize a micro package form factor that is ideal for use in mobile handsets. The new 5G filters will operate in ultra-high band (UHB) sub-6 GHz spectrum where Akoustis is a leader in coexistence BAW filter solutions above 3 GHz.
Jeff Shealy, Founder and CEO of Akoustis, stated, “This is a significant validation of our XBAW™ filter technology as this follow-on order came after our tier-1 mobile customer had the opportunity to evaluate our first 5G mobile filter samples that were ordered and shipped in the June quarter. The two new filters will utilize our standard XBAW filter technology and operate at frequencies within the 3-6 GHz range where we have demonstrated early expertise.” Mr. Shealy continued, “While we remain focused on monetizing our recently completed tandem 5.2 GHz / 5.6 GHz WiFi filter solution as well as our emerging 5G network infrastructure filter solutions, we continue to grow customer relationships that we anticipate will drive our unique and patented XBAW™ technology into 5G mobile devices.”
As the sub-6 GHz 5G new radio (NR) UHB spectrum resides above 3 GHz, future filter solutions will be needed to resolve co-existence issues in 5G mobile handsets. Akoustis has already developed commercial filter products at 3.8 GHz, 5.2 GHz and 5.6 GHz, proving that it can produce BAW RF filters at the higher frequencies associated with sub-6 GHz 5G spectrum. As a result, the Company continues discussions with multiple large mobile communications companies seeking access to high frequency co-existence filter technology.
In addition to the 5G mobile filter opportunity, Akoustis has also developed BAW filter solutions for multiple wireless markets including WiFi, 4G/5G infrastructure and defense. Mobile represents the largest potential market for the Company by both volume and revenue, with approximately 1.5 billion smartphones shipped in 2018 according to a February 2019 Gartner report.
The new 5G filters will be designed and manufactured using the Company’s patented XBAW process and manufactured in the Company’s Si-MEMS Wafer Fab located in Canandaigua, NY.
Akoustis has introduced several new filters over the past twelve months including a 5.6 GHz WiFi filter, a 5.2 GHz WiFi filter, a 3.8 GHz filter for defense phased-array radar applications, a 3.6 GHz filter for the CBRS infrastructure market and Band 25 downlink and uplink filters for LTE infrastructure. The Company is also developing several new filters for the sub-7 GHz bands targeting 5G mobile device, network infrastructure, WiFi CPE and defense markets.
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 device manufacturer (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 VP of Corporate Development & IR (980) 689-4961 tsepenzis@akoustis.com The Del Mar Consulting Group, Inc. Robert B. Prag, President (858) 794-9500 bprag@delmarconsulting.com
Released August 13, 2019