Akoustis™ Adds New OEM Customer, Purchase Order For High Frequency BAW RF Filters
Order Funds Engineering and Initial Delivery of RF Filters Operating Above 3.5GHz
Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: AKTS) (“Akoustis” or the “Company”), a manufacturer of patented single-crystal BulkONE™ bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high-band RF filters for mobile and other wireless applications, announced today it received a purchase order from a new OEM customer for development of a band-specific, high-frequency BAW RF filter for a non-mobile commercial application. The new customer is a well-established OEM specializing in non-mobile communication systems with annual revenue of more than $1 Billion.
The purchase order covers the cost of engineering development and initial delivery of BAW RF filters for a band-specific application in the frequency spectrum above 3.5GHz. Akoustis will be responsible for the design, fabrication, characterization and delivery of first articles, which could lead to a production ramp as early as the second-half of 2017.
The customer selected Akoustis based on its demonstrated single-crystal BulkONE™ BAW RF filter performance at high frequency. Akoustis’ technology enables improved filter selectivity and significantly smaller form factor compared to traditional cavity and/or ceramic-type filters.
Today’s announcement is Akoustis’ second customer engagement. In August 2016, Akoustis announced it had signed multiple non-exclusive agreements with a Chinese tier one RF front end (RFFE) module manufacturer to supply its premium RF filter products.
David Aichele, VP of Business Development at Akoustis, commented “We are excited to make a second customer announcement, and we expect this engagement will lead to additional designs and frequency bands with this customer.”
Jeff Shealy, CEO of Akoustis, commented, “Akoustis continues to focus on the premium high-band RF filter market where customers value performance differentiation that enables system size reduction.”
Akoustis is pioneering next-generation material science to address the market requirements for improved RF filters - targeting higher bandwidth, higher operating frequencies and higher output power as compared to conventional polycrystalline BAW technology deployed today. Superior performance is driven by the significant advances made in the single-crystal piezoelectric materials and the resonator-filter process technology. The piezoelectric constant and material composition drive electro-mechanical coupling, which enables higher filter bandwidth. In the case of operating frequency, high sound velocity in high-purity piezoelectric materials allows signals to propagate faster in the RF filter. The Company’s single-crystal piezoelectric materials offer high-thermal conductivity along the path of heat flow, greatly improving the high-power handling capability of the RF filter.
Akoustis continues to meet with multiple design clients and potential strategic partners to share its single-crystal resonator and RF filter results.
About Akoustis
Akoustis™ (http://www.akoustis.com) is a high-tech RF filter solutions company that manufactures its unique, patent-pending BulkONE™ technology to produce single-crystal bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters for the mobile-wireless industry and beyond, which facilitate signal acquisition and accelerate band performance between the antenna and digital back end. Its BulkONE™ technology will service the fast growing multi-billion dollar market of device OEMs, network providers, and consumers to diminish Front End phone heat, battery drain and signal loss -- all considered to be directly related to current RF polycrystalline filter technologies' limitations. Akoustis’ capital-efficient business model leverages existing investments in manufacturing infrastructure within the semiconductor industry. Akoustis™ is located in the Piedmont technology corridor between Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not descriptions of historical facts are forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology including “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. 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 early stage of our BulkONE™ technology presently under development;
- our need for substantial additional funds in order to continue our operations and the uncertainty of whether we will be able to obtain the funding we need;
- our ability to retain or hire key scientific, engineering or management personnel; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights that are valuable to our business, including patent and other intellectual property rights;
- our dependence on third-party manufacturers, suppliers, research organizations, testing laboratories and other potential collaborators;
- our ability to successfully market and sell our technologies;
- the size and growth of the potential markets for any of our technologies, and the rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our technologies;
- competition in our industry; and
- regulatory developments in the U.S. and foreign countries.
In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking statements regarding future events and circumstances discussed in this press release 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 presentation 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 for any reason after the date of this presentation to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations. The materials do not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy, any securities of Akoustis, or any other entity whatsoever. Any representation to the contrary by any party should be ignored.
Akoustis Contact Information: COMPANY: Dave Aichele Akoustis, Inc. VP of Business Development Main: 704-997-5735, ext. 106 Email: daichele@akoustis.com INVESTORS: The Del Mar Consulting Group, Inc. Robert B. Prag, President 858-794-9500 bprag@delmarconsulting.com or Integra Consulting Group LLC Jeremy Roe, Managing Partner 925-262-8305 jeremy@integracg.net
Released December 12, 2016