Akoustis Announces Four Recently Awarded Patents Bringing Portfolio to Eleven Issued Patents Plus Numerous Patents Pending
Charlotte, N.C., April 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: 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, provided an update on its Intellectual Property (IP) and Patent portfolio related to its single-crystal piezoelectric materials, novel BAW resonators, wide-bandwidth RF filters and their application in mobile and other wireless devices.
Since last providing a patent update in June 2016, Akoustis has been granted four additional patents - bringing the total number of issued patents to eleven with numerous patents pending in the U.S. and internationally. In addition to its patent portfolio, Akoustis’ IP includes the ownership of valuable trade secrets associated with manufacturing its BulkONE® bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high-band RF filter products and single-crystal piezoelectric materials.
Jeff Shealy, CEO of Akoustis, commented “From the inception of Akoustis, we believed a significant IP and patent portfolio would ultimately be a key driver of value for our shareholders. We will continue to build and strengthen our IP position with the goal of creating a significant and meaningful barrier-to-entry for potential competitors utilizing single-crystal bulk acoustic wave technology."
A summary of the recent patents issued is provided below:
- Issued 10/19/16 - China Patent No. CN205657658U - “A Substrate and Acoustic Resonator Equipment for Acoustic Resonator Equipment”
- Issued 11/23/16 - China Patent No. CN205725676U – “Wafer Level Package”
- Issued 1/03/17 – U.S. Patent No. US 9,537,465 - “Acoustic Resonator Device with Single Crystal Piezo Material and Capacitor on a Bulk Substrate”
- Issued 2/14/17 – U.S. Patent No. US 9,571,061- “Integrated Circuit Configured with Two or More Single Crystal Acoustic Resonator Devices”
On March 24, 2017, Akoustis announced it had entered into definitive agreements to acquire a 120,000 Sq. Ft. Wafer Manufacturing Facility, and STC-MEMS, a semiconductor wafer manufacturing operation with associated 150-mm wafer production tools and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) business, as well as 57-acres of real estate associated with the facility located in Canandaigua, New York. The transaction is expected to close by the end of Q2 CY2017 and enables the Company to control the manufacturing of its BAW RF filters.
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 compared to conventional polycrystalline BAW technology deployed today. Superior performance is driven by the significant advances made in the growth of high-purity piezoelectric materials and the resonator-filter process technology. The elastic and piezoelectric coefficients drive electro-mechanical coupling, which translates to wide filter bandwidth. High-band RF filters are achieved by leveraging the Company’s high-sound velocity, single-crystal piezoelectric materials. These single-crystal piezoelectric materials offer high-thermal conductivity along the path of heat flow, enabling high-power handling capability of the RF filter.
About Akoustis
Akoustis® (http://www.akoustis.com) is a high-tech RF filter solutions company that manufactures its unique, patented BulkONE® technology to produce single-crystal bulk acoustic wave (BAW) RF filters for mobile and other wireless markets, 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 new and 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, which 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 Technologies, Inc.
VP of Business Development
704-997-5735, ext. 106
daichele@akoustis.com
INVESTORS:
The Del Mar Consulting Group, Inc.
Robert B. Prag, President
858-794-9500
Released April 12, 2017