Akoustis Technologies, an integrated device manufacturer (IDM) of patented bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high-band RF filters for mobile and other wireless applications, has announced its first wideband 5.5 GHz XBAW filter module and shipment of multiple samples to WiFi 6E SoC and OEM companies.
The new 5.5 GHz filter module covers the 5.1-5.8 GHz spectrum with low power loss in the passband. This new RF filter solution will be offered as a standard catalog product, available to all potential customers. With ultra-wide bandwidth coverage of 665 MHz, it is the widest bandwidth BAW filter product available in the market with a fractional bandwidth of 12%. The 5.5 GHz high-performance XBAW filter module coexists with the new 6 GHz WiFi band, outperforming the coexistence of traditional LTCC and dielectric resonator filter technologies.
This new XBAW filter module is the first of two Akoustis filters that will cover 5.1-5.8 GHz and 5.9-7.1 GHz, significantly increasing data throughput and reducing interference issues associated with high-band WiFi simultaneous radio operation.
Jeff Shealy, founder and CEO of Akoustis, commented that Akoustis continues its product leadership in high frequency 5 GHz BAW WiFi filters with the introduction of the first 5.5 GHz XBAW filter for the emerging WiFi 6E market. Combining this incredibly wide 665 MHz bandwidth filter module with their existing, first-to-market 5.2 and 5.6 GHz RF filters, Akoustis offers the most comprehensive BAW RF filter solution for the 5 GHz spectrum supporting WiFi 6 and WiFi 6E. WiFi 6E will significantly improve the speed and performance of WiFi-enabled devices with an additional 1.2 GHz of allocated spectrum in the 6 GHz spectrum and their production-qualified XBAW technology is uniquely suited to support these new and exciting wide bandwidths, high-frequency requirements.
The FCC announced in late April the approval of 5.925-7.125 GHz for unlicensed use, which is the largest spectrum addition since the FCC allocated an unlicensed spectrum for WiFi in 1989. The next generation of WiFi that is expected to use these new frequency bands is called WiFi 6E. This approval will create another significant new band, or combination of bands, over the next several years.
In advance of the April FCC approval, Akoustis has been developing filters to support the emerging WiFi 6E market. The Company has been active in developing wide bandwidth piezoelectric materials, device models, RF filter designs and has filed key patents surrounding its approach to WiFi 6E RF filters.
The 5.5 GHz XBAW WiFi RF Filter Features:
- Fully-integrated, 50-ohm filter module configuration
- Low insertion loss (1 dB min.) passband filter
- Wide bandwidth passband covering entire 665 MHz UNII 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3 & 4 bands
- High rejection enables co-existence with adjacent 6 GHz WiFi UNII 5 to 8 bands
- Single-ended Tx/Rx ports
- High power rating, maximum +30 dBm
- Ultra-small form factor 3.5mm x 3.5mm x 1.5mm
- Performance over -40C to +85C
- RoHS compliant, Pb-free package
The 5.5 GHz filter is designed and manufactured using the Company’s patented XBAW process and manufactured in the Company’s Si-MEMS Wafer Fab located in Canandaigua, NY. The Company has commenced shipment of samples.
Akoustis’ high frequency, high-performance XBAW process, and filters continue to experience growing interest as the Company prepares to enter production in multiple markets in calendar 2020, including 5G network infrastructure, high-band WiFi, and the phased-array radar applications.
Akoustis has added 13 filters to its product catalog including a 5.6 GHz WiFi filter (AKF-1256), a 5.2 GHz WiFi filter (AKF-1252), three small cell 5G network infrastructure filters including two Band n77 filters, one Band n79 filter, a 3.8 GHz filter (AKF-1938) and five S-Band filters for defense phased-array radar applications, a 3.6 GHz filter for the CBRS 5G infrastructure market and a C-Band filter for the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) market. The Company is developing several new filters for the sub-7 GHz bands targeting 5G mobile devices, network infrastructure, WiFi CPE, and defense markets.
Click here to read more about WiFi 6E.
