Akoustis Technologies has introduced its first commercial product, a BAW RF filter for the 5 GHz unlicensed frequency band. This is the first commercially available co-existence BAW RF filter for this frequency band. The AKF-1252 is a high performance, ultra-small BAW RF Filter with a passband at 5.2 GHz. It has been designed for use in tri-band WiFi router applications. The filters are produced using Akoustis’ new proprietary XB1 single-crystal BAW manufacturing process, which delivers high-performance RF filter solutions for frequencies up to 7 GHz. It provides low insertion loss covering U-NII-1 and U-NII-2A bands and meets the stringent rejection requirements enabling coexistence with U-NII-2C and U-NII-3 bands. The high-power rating satisfies the demanding requirements of the latest WiFi standards including 802.11ac. The filter solution incorporates standard commercial module packaging and is compatible with high-volume, lead-free SMT soldering processes.
The AKF-1252 Filter Features:
- High frequency operation at 5.2 GHz
- Wide bandwidth covering both U-NII-1 and U-NII-2A
- Low insertion loss (~2 dB) in both U-NII-1 and U-NII-2A passband
- High power rating with +32 dBm maximum
- High rejection with over 50 dB enabling coexistence with adjacent U-NII-2C + U-NII-3 bands
- Single-ended 50-Ohm Ant, Tx/Rx ports
- Ultra-small form factor packaged module at 2 x 2.5 x 0.9 mm
- Operating temperature ranges from -40C to +85C
The Company’s XB1 process supports a wide range of spectrum up to 7 GHz, covering the entire unlicensed WiFi spectrum, 4G LTE and emerging 5G cellular and C-V2X applications. 5 GHz WiFi is one of the first target markets for Akoustis given the significant size and performance advantages compared to incumbent dielectric filters.
Major WiFi CPE OEMs and chipset suppliers are releasing Tri-Band routers that split operation in three frequency bands which include 2.4 GHz, 5.2 GHz and 5.7 GHz. Multiple User Multiple In/Multiple Out (MU-MIMO) is one of the key features introduced with 802.11ac Wave 2 and allows simultaneous data transmission to multiple Wave 2 devices, enabling networks to increase efficiency and device density of CPEs. The AKF-1252 will support the demanding MU-MIMO, bandwidth and power requirements in newly introduced 802.11ac enabled WiFi products.
Akoustis expects to sample multiple Tier 1 WiFi tri-band OEMs and multiple Tier 1 semiconductor companies.
