Akoustis Technologies has announced that it has signed a strategic purchase agreement with a new tier-1 enterprise WiFi OEM customer for multiple, new WiFi 6E XBAW filters operating above 5 GHz.
The new filters will operate within the existing 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as well as the 5.9 to 7.1 GHz bands recently approved by the FCC for next-generation WiFi 6E CPE devices. Product design for each of these new filters has begun and Akoustis expects to deliver first samples by December 2020 for characterization and final customer acceptance. The XBAW filters target inclusion in enterprise-class WiFi CPE products that are expected to go into production in the first half of calendar 2021.
Akoustis is developing these new XBAW filters in parallel to the standard WiFi 6E filters currently in development for catalog customers, including the 5.5 GHz filter module announced on June 8, 2020.
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.
Akoustis’ high frequency, high-performance XBAW process, and filters are experiencing growing interest as the Company prepares to enter production in multiple markets in calendar 2020, including 5G network infrastructure, high-band WiFi, and 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.
