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 that it has received its first volume Wi-Fi 6E filter purchase order for a new, advanced, high-speed line of Wi-Fi 6E fixed infrastructure products, which will be sold through a leading US-based service provider. The customer will use multiple Akoustis XBAW® filters in Wi-Fi 6E Access Point products and is currently ramping production of this next-generation multi-user, multiple-in-multiple-out (MU-MIMO) device.
The Akoustis XBAW® filter solutions will be used initially for cable gateway products. The gateways will operate in MU-MIMO architectures, in a 4 x 4 configuration, with twelve active radios. The two XBAW® filter solutions utilized for the new gateways operate with center frequencies of 5.6 GHz and 6.6 GHz, respectively.
The 5.6 GHz filter module covers the entire UNII 1-3 spectrum and enables an additional 80 MHz and 160 MHz channel in UNII-4, while the 6.6 GHz filter module covers a majority of the UNII 5-8 spectrum. Current Wi-Fi 6E configurations allow for the use of six 80 MHz and two 160 MHz channels in the UNII 1-3 spectrum, and fourteen 80 MHz and seven 160 MHz channels in the UNII 5-8 spectrum. The new XBAW® 5.6/6.6 GHz coexistence filter modules allow for the use of seven 80 MHz and three 160 MHz channels in the UNII 1-4 spectrum, and twelve 80 MHz and six 160 MHz channels in the UNII 5-8 spectrum.
Akoustis began shipping initial pre-production BAW filters against purchase orders for development, sampling, and qualification during the quarter ending December 31, 2022. The customer is now entering production with its new line of gateway routers powered by Akoustis’ filters.
Jeff Shealy, founder, and CEO of Akoustis, stated, “We are excited to begin a relationship with this tier-1 US-based service provider, a significant new partner in advanced, high-speed Wi-Fi technology. This customer is pushing forward with cutting-edge Wi-Fi 6E gateway routers that will deliver leading data throughput speed and video streaming to its customers, enabled by our proprietary filtering technology.” Mr. Shealy continued, “Working with top-tier, leading companies is the goal of any technology supplier, and we are excited to help them provide the highest quality, highest speed Wi-Fi connectivity moving forward.”
Akoustis continues to experience strong demand and a growing sales funnel for its Wi-Fi, 5G mobile, and 5G infrastructure products, including CBRS XBAW® filters, as well as its new XBAW® and RFMi resonator and oscillator products. During the December quarter, the Company shipped multiple samples of its new 5G XBAW® wafers complete with its new, advanced wafer-level packaging (WLP) technology. Akoustis continues to add new Wi-Fi design wins, many of which are expected to ramp into production in calendar 2023.
Akoustis is actively delivering volume production of its Wi-Fi 6 and 6E tandem filter solutions, shipping multiple 5G small cell XBAW® filter solutions, and delivering initial designs of its new 5G mobile filter solutions to multiple customers, and has entered the market with its new Wi-Fi 7 coexistence XBAW® filter solutions. To date, Akoustis has received more than 20 customer design wins for its patented XBAW® filter solutions.
Given the rapidly growing sales funnel activity, as well as ongoing interaction with customers regarding expected ramps in 5G mobile, Wi-Fi 6, and Wi-Fi 6E in calendar 2023, the Company is completing the annual production capacity increase at its New York fab to approximately 0.5 billion filters per year.
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