Akoustis Technologies, a manufacturer of innovative BulkONE™ bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high band RF filters for mobile wireless, has has been awarded multiple foundational patents related to its single crystal piezoelectric materials, novel BAW resonators, wide bandwidth RF filters and their application in mobile devices.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 9,362,887. Further, the China Patent Office (SIPO) has issued China Patent Nos. ZL 201520549840.3, ZL 201520566852.7 and ZL 201520652061.6.
A summary of each patent assigned to Akoustis is provided below:
US Patent No. 9,362,887 – Integrated circuit configured with two or more single crystal acoustic resonators resulting in BAW RF filter for a communication, mobile or computing device.
China Patent No. ZL 201520549840.3 – Wafer scale packaging for single crystal acoustic resonators and BAW RF filters.
China Patent No. ZL 201520566852.7 – Communication, mobile or computing device configured with single crystal acoustic resonators and BAW RF filters.
China Patent No. ZL 201520652061.6 – Membrane structure technique for fabrication of single crystal acoustic resonators and BAW RF filters.
The assignment of these four patents is a significant milestone for Akoustis. The patents establish the foundation of key intellectual property (IP) covering use of single crystal BAW resonator technology in RF filters for the mobile-wireless market. These newly issued patents are additive to previously announced exclusive IP rights licensed from University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Cornell University. Furthermore, the Company has additional US and International patent applications pending and will pursue such applications with the objective of receiving additional issued patents.
The patents solidify Akoustis IP position as a differentiated manufacturer of BAW RF filters for the high-growth mobile market. They will continue to build and strengthen their IP portfolio with the goal of creating a significant and meaningful barrier-to-entry for potential competitors utilizing single-crystal BAW resonator technology. This innovative approach will allow them to differentiate and compete in the high band RF filter market for 4G/LTE mobile, 5G Wi-Fi and 5G mobile communications markets.
In May 2016, Akoustis reported unprecedented high band resonator bandwidth performance - achieving record-breaking 12.5% K-Squared performance from 3.4GHz BAW devices constructed from its patented, undoped single crystal AlN.
Acoustic is targeting the RF filter market which is estimated to reach $12.5B by 2020 (Mobile Experts 2015 report) and is dominated by a select few semiconductor companies utilizing inferior polycrystalline piezoelectric material. Their innovation in single crystal BAW technology will offer unprecedented performance in RF filters specifically targeting the more difficult high frequency, wide bandwidth 4G/LTE bands and beyond
