Akoustis Provides Business Update on 5.2 GHz WiFi BAW RF Filter Product

- High-Performance AKF-1252 Filter Design Locked and In Pre-Production -

- First Order Received from RF Distributor; Expect Product Shipment in Q4 CY18 -

- Expect First Order from OEM, ODM, SoC or RF Module Manufacturer in Q4 CY18 -

Charlotte, NC, Oct. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ) (“Akoustis” or the “Company”), a manufacturer of patented bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high-band RF filters for mobile and other wireless applications, today provided a business update on its targeting the 5GHz unlicensed spectrum used for high-speed WiFi. 

Business highlights include:

• In March 2018, for tri-band WiFi applications. The Company began sampling a limited number of potential customers, seeking technical feedback and gauging market interest. Thereafter, Akoustis engaged in internal engineering efforts to incorporate customer feedback into the AKF-1252 product design.
• In late August 2018, Akoustis completed final engineering modifications to the AKF-1252 5.2 GHz BAW filter—achieving a final locked design which is currently undergoing product qualification to support mass production under the Company’s quality management system (QMS). 
• By mid-September 2018, Akoustis delivered AKF-1252 filter evaluation boards (EVBs) to more than one dozen potential customers, including OEM, ODM, System-on-Chip (SOC) and RF module manufacturers. The Company expects a first order for WiFi router applications by the end of Q4 CY18.
• Akoustis has received its first purchase order from the Company’s RF distributor partner to support resale activity. Shipments toward this order are expected to occur by the end of the current calendar year.
• Capacity planning is on-going within the Company’s New York Wafer Fab to support in-house filter manufacturing using the Akoustis’ first generation XBAW process (called XB1).

The AKF-1252 provides low insertion loss covering  bands and meets the stringent rejection requirements enabling coexistence with  bands. The industry-leading high-power rating satisfies the demanding requirements of the latest WiFi standards including 802.11ax. The filter solution incorporates standard commercial module packaging and is compatible with high-volume, lead-free SMT soldering processes.

Jeff Shealy, Founder and CEO of Akoustis, stated, “Over the past four and a half years, our Company has developed and patented a novel, MEMS-based BAW technology targeting high frequency RF applications. We have successfully built a vertically-integrated design and manufacturing (IDM) business model which positions Akoustis to deliver disruptive high-performance RF filter solutions for high frequency 5G and WiFi applications.” Mr. Shealy continued, “The AKF-1252 is our first announced RF filter product based upon our XBAW technology and we expect to disrupt the current dielectric resonator-based RF filter market with our high performance, coexistence XBAW filters. Finally, I would like to congratulate our team that has been working tirelessly to deliver this disruptive and enabling solution to the market.” 

The AKF-1252 is a high performance, ultra-small passband 5.2 GHz BAW RF filter designed for use in tri-band WiFi router applications. The filters are produced using Akoustis’ proprietary XBAW manufacturing process, which delivers high-performance RF filter solutions for frequencies up to 7 GHz to address critical RF filter requirements for existing and next generation communications applications, including the emerging 5G mobile network.

• Ultra small form factor 2mm x 2.5mm x 0.9mm

• Single ended Tx/Rx ports

• High rejection enables co-existence with adjacent WiFi UNII bands

• High power rating, maximum +30dBm

• Low insertion loss passband filter

• Performance over -40C to +85C

• RoHS compliant, Pb-free package

For data sheet and sales inquiries, please contact .

Dave Aichele, VP of Business Development, stated, “We are excited to offer our first catalog product for the 5.2 GHz WiFi market. This filter is 23 times smaller than existing solutions in the market, which is increasingly compelling given the introduction of MIMO and MU-MIMO architectures as well as the rapid adoption of small form-factor end user devices. We are pleased with the customer feedback from multiple OEM, ODM, SOC and RF module manufacturers.”

About Akoustis Technologies, Inc.

Akoustis® () is a high-tech BAW RF filter solutions company that is pioneering next-generation materials science and MEMS wafer manufacturing to address the market requirements for improved RF filters - targeting higher bandwidth, higher operating frequencies and higher output power compared to incumbent polycrystalline BAW technology deployed today. The Company utilizes its proprietary to produce bulk acoustic wave RF filters for mobile and other wireless markets, which facilitate signal acquisition and accelerate band performance between the antenna and digital back end. Superior performance is driven by the significant advances of high-purity, single-crystal and associated piezoelectric materials and the resonator-filter process technology which drives electro-mechanical coupling and translates to wide filter bandwidth. 

Akoustis plans to service the fast growing multi-billion-dollar RF filter market using its integrated design and manufacturing (IDM) business model. The Company owns and operates a 120,000 sq. ft. ISO-9001:2015 certified , which includes a class 100 / class 1000 cleanroom facility - tooled for 150-mm diameter wafers - for the design, development, fabrication and packaging of RF filters, MEMS and other semiconductor devices. Akoustis Technologies, Inc. is headquartered in the Piedmont technology corridor near Charlotte, North Carolina.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans or strategies for the future (including our possible future results of operations, business strategies, competitive position, potential growth opportunities, potential market opportunities and the effects of competition), and the assumptions underlying such statements. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," “intend,” “forecast,” “seek,” "potential," "continue" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, these forward-looking statements are based on management’s current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated include, without limitation, risks relating to the results of our research and development activities, including uncertainties relating to semiconductor process manufacturing; the development of our XBAW^TM technology and products presently under development and the anticipated timing of such development; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights that are valuable to our business, including patent and other intellectual property rights; our ability to successfully market and sell products based on our technologies; the ability to achieve qualification of our products for commercial manufacturing in a timely manner and the size and growth of the potential markets for any products so qualified; the rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our products; and our ability to raise funding to support operations and the continued development and qualification of our products and the technologies underlying them. These and other risks and uncertainties are described in more detail in the Part I, Item 1A - Risk Factors of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Considering these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking statements regarding future events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements included in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or privately any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, for any reason after the date of this press release to conform these statements to new information, actual results or to changes in our expectations.