Akoustis Technologies, Inc. has signed non-exclusive agreements with a Chinese, tier one, RF front-end (RFFE) module manufacturer to develop and supply RF filter products. Under the terms of the joint development agreement (JDA), the companies will work together to develop high band BAW filters for front-end modules for 4G, 4.5G, 5G and Wi-Fi applications. A statement of work accompanying the JDA defines the design, specifications and productization of high band, single crystal BAW filters.

Akoustis expects to begin producing initial prototype filters by the end of 2016, with production purchase orders in 2017.

According to Akoustis, the Chinese company is an established, well known, tier one RFFE module manufacturer serving the mobile phone markets in China and India. The firm is an approved supplier to multiple smartphone OEMs, including one of the largest in the world.

Jeff Shealy, CEO of Akoustis, said, “These agreements mark the beginning of our transition from a development-stage technology company into a pure-play BAW RF filter product company. Our premium performance high band BAW RF filters will enable our new collaborator, as well as other potential Chinese RFFE module manufacturers, to service the fast growing Asia smartphone market.”

Akoustis is developing single crystal resonator and BAW filter technology and aims to be a pure-play supplier of high band BAW filters. The company claims single crystal technology provides better performance than BAW filters offered by competitors such as Broadcom and Qorvo.