Technology, Process and Cost
Akoustis XBAW Technology for Connectivity
By Yole SystemPlus —
Deep Insight into Scandium Doped Aluminum Nitride FBAR-BAW Filter from Akoustis for WiFi 6 Connectivity.
Overview/Introduction
Akoustis Company Profile
Amazon/eero Pro 6 – Teardown
Market Analysis
Physical Analysis
- Physical Analysis Methodology
- Package Assembly
- Package views and dimensions, opening, cross-section
- A10155 Filter Die
- Filter die views & dimensions, opening & schematic, overview, cross-section, process characteristics
- AKF-1256 Filter Die
- A10165 Filter Die
Physical Comparison
- Akoustis XBAW Familiy
- Akoustis vs. Broadcom vs. Skyworks vs. Qorvo
Manufacturing Process Flow
- Summary of the Main Parts
- Filter Die Front-End Process & Fabrication Unit
- Filter Die Process Flow
- Final Test & Assembly
Cost Analysis
- Summary of the Cost Analysis
- Yields Explanation & Hypotheses
- Filter Die
- Filter die front-end cost and step cost, probe test, thinning & dicing
- Filter wafer & die cost
- Packaging
- Packaging cost
- Component cost
Cost Comparison
- Broadcom vs. Akoustis
- Qorvo vs. Akoustis
- Skyworks vs. Akoustis
- Akoustis XBAW Familiy
Deep Insight into Scandium Doped Aluminum Nitride FBAR-BAW Filter from Akoustis for WiFi 6 Connectivity.
Back in 2017, Akoustis had the idea to make a filter device based on a single crystal piezoelectric with the best performance on the market. Three years later, the company made its first XBAW filter using its own fabrication site, with custom packaging and started to ramp up production. With several patents, the company has built a large portfolio of Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) filters that address markets like defense, infrastructure and network routers.
This year, Akoustis entered the industrial/consumer market, in Amazon’s eero Pro 6, which features WiFi 6 connectivity technology. The device relies on two different BAW filters from Akoustis covering two different frequency bands, UNII2c/3 (AKF-1252) and UNII1/2a (AKF-1256). Today, Akoustis can also provide a large portfolio in the 5.15–7.13 GHz frequency band for Wifi. The report will look at the AKF-1256 and two other components from the company portfolio, the A10155, which offers 665 MHz of bandwidth at 5.5 GHz, and the A10165, with 1.2 GHz of bandwidth at 6.5 GHz.
The components use innovative Scandium-doped Aluminum Nitride (ScAlN) growth technology and fusion bonding technology to transfer the piezoelectric structure. These newly developed devices implement complex ladder structures with a resonator density higher than its major competitors. To seal the internal structure, the packaging uses a plastic lid on a printed circuit board substrate.
The report contains a deep analysis of the filter dies, with a complete cost analysis of the components. It also integrates a comparison between the manufacturing and cost of Akoustis A10165 versus AKF-1256/A10155. Finally, the Akoustis Solution is compared with the latest generation of Skyworks’ and Broadcom’s Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator (FBAR)-BAW, and Qorvo’s solidly mounted resonator (SMR) BAW filter from the QM77040 integrated in several 5G phones.
