What Sawnics does

Sawnics is a South Korean semiconductor foundry company that designs, manufactures, and sells Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) filter components and provides piezoelectric thin-film foundry services for mobile communication Radio Frequency Front-End (RFFE) modules. Founded in 2000 by researchers from the Korea Electronics Technology Institute, the company has accumulated more than 20 years of SAW process know-how and evolved from a filter product maker into a specialized foundry partner for Tier-1 fabless RFFE semiconductor customers globally.

The company's technology portfolio centers on Thin Film SAW (TF-SAW) and Hybrid SAW (HSAW) processes on 6-inch wafer substrates, alongside Standard SAW foundry on 4-inch wafers using LiTaO3, LiNbO3, Quartz, and Si materials. Core products include SAW filters, SAW duplexers, dielectric filters/diplexers/multiplexers, ceramic patch antennas, LTCC components, and supporting process services such as Au stud bumping and wafer backside thinning to 100-150μm. The Pyeongtaek FAB, completed in 2021, hosts the 6-inch TF-SAW mass production line; the company achieved the world's first development and mass production of a CDMA 450 SAW duplexer in 2004 and first commercialization of 6-inch TF-SAW product in 2021. Comprehensive design support services including Design Rule Check (DRC), standard frequency design kits with Resonator and S-parameter data, and process measurement data (M1 thickness, CD-SEM, chip probe) are offered to fabless customers. Quality systems include ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ANSI/ESD S20.20, and IATF 16949 certifications.

Sawnics generates revenue from two primary streams: TF-SAW and Standard SAW wafer foundry services sold directly to fabless RFFE semiconductor customers (the principal stream, with reported FY2023 sales of KRW 13.8 billion), and hardware sales of SAW filters, duplexers, and RF components. Customer concentration sits with Tier-1 fabless RFFE companies in the United States, China, and Taiwan, with a specific foundry supply agreement signed with a Chinese telecom semiconductor fabless corporation in January 2024. Go-to-market is direct enterprise B2B sales via dedicated contact channels for products, foundry services, and investor relations. Pricing is opaque (quote-based / negotiated per inquiry). The company completed a KOSDAQ IPO in October 2023 raising KRW 27 billion to fund continued capacity expansion, advanced packaging capabilities, automotive vertical development, and adjacency exploration via the LuxTelligence Quantum Photonics partnership.

Name

Sawnics

Legal name

SAWNICS Inc.

Website

https://sawnics.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sawnics is a South Korean piezoelectric semiconductor foundry specializing in 6-inch TF-SAW and Standard SAW filter wafer fabrication plus RF components, serving Tier-1 fabless RFFE semiconductor customers globally across smartphones, network infrastructure, automotive, and IoT applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

RF Semiconductor Components and Wafer Foundry Services

NAICS

Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing (33429)

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)

akta.pro primary industry

RF Filters & Duplexers (SAW/BAW/FBAR) (HDAHAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

RF & Compound Semiconductor Foundries (GaAs/GaN/SiGe) (HDAHACAD), RF MEMS & Resonators (SAW/BAW/Filters/Timing) (HDAHALAI)

Keywords

• SAW filter manufacturing
• RF front-end modules
• TF-SAW foundry services
• Piezoelectric semiconductor foundry
• 5G RF components

Headquarters

HQ city

Gyeongju

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. TF-SAW Foundry Services: Primary revenue stream from providing 6-inch TF-SAW wafer foundry services to Tier-1 fabless RFFE customers. Services include design support, wafer processing, and mass production for RF filter applications in smartphones and infrastructure.
2. SAW Filter Products: Sale of SAW filters including individual filters, duplexers, and RF components. Products cover frequencies from under 1GHz to over 2GHz for mobile, IoT, and network infrastructure applications.
3. RF Components: Sale of RF components including dielectric products (Filter, Diplexer, Duplexer, Triplexer, Quadplexer, Module, Resonator, Waveguide), ceramic patch antennas, and LTCC components (MLCC capacitors, chip resistors, inductors, balun, couplers).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sawnics designs, manufactures, and sells SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) filters, SAW duplexers, and related RF components for mobile communication RF front-end modules. The company also operates a wafer foundry business, providing 6-inch TF-SAW (Thin Film SAW) and 4-inch Standard SAW piezoelectric semiconductor process services to Tier-1 fabless RFFE customers worldwide. Its offerings cover sub-1GHz to over 2GHz frequency ranges and are applied in smartphones, IoT/M2M, network infrastructure, and automotive electronics.

Product overview

SAWNICS is a Global RF Filter Foundry specializing in piezoelectric semiconductor manufacturing for RF front-end modules. The company operates a multi-product portfolio centered around SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) and TF-SAW (Thin Film SAW) filter technologies. Core products include SAW Filters, SAW Duplexers, and RF Components (dielectric products, ceramic patch antennas, LTCC components), complemented by foundry services for both 4-inch and 6-inch wafer processing. The company provides TF-SAW Foundry services using state-of-the-art 6-inch process technology alongside Standard SAW Foundry for 4-inch applications, with supporting services including design kits, Au stud bump processing, and wafer backside grinding. Products span frequency ranges from sub-1GHz to over 2GHz, serving mobile, IoT/M2M, network infrastructure, automotive, and industrial applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HSAW (Hybrid SAW): High performance 6 inch Hybrid SAW technology offered as part of foundry services.

Products and services

• SAW Filter Surface Acoustic Wave filters for mobile communication RF components, available in various frequency ranges (Under 1GHz, 1GHz to 2GHz, Over 2GHz) and package sizes, sold to OEMs and ODM manufacturers of mobile and connected devices.
• SAW Duplexer SAW duplexers for frequency separation in mobile communication, supporting multiple band classes (B01, B02, B03, B05, B08, B12, B13, B18) for handset manufacturers.
• RF Components (Dielectric) Dielectric RF components including filters, diplexers, duplexers, triplexers, quadplexers, modules, resonators, and waveguides for LTE, GNSS, and WiFi/WLAN applications up to 20GHz.
• Ceramic Patch Antenna Passive and active ceramic patch antennas in sizes 12x12mm to 35x3mm, supporting LTE, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and COMPASS (Beidou) frequencies.
• LTCC Components Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic components including MLCC capacitors, chip resistors, thin film resistors, inductors, baluns, couplers, triplexers, and chip antennas.
• TF-SAW Foundry Service Thin Film SAW (TF-SAW) wafer foundry service using 6-inch piezoelectric semiconductor process technology on LT/Si, LN/Si, LT/Sapphire, LN/Sapphire, and POI wafers, offered to Tier-1 fabless RFFE customers for high-performance 5G RF filter production.
• Standard SAW Foundry Service Standard SAW foundry service using 4-inch wafers including LiTaO3, LiNbO3, Quartz, and Si substrates, supporting 5G RFFE SAW filter production.
• Design Kit Services Foundry design support services including Design Rule Check (DRC) layout optimization and standard frequency design kits (Resonator/S-parameter) for LB/MB/HB bands, enabling customer fab design workflows.
• Au Stud Bump Process Gold stud bump processing service for advanced packaging and interconnection in RF filter manufacturing.
• Wafer Backside Grinding Service Wafer thinning and backside grinding services reducing wafers to 100-150μm thickness for compact filter packaging applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Mass production capacity for 2,000,000 duplexers per month (historical)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered notable, core and historical.

• LUXTELLIGENCEnotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 January 2025Strategic partnership for Quantum Photonics foundry supply. Joint development and demonstration of Quantum Photonics TFLT (Thin Film Lithium Tantalate) Demo Wafer showcased at OFC 2026 (Optical Fiber Communication Conference).
• SoiteccoreTechnology or Integration · 27 April 2023Process Design Kit (PDK) partnership to accelerate high-performance RF filter design for 5G smartphones. Collaboration to provide design tools for SAW and TF-SAW filter technologies.
• LG InnotekhistoricalOthers · 1 January 2005Acquisition of LG Innotek SAW division in 2005, including Cheonan factory Fab and mass production capabilities for duplexers (2,000,000 units/month).

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Qorvo: Qorvo is a leading RFFE supplier with strong BAW/FBAR filter technology (including bulk acoustic wave filters) for smartphones, base stations, and defense. Comparable to SAWNICS because it represents the competing technology path (BAW) to TF-SAW for advanced 5G filter applications.
• Skyworks Solutions: Skyworks designs and manufactures RFFE semiconductor solutions including filters, power amplifiers, and front-end modules for mobile and IoT. Comparable to SAWNICS as a major consumer of advanced filter technologies and a competing supplier into the same Tier-1 handset customers.
• Qualcomm (RF360 Holdings): Qualcomm's RF360 division is one of the largest integrated RFFE players, with both SAW and BAW filter capabilities serving global smartphone OEMs. Comparable to SAWNICS because it consumes and competes with TF-SAW foundry capacity across the same Tier-1 fabless RFFE customer base.
• Murata Manufacturing: Murata is the global leader in SAW filters for mobile communications, supplying major smartphone OEMs worldwide. Comparable to SAWNICS as it produces SAW filters at scale and competes directly for smartphone RFFE filter content across the same frequency bands.
• TDK (EPCOS): TDK's EPCOS division manufactures SAW filters, duplexers, and RF components for mobile communications. Comparable to SAWNICS as a direct competitor in SAW filter technology serving the same mobile RFFE customer base.
• Broadcom: Broadcom (formerly Avago) is a dominant supplier of FBAR filters used in smartphones through its integrated RFFE modules. Comparable to SAWNICS because FBAR/BAW filters compete head-to-head with TF-SAW for high-frequency 5G band applications in the same Tier-1 customer sockets.

Emerging players

• Akoustis Technologies: Akoustis develops and manufactures BAW RF filter solutions using its XBAW technology for 5G mobile, Wi-Fi, and infrastructure markets. Comparable to SAWNICS as an emerging competitor in advanced filter technologies targeting the same 5G RFFE opportunity.

Direct peers

• Tai-SAW Technology: Tai-SAW Technology is a Taiwan-based SAW filter designer and manufacturer that is both a strategic investor in SAWNICS and a direct peer in SAW filter production. Comparable because it operates in the same SAW technology stack and serves overlapping smartphone and RF customers in Asia.
• Walsin Technology: Walsin Technology is a Taiwanese passive component manufacturer and strategic investor in SAWNICS that also produces multilayer ceramic components for RF applications. Comparable as an investor/peer pair with overlapping RF component portfolios for mobile and connectivity applications.

Others

• Soitec: Soitec is a French semiconductor materials company specializing in engineered substrates including POI (Piezoelectric-on-Insulator) wafers used in TF-SAW and RF filter manufacturing. Comparable as SAWNICS' PDK partner and a critical ecosystem supplier whose substrate technology directly enables SAWNICS' TF-SAW roadmap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sawnics-inc-

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sawnics