News
Samsung developed 8nm RF to expand 5G chip solutions
On June 09, 2021, Samsung introduced its latest 8-nanometer (nm) process-based radio frequency (RF) technology. This new 8nm RF chip architecture offers up to a 35% increase in power efficiency and 35% decrease in the logic area compared to the traditional 14nm RF.
Specifically for 5G communications, this cutting-edge foundry technology could provide a ‘one chip solution’ with support for multi-channel and multi-antenna chip designs. It’s expected that the 8nm RF platform extension will expand Samsung’s leadership in the 5G semiconductor market from sub-6GHz to mmWave applications.
Including 28nm- and 14nm-based RF, Samsung 8nm RF process technology is the latest addition to an already broad portfolio of RF-related solutions. Since 2017, the company has established its leading position in the RF market by shipping more than 500 million mobile RF chips for high-end smartphones.
Hyung Jin Lee, Master of Foundry Technology Development Team at Samsung said, “As 5G mmWave expands, Samsung’s 8nm RF will be a great solution for customers looking for long battery life and excellent signal quality on compact mobile devices.”
Samsung’s New RFeFET™ Architecture
With the continuous expansion of advanced nodes, the performance, power consumption, and area (PPA) of digital circuits have been significantly improved, while in analog/RF modules, due to the increase in resistance of narrow line widths such as degraded parasitics, this has not been achieved. Class improvements.
As a result, degradation of RF characteristics is observed in most communication chips, such as degradation of the amplification performance of the reception frequency and increased power consumption.
In addition, Samsung has developed, RFextremeFET (RFeFET™), a unique architecture exclusive to 8nm RF to overcome the analog/RF scaling challenges. Compared to 14nm RF, Samsung’s RFeFET™ supplements the digital PPA scaling and restores the analog/RF scaling at the same time, thereby enabling high-performance 5G platforms.
Samsung’s process optimization maximizes channel dynamics while minimizing parasites. As the performance of RFeFET™ is greatly improved, the total number of transistors in the RF chip and the area of the analog/RF block can be reduced.
Compared with 14 nm RF, due to the RFEFET™ architecture innovation, Samsung’s 8 nm RF process technology has increased power efficiency by 35%, and the RF chip area has been reduced by 35%.
STAY CONNECTED WITH US:
- Join SammyFans on Telegram
- Like SammyFans.com on Facebook
- Follow SammyFans on Twitter
- Get news in graphics on Instagram
- Get the latest insights through Google News
- Send us tips at – [email protected]
Samsung believes wider RCS adoption unites Android (One UI) and iOS users. The company has been working with Google to evolve the next-gen messaging standard. After a long-standing moral fight, Apple adopted RCS across its products.
Apple iOS now supports RCS messaging standards, uniting iPhone users with Android and One UI users. Samsung and Google together worked hard for RCS evolution and ran a campaign #GetTheMessage to put pressure on Apple.
Text messaging has undoubtedly become a key part of how we connect. Rich Communication Services (RCS) is a modern, interoperable standard that evolved in close collaboration between Google and Samsung.
RCS is quickly becoming the universally adopted, modern messaging standard. As the world becomes more interconnected, this open, collaborative approach across the industry will be a key factor in enabling better experiences for all.
RCS unlocks a world of rich, seamless messaging on Android and iOS devices. As it’s now also available on Apple iOS devices, the key advantages of RCS when messaging between Android and iOS devices include:
- High-quality media sharing: Users can send high-resolution images and videos across Android and iOS devices, making sharing special moments in greater detail and clarity easier.
- Text Reactions: Users can react to messages with emoji or other expressions, similar to social media, making conversations more interactive and personal.
- Enhanced group chats: In group chats, users can add or remove other users whether they use Android or iOS.
RCS unites Android, One UI and iOS
RCS expansion to iOS takes the industry one step closer to a universal seamless messaging experience. Samsung has worked closely with Google for years to establish RCS as a universal standard that improves the messaging experience.
“We’ve been working with Google on RCS for years to provide users with a seamless, connected messaging experience,” said Patrick Chomet, EVP and Head of Customer Experience, Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics.
Android and One UI have united for years and the partnership is reaching new milestones. As Apple iOS 18 supports RCS, rich messaging features are now available beyond the Android and One UI ecosystem when messaging across platforms.
“We have worked hard for years to make RCS the standard for improved cross-platform messaging, and Samsung has been instrumental in the growing adoption of RCS,” said Sameer Samat, President of Android Ecosystem at Google.
Samsung has reportedly signed a contract valued at around $15 million to sell and purchase semiconductor equipment to expand HBM chip production facilities at its Suzhou plant in China.
BusinessKorea reports that Samsung is expanding its investments across HBM facilities. The company aims to strengthen its advanced semiconductor packaging to lead the supply chain.
Eying the HBM4 chip boom, the Korean tech giant is focusing on enhancing its packaging capabilities to secure future technological competitiveness and narrow the gap with SK Hynix.
KEDGlobal revealed that Tesla asked Samsung and SK Hynix to supply HBM4 samples. The US EV maker could choose either Samsung or SK Hynix as its HBM4 supplier after testing samples.
Pay attention, packaging includes the tech and processes for shaping semiconductor chips to fit the devices they will be mounted on – making it an important aspect of development and production.
Notably, the Suzhou China facility is currently Samsung’s test and packaging production base outside Korea. Increased investment is seen as a choice for innovation in packaging processes and production efficiency.
Apart from this, the company is also ramping up its packaging production bases in Korea. Samsung has recently signed an investment agreement with South Chungcheong Province and Cheonan City.
Tesla reportedly asked Samsung and SK Hynix to supply HBM4 chip samples. Both semiconductor firms are developing sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory chip prototypes for Tesla.
KEDGlobal reports that Tesla asked Samsung and SK Hynix to supply HBM4 chips for general use. It is expected to choose one of the two companies as its HBM4 supplier after testing their samples.
Using custom HBM4 chips made by Samsung and SK Hynix, Tesla seeks to enhance its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities apart from reducing AI chip reliance on Nvidia.
Samsung is working hard to win Tesla orders for HMB4 chips. The company even working with Taiwan’s TSMC to foster its HBM chip’s development and maintain an edge over SK Hynix.
SK Hynix is also accelerating its development to maintain its leadership in the HBM space. The firm winning Tesla’s HMB orders would see a sharp push in the global memory supply chain.
Notably, the 6th-gen HBM4 chips are crucial for Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer, which is designed for training AI models and will also support its AI data centers and autonomous cars.
The HBM4 semiconductor offers notable enhancements over the previous generations, delivering up to 1.65 Tbps of bandwidth, 1.4 times faster than the HBM3E while consuming 30% less power.