Samsung has unveiled a range of new chipsets that will be embedded into the company’s next generation 5G solutions. Announced at virtual public event, Samsung Networks: Redefined, the new lineup will boost performance, increase power efficiency, and reduce size of next generation 5G RAN solutions.
The new 3GPP Rel.16 compliant chipsets consist of a third generation mmWave Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) chip, a second generation 5G modem System-on-Chip (SoC) and a Digital Front End (DFE)-RFIC integrated chip. The South Korean tech giant's latest chips will power Samsung’s next-generation products for 5G technology build out, including the next generation 5G Compact Macro, Massive MIMO radios and baseband units, which will all be commercially next year.
State-of-art 5G solutions
“Committed to developing the most innovative chips.”
Junehee Lee, Samsung.
“This newly unveiled chipset is the fundamental component of our state-of-art 5G solutions, developed through a long-standing R&D effort that enables Samsung to be at the forefront of delivering cutting-edge 5G technologies,” said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “As one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world, we are committed to developing the most innovative chips for the next phase of 5G advancement, integrated with the features mobile operators seek to stay competitive,” Lee continued.
At the launch event, Samsung emphasised its experience in developing in-house chipsets for more than two decades and reiterated the significant investments behind the launch of multiple generations of chipsets starting from 3G, leading to today’s cutting-edge 5G solutions. Indeed, the newly introduced chipsets are designed to take Samsung’s next generation 5G lineup to a new level, boosting performance, increasing power efficiency and reducing the size of the 5G solutions.
3rd Generation mmWave RFIC chip
Samsung’s has introduced three new chipsets. The first being the 3rd Generation mmWave RFIC, which supports both 28GHz and 39GHz spectrums, and will be embedded in Samsung’s next generation 5G Compact Macro. This chip incorporates advanced technology that reduces antenna size by nearly 50%, maximising the 5G radio’s interior space. It also improves power consumption, resulting in a more compact-sized, lightweight 5G radio. Lastly, output power and coverage of the new RFIC chip have increased over its predecessor, doubling output power of the next generation 5G Compact Macro.
2nd Generation 5G Modem SoC
Samsung also introduced a new second generation chip, the 2nd Generation 5G Modem SoC, which will enable the company’s forthcoming baseband unit to have twice the capacity, while cutting power consumption in half per cell, in comparison to the previous generation. Supporting both below-6GHz and mmWave spectrums, the new chip offers beamforming and increased power efficiency for Samsung’s next generation 5G Compact Macro and Massive MIMO radio, while reducing the size for both solutions.
DFE-RFIC Integrated Chip
Lastly, Samsung announced the new DFE-RFIC Integrated Chip, which combines RFIC and DFE functions for both below-6GHz and mmWave spectrums. In integrating these functions, the chip not only doubles frequency bandwidth, but also reduces the size and increases output power for Samsung’s next generation solutions, including 5G Compact Macro.
“The features and benefits operators seek.”
Anshel Sag, Moor Insights & Strategy.
“5G chipsets are critical to achieving the performance capabilities required for next-generation network deployments,” stated Anshel Sag, Moor Insights & Strategy. “Samsung’s long-standing expertise in developing chipsets in-house is a key differentiator, positioning it as a leader in the delivery of 5G network solutions with the features and benefits operators seek to advance their 5G strategies,” Sag concluded.
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