Two key 5G wireless communications semiconductors unveiled
| Exynos RF 5500, Exynos SM 5800
New semiconductor technology recognized at ISSCC 2019

Samsung Electronics announced on the 4th that it has launched a 5G total modem solution by mass-producing the 'Exynos Modem 5100', the radio frequency transceiver semiconductor 'Exynos RF 5500', and the power supply modulation semiconductor 'Exynos SM 5800'.
Modems, RF chips, and SM chips are core semiconductors of wireless communication technology that enable ultra-high-speed data communication.

If the modem chip converts the voice and data information of the mobile phone into signals or converts external signals into voice and data, the RF chip plays a role in adjusting the signals so that they can be transmitted and received as radio waves. In this process, the SM chip adjusts the voltage so that the radio signal can be transmitted more efficiently.

The Exynos RF 5500 and Exynos SM 5800 technologies were selected as excellent product papers at the 'International Society for Semiconductor Technology (ISSCC) 2019' held in San Francisco, USA in February, and are scheduled to be installed in the next-generation 5G flagship smartphone along with the 'Exynos 5G modem'.


Exynos RF 5500, from 2G to 5G in a single chip
An RF transceiver (Radio Frequency Transceiver) is a semiconductor that converts voice and data signals from a modem into a frequency that can be transmitted externally and transmits data between mobile devices and base stations.

The Exynos RF 5500 is characterized by being able to support 5th generation communication standards up to 6 GHz with a single chip, which has the advantage of reducing the space burden when designing terminals.

To improve data transmission speed, Samsung Electronics applied '4x4 MIMO technology' that allows simultaneous use of four antennas and '256QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation)' technology, a frequency modulation method, to 'Exynos RF 5500'.


Exynos SM 5800, optimized for battery consumption
In order for RF to transmit data to a communication base station, a process of amplifying the signal using power amplifier semiconductors is required. Power supply modulation semiconductors (SMs) efficiently manage battery consumption by controlling the voltage required for signal amplification.

The Exynos SM 5800 supports wireless bandwidths of up to 100 MHz, enabling efficient data transmission even in 5G communications with high data transmission volumes.

In particular, it optimizes the required voltage based on distance information between the mobile device and the communication base station, improving battery consumption in the terminal by up to 30%.

“Samsung’s Exynos 5G solution will provide powerful performance and power efficiency while supporting mobile communication standards for each generation, providing uninterrupted connectivity anywhere,” said Kang In-yup, President and Head of System LSI Business at Samsung Electronics.

Samsung Electronics is pursuing the commercialization of RF transceivers and phase array products that support ultra-high frequency bands above 24 GHz, i.e., mmWave, while also planning to introduce next-generation 5G semiconductors that integrate modems into processors in the future.