“With the recent proliferation of electric vehicles and the rapid advancement of infotainment and autonomous driving systems, the semiconductor automotive platform is facing a paradigm shift. What used to be a seven to eight-year replacement cycle is now being compressed into a three to four-year cycle, and at the same time, performance and capacity requirements are advancing to levels commonly found in servers,” said Jinman Han, Executive Vice President and Head of Memory Global Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung’s reinforced lineup of memory solutions will act as a major catalyst in further accelerating the shift toward the ‘Server on Wheels’ era.”

Advanced features in infotainment systems such as high-definition maps, video streaming and 3D gaming, together with the growing use of autonomous driving systems, have been driving the demand for high-capacity, high-performance SSDs and graphics DRAM throughout the automotive industry.

In 2017, Samsung was the first in the industry to introduce UFS solutions for automotive applications. Today, the company is well-positioned to provide a total memory solution with the new automotive SSD and GDDR6 DRAM.

Samsung’s 256GB BGA SSD controller and firmware are developed in-house for optimized performance, offering a sequential read speed of 2,100 megabytes per second (MB/s) and a sequential write speed of 300MB/s, which are seven and two times faster than today’s eMMC, respectively. Furthermore, the 2GB GDDR6 DRAM features up to a 14 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) data rate per pin. Such exceptional speeds and bandwidth will support complex processing of various multimedia applications as well as large amounts of autonomous driving data, contributing to a safer, more dynamic and more convenient driving experience.

In addition, Samsung’s new automotive solutions meet the AEC-Q100 qualification — the global automotive reliability standard — allowing them to operate stably in extreme temperatures ranging from -40°C to +105°C, which is an especially crucial requirement for automotive semiconductors.

Recently, sensor deployment in autonomous vehicles to continuously monitor immediate surroundings has been increasing, and high-speed processing to interpret and predict this data for safer driving is becoming critically important. By introducing automotive memory solutions previously championed in servers and AI accelerators, Samsung is helping to pave the way for safer autonomous driving.

Having already completed customer evaluations, the new automotive memory products are currently in mass production.

“Smarter and more connected automotive technologies for enriched in-vehicle experiences including entertainment, safety and comfort are becoming critical features on the road,” said Jaehong Park, Executive Vice President of System LSI Custom SOC Business at Samsung Electronics. “With an advanced 5G modem, an AI-enhanced multi-core processor and a market-proven PMIC solution, Samsung is transfusing its expertise in mobile solutions into its automotive lineup and is positioned to expand its presence within the field.”

Exynos Auto T5123: The Industry’s First 5G Connectivity Solution for Automobiles

The Exynos Auto T5123 is a 3GPP Release 15 telematics control unit specifically designed to bring fast and seamless 5G connectivity in both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) mode to the next generation of connected cars. It delivers essential information to the vehicle in real-time via high-speed download of up to 5.1 gigabits per second (Gbps) and allows passengers to enjoy a host of new services such as high-definition content streaming and video calls on the go.

To efficiently process large amounts of data transmitted and received through the 5G modem, the Exynos Auto T5123 supports a high speed PCIe (PCI Express) interface and a low-power high-performance LPDDR4x mobile DRAM. In addition, the unit comes with two Cortex-A55 CPU cores and a built-in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to minimize the use of external ICs and help reduce product development time. The T5123 meets stringent requirements for automotive components and is Automotive Electronics Council-Q100 (AEC-Q100) qualified.

The Exynos Auto T5123 is currently in mass production and is delivering 5G-based vehicle communication capabilities for the first time in the industry.

Exynos Auto V7: A Powerful Processor for IVI Systems in Mid to High-End Vehicles

The Exynos Auto V7 is the newest addition to Samsung’s automotive-brand processor lineup and is designed for in-vehicle infotainment systems. For powerful processing performance, the V7 integrates eight 1.5-gigahertz (GHz) Arm Cortex-A76 CPU cores and 11 Arm Mali G76 GPU cores. The GPU comes in two separate groups, with three cores in the ‘small’ domain for cluster display and AR-HUD, and eight in the ‘big’ domain for central information display (CID) and others. Such physical separation allows the GPU to support multiple systems simultaneously and brings safer operation as it keeps one domain from interfering with another. In addition to its powerful CPU and GPU, the V7 is equipped with an NPU for convenient services such as virtual assistance that can process visual and audio data for face, speech or gesture recognition features.

For a safer and more enjoyable driving experience, the Exynos Auto V7 supports up to four displays and 12 camera inputs that provide information to assist drivers and passengers. The V7’s imaging system provides bad pixel correction, dynamic range compression and geometric distortion correction to provide noiseless and distortion-free images for features like surround view and parking assistance. For immersive in-car entertainment, the chip comes with three HiFi 4 audio processors that deliver excellent audio quality for songs, movies and even games on the go. To run all these features as smoothly as possible, the V7 has up to 32 gigabytes (GB) of LPDDR4x memory capacity that offers high bandwidth of up to 68.3 gigabytes per second (GB/s).

The Exynos Auto V7 also offers strong data protection through an isolated security processor for crypto operation and provides a hardware key using a one-time programmable (OTP) or physical unclonable function (PUF). Furthermore, for critical functional safety, the Exynos Auto V7 complies with ASIL-B requirements of safety support for a digital cluster and an embedded safety island that detect and manage faults to maintain a safe state with a fault management unit (FMU).

The Exynos Auto V7 is currently in mass production and is being used in Volkswagen’s latest In-Car Application-Server (ICAS) 3.1, developed by LG Electronics’ VS (Vehicle component Solutions) division, to power their next-generation in-vehicle infotainment system.

S2VPS01 – An ASIL-B Certified Power Management IC for the Exynos Auto V Series

The S2VPS01 is a PMIC specifically designed and developed for the Exynos Auto V9 and V7. It is Samsung’s first automotive solution produced under the ISO 26262 functional safety process certification that was acquired in 2019, and it also achieved an ASIL-B certification in 2021.

An Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL), specified under ISO 26262, ranges from A to D, with D being the highest level. The Level is assigned by analyzing and assessing the severity, exposure and controllability of vehicle operations in a number of environments. To ensure the safety of vehicle systems, ASIL-B compliance is becoming a key requirement for automotive OEMs and their Tier 1 suppliers when selecting partners and solutions. 

The S2VPS01 regulates and rectifies the flow of electrical power, allowing reliable and robust in-vehicle infotainment system performance. It is comprised of highly efficient triple/dual-phase buck converters, and integrates a low-dropout regulator (LDO) and real-time clock (RTC) within the package. For protection from harsh thermal and electrical conditions, the power IC comes with various protection functions including over voltage protection (OVP), under voltage protection (UVP), short circuit protection (SCP), over current protection (OCP), thermal shut down (TSD), clock monitoring and output stuck checks.

For more information about Samsung’s Exynos products, please visit http://www.samsung.com/exynos.

In line with its focus on next-generation NPU technologies, Samsung plans to create over 2,000 related jobs worldwide by 2030, which is about 10 times the current headcount. The company will also expand upon its existing collaboration with globally distinguished research institutes and universities, and support the nurturing of future talent in the field of AI, including deep learning and neural processing.

“For the coming age of AI, Samsung is committed to delivering industry-leading advancements brought to life by our NPU technologies,” said Inyup Kang, president of System LSI Business at Samsung Electronics. “As we leverage our differentiated technology, close partnerships with global institutes and active investment in top talent, we are excited to take future AI processing capabilities to the next level.”

Samsung introduced its first NPU in the company’s premium mobile processor, the Exynos 9820, last year and plans to continue offering advanced on-device AI features for high-performance mobile chips. Applications for Samsung’s NPUs will expand into areas such as automotive processors that power in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), as well as next-generation datacenters optimized for big data processing.

The System LSI Business and Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology — Samsung’s R&D arm — together plan to extend and evolve the company’s current NPU research into novel AI hardware technologies such as neuromorphic processors that aim to operate at the level of a human brain.