This year’s event, attended by more than 800 customers and partners, featured presentations from Samsung’s Memory and System LSI business leaders — including Jung-bae Lee, President and Head of Memory Business; Yong-In Park, President and Head of System LSI Business; and Jaeheon Jeong, Executive Vice President and Head of Device Solutions (DS) Americas Office — on the company’s latest advancements and its vision for the future.

System LSI Business Highlights

In the morning session of this year’s Tech Day, the System LSI Business emphasized its goal of becoming a ‘total solution fabless’ through maximizing the synergy between its unique and wide-range product lineup. As Samsung Electronics’ fabless IC design house, the System LSI Business currently offers around 900 products, which include SoC (System on Chip), image sensor, modem, display driver IC (DDI), power management IC (PMIC) and security solutions.

The System LSI Business not only makes leading individual products, but is also a total solution provider that can merge the various logic technologies into one platform, in order to deliver optimized solutions to customers.

“In an age that requires machines to learn and think as people do, the importance of logic chips, which play the roles of the brain, heart, nervous system and eyes, is growing to unprecedented levels,” said Yong-In Park, President and Head of System LSI Business at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung will converge and combine its technology embedded in various products like SoC, sensor, DDI and modem, in order to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution as a total solution provider.”

▲ Yong-In Park, President and Head of System LSI Business, is giving his keynote speech at Samsung Tech Day 2022.

A Vision of Chips With Human-Like Performance

The Fourth Industrial Revolution was a key theme in System LSI’s Tech Day sessions. The System LSI Business’ logic chips are crucial physical foundations of Hyper-Intelligence, Hyper-Connectivity and Hyper-Data, which are the key areas of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Samsung Electronics aims to enhance the performance of these chips to a level at which they can carry out human tasks just as well as people can.

With this vision in mind, the System LSI Business is focusing on improving the performance of its essential IP like NPU (Neural Processing Unit) and modem, as well as innovating CPU (Central Processing Unit) and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) technology by collaborating with global industry leading companies.

The System LSI Business is also continuing its work on ultra-high resolution image sensors so that its chips can capture images as the human eye does, and also has plans for sensors that can play the role of all five of the human senses.

Next-Generation Logic Chips Showcased

Samsung Electronics revealed a number of advanced logic chip technology for the first time at the Tech Day booth, including 5G Exynos Modem 5300, Exynos Auto V920 and QD OLED DDI, which are essential parts of various industries such as mobile, home appliance and automotive.

Chips that were newly released or announced this year including the premium mobile processor Exynos 2200 were also on display, along with the 200MP ISOCELL HP3 — the image sensor with the industry’s smallest 0.56-micrometer (μm)-pixels. Built on the most advanced 4-nanometer (nm) EUV (extreme ultraviolet lithography) process and combined with cutting-edge mobile, GPU and NPU technology, the Exynos 2200 provides the finest experience for smartphone users. The ISOCELL HP3, with a 12 percent smaller pixel size than the predecessor’s 0.64μm, can enable an approximately 20 percent reduction in camera module surface area, allowing smartphone manufacturers to keep their premium devices slim.

Samsung showcased its ISOCELL HP3 in action by showing the attendees of Tech Day the picture quality of photographs taken with a 200MP sensor camera, as well as demonstrating the workings of System LSI’s fingerprint security IC for biometric payment cards that combines a fingerprint sensor, Secure Element (SE) and Secure Processor, adding an extra layer of authentication and security in payment cards.

Memory Business Highlights

In a year marking 30 years and 20 years of leadership in DRAM and NAND flash memory respectively, Samsung unveiled its fifth-generation 10nm-class (1b) DRAM as well as eighth- and ninth-generation Vertical NAND (V-NAND), affirming the company’s commitment to continue providing the most powerful combination of memory technologies over the next decade.

Samsung also emphasized how the company will demonstrate greater resilience through collaborative partnerships in the face of new industry challenges.

“One trillion gigabytes is the total amount of memory Samsung has made since its beginning over 40 years ago. About half of that trillion was produced in the last three years alone, indicating just how fast digital transformation is progressing,” said Jung-bae Lee, President and Head of Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. “As advances in memory bandwidth, capacity and power efficiency enable new platforms and these, in turn, stimulate more semiconductor innovations, we will increasingly push for a higher level of integration on the journey toward digital coevolution.”

▲ Jung-bae Lee, President and Head of Memory Business, is giving his keynote speech at Samsung Tech Day 2022.

DRAM Solutions to Advance Data Intelligence

Samsung’s 1b DRAM is currently under development with plans for mass production in 2023. To overcome challenges in DRAM scaling beyond the 10nm range, the company has been developing disruptive solutions in patterning, materials and architecture, with technology like High-K material well underway.

The company then highlighted upcoming DRAM solutions such as 32Gb DDR5 DRAM, 8.5Gbps LPDDR5X DRAM and 36Gbps GDDR7 DRAM that will bring new capabilities to data center, HPC, mobile, gaming and automotive market segments.

Expanding beyond conventional DRAM, Samsung also underscored the importance of tailored DRAM solutions such as HBM-PIM, AXDIMM and CXL that can fuel system-level innovation in better handling the explosive growth of data worldwide.

1,000+ V-NAND Layers by 2030

Since its inception a decade ago, Samsung’s V-NAND technology has progressed through eight generations, bringing 10 times the layer count and 15 times the bit growth. Samsung’s most recent, 512Gb eighth-generation V-NAND features a bit density improvement of 42%, attaining the industry’s highest bit density among 512Gb triple-level cell (TLC) memory products to date. The world’s highest capacity 1Tb TLC V-NAND will be available to customers by the end of the year.

The company also noted that its ninth-generation V-NAND is under development and slated for mass production in 2024. By 2030, Samsung envisions stacking over 1,000 layers to better enable data-intensive technologies of the future.

As AI and big data applications drive the need for faster and higher-capacity memory, Samsung will continue to leapfrog bit density by accelerating the transition to quad-level cell (QLC), while further enhancing power efficiency in support of more sustainable customer operations worldwide.

More Far-Reaching Solutions Amidst Greater Collaboration

Samsung introduced an extensive portfolio of storage solutions spanning data center, enterprise server, mobile, client, consumer and automotive applications. The company highlighted its high-performance, low-power computational storage optimized for AI and how it can contribute to eco-conscious computing. Samsung also presented a new DRAM-less SSD, the PM9C1a, which supports both PCIe 4.0 and 5.0.

Samsung then shared aggressive plans to lead the industry in intelligent mobility solutions. The company discussed its wide-ranging memory offerings designed for every modern automotive function, from in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), autonomous driving (AD) and advanced driver assisted systems (ADAS), clusters and gateways to telematics. Since entering the automotive memory market in 2015, Samsung has been rapidly growing its market presence with the intent of becoming the largest automotive memory provider by 2025.

Reaffirming its overriding goals of enhancing customer value and pursuing a customer-oriented development philosophy, Samsung stressed its intent to further expand its ecosystem partnerships. To stimulate more widespread open innovation, Samsung revealed a key element of its blueprint for greater customer collaboration. The company will open a Samsung Memory Research Center (SMRC) where customers and partners can test and verify Samsung memory and software solutions in various server environments. Beginning with the opening of its first SMRC in Korea in the fourth quarter of this year, Samsung plans to later launch additional hubs in the U.S. and around the world, in collaboration with ecosystem partners like Red Hat and Google Cloud.

▲ Sungsoo Choi (left) from the Semiconductor R&D Center and Myoungoh Ki from the Advanced Sensor Development Team in Samsung Electronics’ System LSI business that developed the ISOCELL HP3.

The nail-sized camera lenses that are built into mobile devices have advanced extraordinarily since their inception. After becoming the first company in the industry to unveil CMOS image sensors (CIS) with 108 and 200 megapixels in 2019 and 2021 respectively, Samsung Electronics has recently surprised the market yet again with its ISOCELL HP3 image sensor, an image sensor packed with 200 million 0.56-micrometer (μm)-pixels, the smallest pixels in the industry.

Samsung is a leader in image sensor technologies with innovative semiconductor designs that can capture stunning images with high amounts of pixels. Through the announcement of the mass production of its ultra-high pixel image sensor, the ISOCELL HP3, the company has commercialized the development of 200MP mobile image sensors with ultra-small pixels.

To learn more about how Samsung developed this industry leading ultra-high pixel image sensor, Samsung Newsroom spoke with Myoungoh Ki and Sungsoo Choi, developers from the System LSI business and the Semiconductor R&D Center respectively who played a leading role in the development of the new ISOCELL HP3.

Smaller and Better: The First Company in the Industry To Commercialize 0.56μm Pixels

An image sensor is a system semiconductor that converts light that enters the device through the camera lens into digital signals. From digital cameras and smartphones to laptops and cars, image sensors are built into all electronic products that come with a camera. The ISOCELL HP3 that Samsung has recently unveiled is an image sensor that packs 200 million 0.56μm pixels, the smallest pixels in the industry, in a 1/1.4” optical format.¹

Since 2019, Samsung has annually succeeded in reducing its pixel size to match the smallest size in the industry. Smaller pixels are needed in order to keep devices slim.

“With a smaller unit pixel size, the physical size of the sensor and module can be reduced, allowing the size and width of the lens to be reduced as well,” explained Ki. “This can eliminate elements that interfere with the design of the device, such as a camera that protrudes, and can also reduce power consumption.”

While smaller pixels enable devices to be slimmer, maintaining image quality with smaller pixels is key. Developed using cutting-edge technology, the ISOCELL HP3, with a 12 percent smaller pixel size than the previous ISOCELL HP1 model, can reduce the camera module surface area in a mobile device by up to 20%. Despite its smaller pixel size, the sensor was developed using technology that maximizes full well capacity (FWC) and minimizes sensitivity loss. Additionally, new features were added to the sensor, including auto-focusing capabilities for all pixels and functions that enable high-speed video operation, along with enhanced color expression.

Increased Light Absorption and Photo Diode Capacity Using Unique Technological Capabilities

Smaller pixel size is ideal for creating smaller, slimmer devices but may result in less light entering the device or interference between adjacent pixels. Despite these challenges, Samsung was able to utilize the industry’s smallest pixels to create an innovative new sensor.

“It’s all thanks to Samsung’s proprietary technological capabilities,” said Ki. “Samsung’s innovative technology is able to provide high performance even in much smaller devices.”

Samsung succeeded in creating physical walls between pixels that are thinner and deeper by using its proprietary technology called Full Depth deep trench isolation (DTI), guaranteeing high performance even with 0.56μm. DTI, the key technology of the ISOCELL, creates an insulated component between pixels, acting as an isolated wall to prevent light loss and improve optical performance. Developer Choi compared this technology to building a thin barrier between different rooms in a building.

“In layman’s terms, it is the same as trying to create a thinner wall between your room and the room next door without affecting the soundproofing level,” explained Choi.

The key to DTI is to create thinner and deeper silicone walls to increase the ISO and reduce crosstalk² since larger insulation components between pixels mean more light loss. By applying this technique to the 0.56μm pixels, Samsung increased light absorption and maximized photo diode (PD) capacity. Therefore, utilizing ultra-small pixels has become possible since more light per pixel can be stored and processed even with a smaller light receptor area.

Auto-Focusing Feature for All 200 Megapixels Provides Increased Speed and Accuracy

The Super Quad Phase Detection (QPD) technology, which was first used in the HP3, enables all 200 megapixels to focus by increasing the auto-focusing pixel intensity to 100%. The Super QPD offers a faster and more accurate auto-focusing feature by utilizing one lens over four pixels, enabling the measurement of all phase differences of the left, right, top and bottom sides of the photographed subject. Not only is auto-focusing accurate even when it is dark, but high definition is maintained even when zoomed in.

To tackle the problem of poor image quality in low-light environments, Samsung utilized innovative pixel technology to ensure high quality images. “We utilized an upgraded version of Samsung’s proprietary Tetra²pixel technology which combines four or sixteen adjacent pixels to operate as one large pixel in low-light environments,” said Choi. The upgraded pixel technology enables high-resolution filming in 8K at 30 frames-per-second (fps) and in 4K at 120fps with no loss in the field of view. Moreover, it is possible to film 8K videos in ultra-high resolution with the same field of view as when taking photos.

Similar to low-light environments, it is also difficult to take photos when there is too much sunlight. In order to combat this problem, unique technology is needed to adjust the levels in photos to capture an image properly. “When there is too much or too little light, it is important to increase the dynamic range³ in order to take a natural photo that looks similar to what we see with our eyes,” said Ki. “By using the Smart-ISO Pro technology, which uses two conversion gains, and the Staggered High Dynamic Range (HDR)⁴ feature, which morphs three frames with different exposures (short exposure, medium exposure and long exposure) into one, it supports HDR photography that creates natural images even when shooting in imperfect lighting conditions, providing an optimal result.”

Collaboration: The Key for Overcoming Technical Limitations and Enabling Fast Development

During the development of the ISOCELL HP3, the developers faced various technical challenges. “As this was the first product that utilized the Super QPD technology, there was a lot of trial and error when utilizing a new structure that could not be found in existing Front Deep Trench Isolation (FDTI), and we also experienced issues that we had not anticipated in each development stage,” said Choi.

Despite such a difficult development process, the new sensor was announced less than a year after the previous model was released. The two developers attributed this rapid product development and release to collaboration between different teams.

“Whenever we faced a technical issue, we responded by closely cooperating with different business divisions, our team and even overseas research centers,” said Ki. “We were able to create synergy by adding know-how to top tier products, such as memory chips from the Semiconductor R&D center, logic chips and more. This new product may be the biggest collaborative effort between different departments yet, including employees from the Semiconductor R&D Center, Pixel Development Team, foundry, researchers at the SSIR and all groups in the advanced development team, such as sensor design, pixel, solution, product technology, manufacturing and algorithm.”

Pride in Leading Technical Prowess: Leading the Image Sensor Market

While the image sensor market is expected to experience rapid growth due to increased demand for cameras and the diversification of related products, Samsung is setting trends for cameras in the next-generation mobile image sensor market by overcoming the limitations of pixel miniaturization. Samsung Newsroom asked the two developers how they felt about leading the technical development of the ISOCELL HP3, the first 200MP image sensor in the industry to use 0.56μm pixels.

“I take great pride in the fact that we are creating trends in the image sensor market and I am confident that we will continue to lead in micropixel technology,” said Choi. “Since applications of image sensors are becoming more widespread in various industries, such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and the automobile industry, in addition to the smartphone industry, we will lead the development of future technologies and markets based on our unique technological capabilities,” said Ki, sharing his future ambitions.

Samsung has successfully created ultra-small devices that capture images in high definition through its innovative image sensor technology. Samsung will continue to lead the image sensor market through its unique innovations, such as the ISOCELL image sensor, that provide optimized and advanced experiences to its users.

¹ The diameter of the area that is captured through the camera lens.

² A phenomenon where light interferes with the photodiodes of adjacent pixels.

³ The ratio between the brightest and darkest parts in a digital image.

⁴ A technology that expands the scope of brightness by making the bright parts brighter and the dark parts darker, similar to how the actual human eye sees.

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today introduced the 200MP ISOCELL HP3, the image sensor with the industry’s smallest 0.56-micrometer (μm)-pixels.

“Samsung has continuously led the image sensor market trend through its technology leadership in high resolution sensors with the smallest pixels,” said JoonSeo Yim, Executive Vice President of Sensor Business Team at Samsung Electronics. “With our latest and upgraded 0.56μm 200MP ISOCELL HP3, Samsung will push on to deliver epic resolutions beyond professional levels for smartphone camera users.”

Epic Resolution Beyond Pro Levels

Since its first 108MP image sensor roll-out in 2019, Samsung has been leading the trend of next-generation, ultra-high-resolution camera development. Through the steady launch of new image sensors and advancements in performance, the company is once again forging ahead with the 0.56μm 200MP ISOCELL HP3.

The ISOCELL HP3, with a 12 percent smaller pixel size than the predecessor’s 0.64μm, packs 200 million pixels in a 1/1.4” optical format, which is the diameter of the area that is captured through the camera lens. This means that the ISOCELL HP3 can enable an approximately 20 percent reduction in camera module surface area, allowing smartphone manufacturers to keep their premium devices slim.

The ISOCELL HP3 comes with a Super QPD auto-focusing solution, meaning that all of the sensor’s pixels are equipped with auto-focusing capabilities. In addition, Super QPD uses a single lens over four-adjacent pixels to detect the phase differences in both horizontal and vertical directions. This paves way for a more accurate and quicker auto focusing for smartphone camera users.

The sensor also allows users to take videos in 8K at 30 frames-per-second (fps) or 4K at 120fps, with minimal loss in the field of view when taking 8K videos. Combined with the Super QPD solution, users can take movie-like cinematic footage with their mobile devices.

Ultimate Low Light Experience Through ‘Tetra²pixel’

The ISOCELL HP3 also provides an ultimate low-light experience, with the Tetra²pixel technology that combines four pixels into one to transform the 0.56μm 200MP sensor into a 1.12μm 50MP sensor, or a 12.5MP sensor with 2.24μm-pixels by combining 16 pixels into one. The technology enables the sensor to simulate a large-sized pixel sensor to take brighter and more vibrant shots even in dimmed environments, like in-doors or during nighttime.

To maximize the dynamic range of the mobile image sensor, the ISOCELL HP3 adopts an improved Smart-ISO Pro feature. The technology merges image information made from the two conversion gains of Low and High ISO mode to create HDR images. The upgraded version of the technology comes with a triple ISO mode — Low, Mid and High — that further widens the sensor’s dynamic range. In addition, the improved Smart-ISO Pro enables the sensor to express images in over 4 trillion colors (14-bit color depth), 64 times more colors than the predecessor’s 68 billion (12-bit). Furthermore, by supporting staggered HDR along with Smart-ISO Pro, the ISOCELL HP3 can switch between the two solutions depending on the filming environment to produce high-quality HDR images.

Samples of the Samsung ISOCELL HP3 are currently available, and mass production is set to begin this year.