Future-First Memory Solutions for Data-Driven Innovation

With the development of their DDR5 solution, Samsung, a company known for changing the landscape of the global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market, has introduced yet another generational shift in the IT industry. Furthermore, following the release earlier this year of CPUs that support DDR5, tremendous change is expected in the computing landscape, too, with growth expected to encompass gaming and mainstream PCs as well.

Compared to its predecessor which hit the market in 2013, DDR4, DDR5 DRAM boasts twice the speed and four times the capacity, at 4800Mpbs and 512GB respectively.¹ This next-generation high-performance memory allows networks to handle the soaring amounts of data generated by cloud computing, AI and autonomous driving systems. Unlike DDR4, DDR5 directly incorporates a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) into a dual in-line memory module (DIMM), resulting in a 30 percent increase in power efficiency on the module level and a more stable power supply.

Data centers are the main users of DDR5, since, in order to work at their full potential, they require low-power, high-performance memory as they consume large amounts of energy to perform operations and keep servers cool. Starting from the third quarter of this year, existing DRAMs for servers are set to steadily be replaced by DDR5, a shift that could help data centers stay cost-efficient and encourage sustainable, eco-friendly development.

Going beyond the performance limitations of existing DRAMs, DDR5 will be pivotal in leading data-driven innovation in terms of speed, capacity and eco-friendliness. In order to learn more about the new world DDR5 is helping to build, take a look at the video below.

¹ These figures concern modules for servers.

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced the industry’s first integrated power management ICs (PMICs) — S2FPD01, S2FPD02 and S2FPC01, for the fifth-generation double data rate (DDR5) dual in-line memory module (DIMM).

One major design improvement to the newest generation DRAM solution involves integrating the PMIC into the memory module — previous generations placed the PMIC on the motherboard — offering increased compatibility and signal integrity, and providing a more reliable and sustained performance.

For improved performance efficiency and load-transient responses, Samsung’s new PMICs for DDR5 modules have been equipped with a high-efficiency hybrid gate driver and a proprietary control design (asynchronous-based dual-phase buck control scheme).

This scheme allows the DC voltage to step down from high to low with a fast transient response to changes in the output load current and adapts the conversion accordingly to efficiently regulate its output voltage at near-constant levels. The control scheme also features both pulse width and pulse frequency modulation methods, preventing delays and malfunctions when switching modes.

“With enhanced power efficiency and low output ripple voltage, the new PMICs S2FPD01, S2FPD02 and S2FPC01 allow data centers, enterprise servers and PC applications to take full advantage of their DDR5 performance for highly demanding, memory-intensive tasks,” said Harry Cho, vice president of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics.

Two of Samsung’s new DDR5 DIMM PMIC solutions, the S2FPD01 and the S2FPD02, offer optimal performance for today’s data center and enterprise servers that must run heavy analytics, machine and deep learning, and other various computing tasks in real time. The FPD01 is designed for modules with low density; FPD02 for higher density.

In addition, by implementing a high-efficiency hybrid gate driver instead of a linear regulator, Samsung’s new PMICs can operate at up to 91-percent power efficiency.

The S2FPC01, Samsung’s other new PMIC, is tailored for use in desktop or laptop PCs. Designed on a 90-nanometer (nm) process node, the PMIC solution offers a more agile performance in a smaller package.

Samsung’s DDR5 DIMM power management ICs, the S2FPD01, S2FPD02 and S2FPC01, are currently being sampled to customers.

Unlike wireless headphones, TWS earbuds have no wire that connects the two earpieces. Without the connecting wires, TWS devices present users with more freedom in movement and range on their day-to-day activities. However, like other mobile devices, long battery life and small form factors are key requirements for these wireless earbuds.

“TWS earbuds present elevated listening experiences for more users and the trend is rapidly expanding the mobile accessory market, creating new opportunities for device manufacturers,” said Dong-ho Shin, senior vice president of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung’s industry-first, all-in-one power management solutions optimized for TWS devices will allow manufacturers to craft new applications with greater flexibility.”

The MUA01 and MUB01 PMICs, respectively, have been designed for the charging case and the earbuds, and are one-of-a-kind fully-integrated solutions optimized for TWS devices. By combining several of the company’s in-house logic technologies, Samsung was able to integrate up to ten discrete components into one, including switching chargers and discharge circuits, enabling the PMICs to occupy less than half the space compared to previous alternatives. The compact solutions can allot more room to the battery for longer playback time and enable more flexible and efficient designs.

The MUA01 is also the industry’s first solution to support both wireless and wired charging in a single chip. For wireless charging, it supports the Wireless Power Consortium’s (WPC) Qi 1.2.4, the consortium’s latest wireless power transfer interface standard. To provide efficient power management, the MUA01 integrates a highly effective switching charger. In addition, MUA01 comes with a microcontroller unit (MCU) and embedded Flash (eFlash), offering the option of modifying its firmware to support other applications.

With power line communication (PLC) support, the new PMICs can communicate with each other over the charging pins. This allows the charging case and earpieces to share essential information such as battery levels and whether the earpieces are inserted in the case.

The MUA01 and MUB01 are currently in mass production and are featured in Samsung’s recently-announced Galaxy Buds+ TWS earbuds.

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced that it has developed Exynos Modem 5100, the industry’s first 5G modem that is fully compatible with 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 15 (Rel.15), the most up-to-date standard specification for 5G New Radio (5G-NR). Built on power-efficient 10-nanometer (nm) process technology, the new modem also supports legacy radio access technologies designed into a single chip.

“Samsung’s leadership in communication technologies and market-proven knowledge allowed us to develop the industry’s first 5G modem, the Exynos Modem 5100, which fully complies with the latest 3GPP standards,” said Dr. Inyup Kang, president and head of System LSI Business at Samsung Electronics. “As the industry prepares the shift toward 5G, Samsung will continue to drive the growth of innovative ideas and new services in mobile applications and other emerging industries.”

Samsung successfully conducted an over-the-air (OTA) 5G-NR data call test under a wireless environment utilizing a 5G base station and 5G end-user equipment prototype embedded with Exynos Modem 5100. As the test simulated real-world cellular network conditions, this will ensure faster development and commercialization of 5G mobile devices that adopt this new modem. Samsung is also working closely with a number of global mobile carriers and partners to quickly bring 5G mobile communications to the market.

The Exynos Modem 5100 supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave spectrums specified in 3GPP’s 5G standard as well as legacy networks, including 2G GSM/CDMA, 3G WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, HSPA, and 4G LTE, with a single chip solution. As 5G is expected to be first deployed over existing network infrastructures, commercial implementation will benefit from the single-chip design that maximizes data transmission efficiency and reliability between other communication networks.

The modem delivers a maximum downlink speed of up to 2-gigabits per second (Gbps) in 5G’s sub-6-gigahertz (GHz) settings and 6Gbps in mmWave settings, which are about 1.7 and five times the data transfer speeds of its predecessor respectively. Fast and stable data communication can also be secured in 4G networks with the downlink speed of 1.6Gbps.

5G’s capability to transmit large-capacity data and real-time low-latency communication is expected to bring new user experiences not only in mobile but also in areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT), ultra-high resolution videos, holograms, real-time artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving.

Exynos Modem 5100 is also offered with radio frequency IC (RFIC), Envelope Tracking (ET) and power management IC (PMIC) solutions, and will be available to customers by the end of 2018.
More information about Samsung’s Exynos products can be found at: http://www.samsung.com/exynos.