Production of 5G chipsets announced by Samsung

Samsung Electronics has started the mass production of the core communication chipsets for 5G phones, the company announced Thursday.

The lineup includes: the Exynos Modem 5100; the Exynos RF 5500, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver; and the Exynos SM 5800, a supply modulator (SM). Modem, RF and SM solutions are essential components in smartphones, together enabling the transmission of voice calls and data.

The 5100 modem chip was unveiled last August. A modem chip converts voice or data into electronic signals and vice versa. Samsung was the second to announce the release of a modem chip for 5G phones, after Qualcomm released the Snapdragon X50.

The RF 5500 and SM 5800 were unveiled on Thursday. RF transceivers convert modem signals to optimize their frequencies so they can be swiftly sent and received. The RF 5500 has four antennas transmitting signals simultaneously, Samsung said.

SM solutions control the electricity supply needed for conversion, minimizing power loss. Samsung claims the SM 5800 can reduce power usage by 30 percent. Efficiency is important for 5G because the network transmits large amounts data.

Technologies used in the Exynos RF 5500 and the SM 5800 were recognized by the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (Isscc) committee and were presented at Isscc 2019, held in San Francisco in February.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]