Samsung Electro-Mechanics develops tiny new substrate for connected cars

Industry

Published: 27 Feb. 2023, 17:45 Updated: 27 Feb. 2023, 18:49

Samsung Electro-Mechanics develops tiny new substrate for connected cars

The flip-chip ball grid array (FCBGA), an automotive semiconductor substrate, is one of the most challenging automotive parts to produce, according to Samsung Electro-Mechanics. [SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS]

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has developed an automotive semiconductor package substrate tailored to driving assistance systems, in a move that extends the usable range of chip products for cars.

The company 23.69 percent owned by Samsung Electronics said Sunday that its flip-chip ball grid array (FCBGA) can be used for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), one of the most technically challenging automotive semiconductor substrates to develop, according to the company.

The new FCBGA will be used for high-performance autonomous driving, although many of Samsung Electro-Mechanics' FCBGA were, until now, deployed in smartphones and PCs. Compared to other existing substrates, it is 20 percent narrower in circuit width and circuit spacing and is able to fit 10,000 bumps, or conductive solder balls that connect a substrate and chip, in a space equivalent to the size of a passport photo.

Samsung Electronics announced on Feb. 21 that it will manufacture chip designer Ambarella’s latest automotive system-on-chip (SoC) with a 5-nanometer manufacturing process. The SoC, named CVS-AD685, is deployed in the ADAS for autonomous vehicles, acting as the brain of the car’s AI engine.

Automotive semiconductors have not been in the main product lineup for chipmakers focusing on high-end processing.

Produced only in small batches through a process that uses relatively old technologies, they had to be replaced every seven or 10 years and thus were deemed less profitable than memory semiconductors, which are replaced every two or three years. The automotive semiconductor market accounted for 7.4 percent of the entire semiconductor market in 2021, according to the market research firm IC Insights.

Producing automotive semiconductors would also entail high risk because a simple mistake could lead to serious safety issues.

But the tide turned for the car chips as electric vehicles (EVs) and self-driving cars came into vogue.

Demand for the chips rose in order to carry out the advanced functions of autonomous driving, going beyond the previous role of just measuring speed and temperature or running engines and transmission motors.

Some 2,000 automotive semiconductors on average are required for an EV or autonomous car, compared to some 300 required for an internal combustion car, according to the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute.

As more high-tech software is implemented into vehicles, global tech companies like Apple, Qualcomm, Nvidia and Tesla are entering the competition to develop automotive semiconductors, getting the upper hand in semiconductor technology and knowledge acquired from smartphone application processors and operating systems.

Global tech companies are racing with Samsung to develop automotive semiconductors as more high-tech software is being implemented into vehicles.

“The ‘pureblood’ tradition, in which a single carmaker produces all parts, has reached its end,” said Kim Pil-soo, an automotive engineering professor at Daelim University. “Companies like Samsung or LG are expanding their business because the automotive semiconductor became a high-value business.”

Kim added that more companies will be “sleeping with the enemy” as they collaborate with global tech companies to enter the competition.

The automotive semiconductor market is expected to grow up to $129.8 billion in revenue by 2028, from this year’s $7.6 billion, according to research firm Omdia.

The market for automotive products such as car chips is one of the future businesses that Samsung is eyeing. Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong has personally visited the company’s automotive substrate, display and semiconductor package facilities three times since November.

Samsung Electronics announced in October last year during “Tech Day 2022” in Silicon Valley that it would zero in on the automotive semiconductor market to become the top player by 2025. The corporation’s think tank Samsung Global Research also set up an automotive business team last year.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics created an automotive-specialized team to expand the automotive product shares in the substrate, camera module and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) sector.

“[Samsung Electro-Mechanics] will expand our automotive FCBGA market share by expanding production capacity,” electronic parts manufacturer’s vice president Kim Eung-soo said.

BY LEE SU-MIN [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]