Samsung Electronics Underscores Mobile Technology Leadership

ASIA : Samsung Electronics announced three new technologies targeted at the expanding, multi-facetted mobile application industry. At a press conference held in Seoul , Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business president and CEO, Dr. Chang-Gyu Hwang, introduced the following new devices :

• a 16Gb NAND f lash memory using 50-nm technology for increased mobile storage;
• a 7.2 mega-pixel CMOS image sensor for high-end digital pictures ; and
• Fusion semiconductors for N ext-generation smartphones and PDAs , MP3 music players , and S ubscriber identity module card applications .

“Consumers are looking for ever smaller, more stylish mobile devices,” said Dr. Hwang. “This poses a challenge for the semiconductor industry to create chips that meet the high-performance, high-density and minimum space requirements but don't become a power drain. We're unique ly position ed to address the market with high value products as we are the only company that manufactures all the discrete components that go into these new solutions.”

Increased Mobile Storage
Samsung has developed the world's highest density NAND flash – a 16Gb multi-level cell (MLC) NAND memory. The 16Gb NAND density was achieved with the industry first use of 50-nanometer (nm) technology directly applicable to mass production processes and by using Samsung's proprietary 3D-transistor architecture. The finer geometry substantially reduces the noise level between cells and enables continued migration of storage platforms.

Higher Resolution Reflects Industry Attention
Samsung has developed a 7.2 megapixel CMOS image sensor (CIS) for many different types of compact digital cameras. Higher resolution CIS chips reflect an industry-wide attention on CIS technology as a promising new imaging technology as well as a feasible replacement of charge-coupled device (CCD), especially in mobile applications such as camera phones, digital still cameras and digital camcorders.

Fusion Semiconductor Technology for Mobile Applications
Leading the mobile convergence trend, Samsung has developed multi-featured Fusion Semiconductor solutions that provide space and power-sensitive packaging solutions for mobile applications. Fusion Semiconductor solutions combine memory and system LSI semiconductor devices into a single solution.

Samsung's new package-on-package (PoP), the SC32442 MSP, stacks together a high-performance, low-power mobile application processor with a memory multi-chip package (MCP), which contains NAND f lash and low-power mobile SDRAM. With dimensions of 14x14x1.6mm, Samsung's new PoP can offer up to a 60 percent space saving on mobile handheld printed circuit boards (PCBs), compared to using discrete processor and memory devices.

The new SiP for MP3 players carries a low power MP3 decoder, audio CODEC chipset, NOR flash for code execution, and NAND flash for MP3 file storage. The SiP has a flexible design with NAND density of 512MB can easily be brought up to 1GB. The CODEC and NOR flash can also be selectively removed. The base design can then be utilized to meet the diverse features of MP3 players . Samsung's SiP can also resolve the large area coverage of the individual components and enable set designers to introduce even smaller or slimmer new MP3 players.

The new S-SIM for high-density SIM cards mounts a collective choice of in-house memory and system LSI technologies in a single package: a 128MB NAND Flash, a NAND Flash controller, and a SIM card IC. Samsung's S-SIM SiP solution provides a diverse set of high-speed interfaces including MMC, USB and several hundred-mega bits-per-second data transfer level that matches that of a PC.