Samsung Electronics Secures Production Contract for Qualcomm 5nm 5G Modem Chip

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Samsung Electronics has secured a production contract for 5G modem chips using 5-nanometer technology from Qualcomm, a multinational semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company based in the United States.

According to major foreign media on the 19th, Samsung Electronics will produce part of Qualcomm's 'X60 modem chip,' a device that connects smartphones and other devices to 5G wireless networks. The X60 applies Samsung's latest semiconductor manufacturing process, the 5-nanometer process. One nanometer is a unit meaning one billionth of a meter.

Qualcomm is a U.S.-based multinational semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company and ranks first worldwide among fabless semiconductor design companies. In addition to independently designing and producing memory semiconductors, Samsung Electronics also operates a semiconductor foundry business, manufacturing semiconductors based on design blueprints received from fabless companies such as Qualcomm, IBM, and Nvidia.

Currently ranked second in the global foundry market, Samsung Electronics is expected to gain momentum to chase the first-ranked Taiwanese company TSMC through this X60 production contract. According to TrendForce, TSMC's market share in the foundry market in the fourth quarter of last year was 52.7%, while Samsung's share was 17.8%.

Foreign media forecasted, "Since the X60 modem is expected to be adopted in various mobile devices, this Qualcomm contract win could activate Samsung's foundry business."

Samsung Electronics also plans to develop 3-nanometer process technology to compete with TSMC, which will start mass production of 5-nanometer chips this year, and aims to have mass production capabilities from 2021. The 3-nanometer semiconductor products can reduce the area by about 35% compared to 5-nanometer products, increase performance by 30%, and reduce power consumption by approximately 50%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.