[Tech Day 2022] Security and Power Technologies

In Samsung’s System LSI Tech Day event this year, Hwa-Yeal Yu, Vice President of Security and Power Product Development Team, covers the importance of power management ICs and security technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He underscores the fact that these solutions underpin the next generation of technology, and they all have one thing -- electrical power – in common. Samsung’s PMIC Solution What is it and Where is it Going? Yu explains that reliability and safety are the key components to bringing next generation technology to life, and he says, “that’s where power management integrated circuits (PMIC) come in.” As the number of devices grows, the PMIC becomes more critical for delivering energy to each part it is connected to, enabling that part to reach its full potential. Yu even compares it the human body’s own engine, explaining, “PMIC is like a heart pumping blood through the circulatory system in the body.” The Fourth Industrial Revolution has driven innovation that allowed devices to become more portable, compact, and affordable. Today, people often carry two or more devices, and this trend is driving PMICs to become faster, safer, more energy efficient, and more convenient. As part of this improvement, PMICs use advanced packing technology to take on smaller form factors at a low cost.

Samsung Fast & Safe Charging Technology Over the years, mobile devices have become more power hungry, which has had an impact on charging technology’s development. Today, it is common to see charging units that deliver between 50W and 100W of power for fast charging. However, if the electrical, chemical, and thermal states of these devices are not carefully monitored, the battery’s internal structure can be damaged, forming a solid lithium plate and shortening battery life permanently. To address this, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) carried out research with several types of batteries and delivered an accurate battery model called the Electrical-Chemical Thermal (ECT) model. System LSI has adopted the ECT and has developed a fuel gauge that can help prevent excessive battery aging under fast charging conditions. This helps extend the battery life. In fact, Yu points out that “at the 10% battery degradation point, the ECT model improves the charging and discharging cycles by up to 40% than without it.” Samsung’s PMIC technology also makes devices more convenient to use. For instance, existing wireless charging technology requires direct contact between a device and a charging pad, and this system can only charge one device at a time. System LSI has changed that by developing space-charging technology, allowing multiple devices to be simultaneously charged from a single pad. Yu says, “this means you won’t have to perfectly align devices on charging pads anymore.” Yu also highlights high-speed power line communication technology. With the technology, the cradle and earbuds for True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Bluetooth earphones can exchange information, such as charging status and moisture level. This capability has been available in the Galaxy Buds series since 2020. High-power computing scenarios demand more energy, and to accommodate this, we are improving the system power efficiency by optimizing dropout voltage through real-time power monitoring at each low dropout (LDO). We are also fine-tuning the system-on-chip (SoC) supply voltages by using closed loop dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) between application processors (AP) and PMIC. Together, these technologies allow us to stretch days of use (DoU) longer than previously possible. In display system usage, Samsung’s PMIC that supports a low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) panel has reduced power consumption by up to 10% when compared to the predecessor with a low-temperature PolySilicon (LTPS) panel. To do this, System LSI rearchitected LTPO Display PMIC. Now, the thin-film-transistor (TFT) gate low voltage (VGL) power is being generated within PMIC, increasing the efficiency of power conversion by up to 20%. “From displays, to earbuds, to power delivery management, all of System LSI’s products are built with integration in mind,” Yu says. For example, our technology enables multiple integrated circuits (IC) to come together as one, making it possible to reduce the total form factor and cost. Yu explains that System LSI has “successfully reduced the form factor size by up to 10% thanks to multi-die packaging when compared to single-die package, and by packing passive components on an advanced system-in-packing (SiP) technology, we expect it to reduce another 20%.” The significant reduction in form factor also allows the solution to support a wide range of devices, including smart watches, eXtended Reality (XR) devices, and TWS. As Yu mentions, “PMIC has continued to expand its product portfolio to meet the growing demand for number applications. We have shipped over 70 billion products as far, and we are looking forward to empowering future innovative products that will change the world.” In this ever-evolving environment, Yu says there is still at least one constant: “new technologies will always require energy to power them. System LSI’s PMIC will help the world run more efficiently.” Samsung’s Security Solutions Yu says the security system is much like the body’s immune system – “it keeps us safe from outside invaders.” Security is the essential barrier that protects our privacy and safety across the many platforms of a system. For more than two decades, System LSI has put security at the heart of everything we do, building up unique and market-proven expertise in anti-tamper and secure storage for the mobile, ID, and financial industries. In his keynote, Yu explains how System LSI’s products in mobile and payments are changing the world of security. Mobile Security Solutions System LSI has developed its Secure Element technology into an integrated secure AP solution, offering the same strong security as the Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level (CC EAL) 5 with anti-tamper. The product also features isolated secure elements such as Arcashield security and Android Ready SE, which both help support better Android security for generic APs. They also enable a post-quantum cryptography (PQC) digital signature with Dilithium hardware accelerator, providing the most advanced security countermeasures. Payment Security Solutions Credit card fraud never abates and to combat this ongoing issue, Yu says, “demand is growing for anti-tamper solutions that allow only one true owner to be authorized to use the system.” Face ID and Fingerprints have been the most popular solutions to date. While these solutions have proven to be highly effective and secure, Yu says they are “normally embedded only in high performance products.”

The same biometric counterfeit detection is now available in light devices thanks to System LSI’s deep-learning algorithm. According to Yu, this will be a game changer. He explains, “we will be collaborating with world-renowned credit card companies to launch a new payment system with our advanced solution, which will be in your hands soon.” Our immune system is constantly being threatened by outside invaders. In the context of security, Yu says it is System LSI’s responsibility “to stay ahead of them, not behind them.” He goes on to commit to providing “dependable security solutions to protect our friends, allies, partners, and customers in all levels of systems.”