MWC 2019: Samsung Unveils New RF Chipsets for 5G Base Stations

Samsung announced that it has successfully completed the development of its mmWave Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFICs) and Digital/Analog Front End (DAFE) ASICs, supporting 28GHz and 39GHz bands.

New RFICs and DAFE ASICs, the core components in the 5G chipset, enable about 25 percent reduction in size, weight and power consumption for 5G base stations when compared to the previous iterations. 5G base stations using these new chipsets are more efficient in operation and roll-out.

“Our breakthroughs in 5G R&D have been the key driving forces behind the successful 5G commercial services across the U.S. and Korea in 2018, with over 36,000 5G base station shipments,“ said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung will continue to accelerate 5G commercialization ultimately impacting the overall industries and everyday lives.“

To achieve ultra-fast data speeds, 5G base stations use almost one thousand antenna element and several RFICs to utilize the mmWave spectrum. The size of RFIC is reduced by 36 percent and the overall performance is enhanced by decreasing the noise level and improving the linearity characteristics of the RF power amplifier.

Samsung has also developed its own DAFE as an ASIC, low in power consumption and small in size. Without investing in ASICs, the DAFE on its own would be too big and power insufficient to meet the product needs of carriers.

“Samsung is building on its 5G leadership with its innovative solutions including low-power RFICs and DAFE ASICs to pioneer a new era of digital transformation,“ said Jaeho Jeon, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “We’re pleased to announce our completion of development on these new chipsets, which will play vital roles in pushing the advancement of technologies to the next level.“