Inside Today’s Systems & Chips: A Survey of the Past Year · disruptive semiconductor events...

Inside Today’s Systems & Chips: A Survey of the Past Year

May 2015

Dick James, Senior Fellow/Technology AnalystChipworks

Outline

2 All content © 2015, Chipworks Inc. All rights reserved.

�Chipworks Inc.

�Apple’s iPhone 6

�Samsung Galaxy S6

�Design win tracking

�Patents & patent landscapes

�Summary & conclusions

Corporate overview


� Founded in 1992 to provide advanced reverse

engineering services to companies seeking to

grow the potential of their intellectual property

� Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada with over

125 employees

� Provides patent intelligence and competitive

technical intelligence solutions to over 200

global technology, semiconductor and

electronics companies

� Five in-house laboratories with advanced tools

and equipment for in-depth, world-class analysis

� Offices in Canada, USA, Europe, Japan, Korea,

and Taiwan


� Aggressively explore the largest consumer

electronics markets to find innovative &

disruptive semiconductor events

� These events manifest themselves in different way - new devices / device types, new competitors, new Processes, new circuit design, new circuit layout

� Or some combination of all of the above

� When a disruptive event occurs, Chipworks

reports on it with the most appropriate method

� Blogs, exploratory analysis, standard reports (process

and circuit)

� Throughout all of the above Chipworks furthers

our knowledge on semiconductor components

inside Consumer Electronics

� Understand market shares, capable of forecasting

disruptive events

What we do

The foundation of our services is built on three pillars

5

Patent Knowledge Technology Expertise Market Understanding

• 60K patents read

• Our engineers read patents

every day across a variety

of technology areas

• Hire engineers out of their

specific industry sector and

teach them how to evaluate

patents and speak to lawyers

• Wide spectrum of technology

analysis expertise from

semiconductor process

and design techniques

to electronics and software

• 80+ engineering projects

going at any one time

• Broad view of important

industries – deep understanding

of the key players, their

products and revenue

• Proactively analyze five

products a week

• Monitor current and future

product trends to assess

licensing potential

All content © 2014, Chipworks Inc. All rights reserved.

6

Reverse Engineering - Is it legal?

All content © 2015, Chipworks Inc. All rights reserved.

YES!!!

� RE is actually protected by the USA Semiconductor Chip

Protection Act:

� Title 17. Copy rights

� Chapter 9. Protection of Semiconductor Chip Products

� 906. Limitations on exclusive rights; reverse engineering; first

� (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 905, it is not an

infringement of the exclusive rights of the owner of a mask for –

� (1) A person to reproduce the mask work solely for the

purpose of teaching, analyzing, or evaluating the concepts or

techniques embodied in the mask work or the circuitry. Logic

flow, or organization used in the mask work; or

� (2) A person who performs the analysis or evaluation

described in paragraph (1) to incorporate the results of such

conduct in an original mask work which is made to be

distributed

Apple iPhone 6 LTE/WCDMA/CDMA/GSM

Smartphone

All content © 2015, Chipworks Inc. All rights reserved. 7


Teardown


power amplifier (Skyworks)SKY77802

power amplifier (Avago)ACPM-8010

power amplifier (Avago)ACPM-8020

power amplifier(Skyworks)SKY77803

power amplifier (Skyworks)SKY77356

antenna switch (RFMD)RF5159

envelope tracker (Qualcomm)QFE1100

PCB #1 Display Side – Cellular


accelerometer (Bosch Sensortec)BMA280

baseband processor (Qualcomm)MDM9625M

accelerometer + gyroscope (Invensense) MPU-6700

LED driver (TI)TPS65730

antenna switch (RFMD)RF1331 4KTM

A8 application processor(TSMC)+ 1 GB DRAM (SK Hynix)H9CKNNN8KTMRWR

PCB #1 Display Side – Key Components


Bosch Accelerometer Design Wins

� Bosch BMA220

Design Wins

� Last year we found

9 design wins

across 5

manufacturers

� That total has now

increased to

30 design wins

across12

manufacturers


LTE/WCDMA/CDMA/GSM transceiver + GPS (Qualcomm)WTR1625L

LTE receiver (Qualcomm)WFR1620

antenna switch + SAW duplexer (Murata) 221 (M) eT

filter (Epcos)B8821

filter (Epcos)B8822

filter (Epcos)B8817

PCB #1 Battery Side – Cellular

microphone (AAC)42940BASM1


power management (Qualcomm)PM8019

class D audio amplifier (Cirrus Logic)338S1202

16 GB flash memory (Toshiba)THGBX3G7D2KLF0C

power management (Dialog) 338S1251

M8 co-processor (NXP)LPC18B1UK

touch panel controller (Broadcom)BCM5976

touch panel controller (TI) 343S0694

NFC controller(NXP)65V10

WLAN + Bluetooth (Murata) 339S0242

audio codec (Cirrus Logic)338S1201

NFC booster IC (AMS) AS3923

barometer (Bosch) BMP282

digital compass(Asahi Kasei) AK8963

Unknown (TI)47I 2604 AKRP

Unknown (TI)47A637I68815

unknown (TI)TI 47C0XXISN2400B0

PCB #1 Battery Side – Key Components


Block Diagram

Power Amp

ABB

MDM9625M

(Qualcomm)

Audio

338S1201

(Cirrus Logic)

DBB

MDM9625M

(Qualcomm)

APP

A8

(TSMC)

WCDMA/CDMA

WTR1625L

(Qualcomm)

GSM

WTR1625L

(Qualcomm)

Bluetooth

339S0242

(mnf. unknown)

Power MgmtPM8019 (Qualcomm)338S1251 (Dialog)

Antenna SW

RF5159

(RFMD)

NFC

65V10 (NXP)

AS3923 (AMS)

Power Amp

Power Amp

Speaker

Headphone

Microphone

LCD/OLED

CameraWLAN

339S0242

(mnf. unknown)

GPS

WTR1625L

(Qualcomm)

Battery

Vibrator

Camera ISP

A8

(Samsung)

Flash MemoryTHGBX3G7D2KLF0C

(Toshiba)

Display Controller

A8

(Samsung)

DRAMH9CKNNN8KTMRWR(SK hynix)

T/P ControllerBCM5976 (Broadcom)343S0694 (TI)

LTE

WTR1625L

WFR1620

(Qualcomm)

Sensors

SIM

Power Amp

TD-LTE/SCDMA

WTR1625L

WFR1620

(Qualcomm)


Apple A8 Application Processor� The die size is 8.5 mm x 10.5 mm = 89.25 mm2

� TSMC 20-nm gate-last HKMG process

� 10 metal layers, 9 Cu + 1 Al

Floorplan showing

some of the major

functional blocks

� Minimum contacted gate pitch ~90 nm, observed gate length ~31 nm, 1x metal pitch ~62 nm, SRAM cell area ~0.08 µm2

SRAM cell

PMOS transistor


SK Hynix H53R4D23A 4-Gb Mobile DDR3

� Die size is 6.4 mm x 7.9 mm = 51.2 mm2

� 26-nm buried wordline process

� One W, two Cu, one Al metal layers

Die image

Plan-view SEM image

of wordlines and

active siliconwordline

Plan-view SEM

image of

capacitors


Toshiba 64 Gb Flash Memory� Die size is 12.0 mm x 7.8 mm = 93.5 mm2

� 1y-nm (19 x 19 nm) process; 128 wordlines/block + four dummy lines

� One W, one Cu, one Al metal layers; air gaps at wordlines & STI

wordlines

sourceline control gate FG

Samsung Galaxy S6 SM-G920I

LTE-A/LTE/WCDMA/GSM Smartphone

All content © 2015, Chipworks Inc. All rights reserved. 18


Teardown


RF transceiver (Samsung)Shannon 928

power amplifier module (Avago)ACPM-7007

filter (Murata)X6 CY

filter (Murata)XT z2

PCB #1 Display Side – Cellular


PCB #1 Display Side – Key Components

NFC (Samsung)S3FWRN5P

accelerometer and gyroscope (InvenSense)MPU-6500

wireless power receiver (Texas Instruments)BQ51221

light/proximity sensor(mnf. unknown)

16 MP OIS CMOS camera (Sony)

5 MP OIS CMOS camera(Samsung)

antenna switch (Murata) 272 Gb

image processor (Samsung) C2N8B6

GPS (Broadcom)BCM4773

Shannon 333 baseband processor (Samsung) + 32 GB flash memory (Samsung)KLUBG4G1BD-E0B1

Exynos 7420 application processor (Samsung)+ DRAM (Samsung) K3RG3G30MM-DGCH power management (Samsung)

S2MPB02


One of the hottest topics with respect

to the Samsung Galaxy S6 has been

the huge amount of Samsung Silicon.

Chipworks has confirmed at the die

level that the NFC controller is

Samsung. However, the manufacturer

of the secure element remains a

mystery.

NFC (Samsung)S3FWRN5P

5017

13

NFC Controller Design Wins

2014-Present

NXP Semiconductors Broadcom

Samsung STMicroelectronics

Sony MediaTek

Texas Instruments

Additional Samsung NFC Design Wins


antenna switch (Skyworks)SKY13415

power amplifier module (Avago) AFEM-9020

power amplifier module(Skyworks) SKY78042

power amplifier module(Skyworks) SKY77851

PCB #1 Battery Side – Cellular

touch screen controller (STMicroelectronics) FT6BH


power amplifier module (Avago) AFEM-9020

� Avago ACPM-7007 Power Amplifier Module has

been seen in the Samsung Galaxy S6 as well as 3

other Samsung devices and 1 HTC device

� Avago AFEM-9020 Power Amplifier Module has

been seen in the Samsung Galaxy S6

� In the last 365 days, the top 3 power amplifier

design winners are (1) Skyworks with 152 design

wins, (2) Avago with 101 design wins and RF Micro

with 54 design wins.

Additional Avago Design Wins


PCB #1 Battery Side – Key ComponentsWi-Fi module (Samsung EM) 3853B5

LED flash

heart rate monitor (Maxim)

companion PMIC(Maxim)MAX77843

pressure sensor (STMicroelectronics)LPS25HB

DC-DC converter for AMOLED (STMicroelectronics)STOD32B

power management(Samsung)S2MPS15A0

audio codec (Cirrus/Wolfson)WM1840E

power management (Samsung)Shannon 533

audio amplifier (Maxim)MAX98505

envelope tracker (Samsung)Shannon 710


Power Amp

ABB

SHANNON 333

(Samsung)

Audio

WM1840E

(Cirrus/Wolfson)

DBB

SHANNON 333

(Samsung)

APP

Exynos 7420

(Samsung)

WCDMA

SHANNON 928

(Samsung)

GSM

SHANNON 928

(Samsung)

Bluetooth

3853B5

(Samsung)

Power ManagementS2MPB02S2MPS15A0SHANNON 533(Samsung)

Antenna SW

SKY13415

(Skyworks)

NFC

S3FWRN5P

(Samsung)

Power Amp

Power Amp

Speaker

Headphone

Microphone

LCD/OLED

CameraWLAN

3853B5

(Samsung EM)

GPS

BCM4773

(Broadcom)

Battery

Vibrator

Camera ISP

C2N8B6

(Samsung)

Flash Memory

KLUBG4G1BD

(Samsung)

Display Controller

Exynos 7420

(Samsung)

DRAM

K3RG3G30MM

(Samsung)

T/P Controller

FT6BH (STM)

CY8CMBR3175

(Cypress)

LTE

SHANNON 928

(Samsung)

SIM

Sensors

Power Amp

Block Diagram


Samsung Exynos 7420 Application

Processor � Die size is ~78 mm2

� Samsung 14-nm gate-last HKMG

finFET process

� Octa-core ARM big.LITTLE A53/A57

CPUs

� ARM Mali T760MP8 8-core GPU

� 11 metal layers, 10 Cu + 1 A

� Minimum contacted gate pitch

~78 nm, SRAM cell area ~0.08 µm2

Exynos 7420 die photo


Apple Watch S1 Module� Over 30 parts,

some MCPs

� S1 CPU (APL0778) die size ~32 mm2

� Samsung 28-nm LP process


WiFi Design Wins


MOVEMEN

T

VIDEO

IMAGE

CAMER

A

PIXEL

LIGHT

TOUCHPA

D

GUI

TOUCH

APPS

TOUCH

APPSAPPS

DATABAS

E

SAAS

CLOUD

DATABAS

E

MESSAGIN

G

MOBILE

KEYS

STORAGETRANSACTIO

NS

SIRI

AUDIO

TIMIN

G

RADIO

CHANNEL

S

CELLS

DESIGN

POWER

BATTER

Y

SHIELD

BOARD

CONNEC

T

� Each dot represents a patent

� Topographical peaks represent key concepts within Apple’s portfolio

� Concepts with a high density of dots are being heavily patented by Apple

Apple’s Patent Landscape


GUI

TOUCH

SOFTWARE

CLOUD

MOBILE

DESIGN

SIRI

Apple Granted Patents by Technology

RADIO

� A quick look at Apple’s 13,000 patents broken down by issue date and type/origin – shows a healthy purchasing of legacy patents, and aggressive pursuit of design patents which they have used successfully in litigations

◆ Major recent increase in total # of patents issued yearly indicates Apple’s strategic decision to pursue many patents regarding their product releases since 2003

Apple’s Patent Landscape


Samsung Electronics Patent Landscape

Circuit

Process

Package

� 2004 – 2011 patents

only

� Each dot is a patent

publication

� Circuit related patents

clustered on the left

region generally relate

to memory, power,

imaging

� Process and packaging

patents clustered to the

right relate to

semiconductors,

fabrication, LEDs

memory

semiconductor devices

packaging

fabrication

LED

power

imaging


� More recent patents and applications from 2011-2013 time frame show a similar distribution

� Appearance of advanced technologies observed

Samsung Electronics Patent Landscape


� Quick reviews of Apple’s iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy

S6

� RE lets us see BOMs, systems, circuit, process and market

info – and examine patent use when required

� Technology enables applications which drive

technology which enables applications.. right across the

spectrum – APUs, graphics, screens, PMICs, RF, etc.,

etc…

� We’re into 1x-nm processes for logic, 2x for DRAM, 1x &

vertical for flash – HKMG, double patterning, air gap

dielectrics are here and in consumer goods

� 3D stacks are slowly becoming reality

� In this industry we’re forever pushing the boundaries,

and you guys keep us RE types forever challenged!

Summary and Conclusions


I would like to thank Chipworks’ laboratory staff

and process analysts for all the hard work of

analyzing these complex devices. They do a

great job!

Thank you for your attention!

Acknowledgements

Inside Today’s Systems & Chips: A Survey of the Past Year · disruptive semiconductor events...

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Transcript of Inside Today’s Systems & Chips: A Survey of the Past Year · disruptive semiconductor events...