RFFEM Comparison 2023 – 5G mmWave Chipset

• Apple
• Advanced Semiconductor Engineering
• Global Foundries
• Google
• LG innotek
• MediaTek
• Motorola
• Murata
• Qualcomm
• Samsung
• Siliconware Precision Industries Company, Limited
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
• Universal Scientific Industrial

Overview / Introduction 

• Executive Summary
• Key Take Away
• Reverse Costing Methodology

Company Profile 

• Qualcomm, Samsung, MediaTek 

Physical Analysis 

• Summary of Physical Analysis
  • Apple iPhone 13
    • Qualcomm SMR526
      • Package Views, Dimensions & Opening
      • Dies Views & Dimensions
      • Dies Overview, Delayering and Main Block IDs
      • Dies Cross-Section
      • Dies Process Characteristics
    • Murata 1XR-484
    • USI L30U73WW
    • PCB Antenna
  • Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G
    • Qualcomm SMR546
    • Qualcomm QTM545-200
  • Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
    • Qualcomm SMR546
    • LG 31A0
    • LG 32JK
  • Google Pixel 6 Pro
    • Samsung Exynos Shannon 5710
    • Murata SS1811053
    • LCP Antenna
  • Samsung A53 UW 5G
    • Murata SS2209054
    • LCP Antenna
  • Motorola Edge (2022)
    • MediaTek MT6101
    • MediaTek MT61070

Physical Comparison  

• IF RxTx Comparison– Die & Function
• mmWave RxTx Comparison – Die & Function
• mmWave PMIC Comparison – Die & Function
• Chipset Comparison Implantation

Manufacturing Process Flow 

• Global Overview
• Wafer Front-End Process
• Wafer Fabrication Unit
• Packaging process & Fabrication

Cost Analysis 

• Synthesis of the cost analysis
• Main Steps of Economic Analysis
• Yield Explanation and Hypothesis
• Cost Analysis of Qualcomm’s Chipset 
  • Wafer, Die and Component Cost
• Cost Analysis of Samsung’s Chipset 
• Cost Analysis of MediaTek’s Chipset

Cost Comparison 

• IF RxTx Wafer Cost Comparison
• IF RxTx Die Cost and Price Comparison
• mmWave RxTx Wafer Cost Comparison
• mmWave AiP Component Cost and Price Comparison
• Smartphone BoM Cost Comparison

Customer Feedback 

Related Products 

About Yole Group

Key Features

• Detailed photos
• Precise measurements
• Materials analysis
• Manufacturing process flow
• Supply chain evaluation
• Manufacturing cost analysis
• Chipset comparison
• Main components’ RF die functional blocks
• Antenna system description and comparison

What's new

• Investigation of the real frequency game changers in 5G.
• The mmWave implementation is the first concern in handsets.
• Until 2020, Qualcomm was the leader and the only player on the market. Now, Samsung and MediaTek have entered the race and become strong competitors, especially with advanced FD-SOI based transceivers.
• Each smartphone has its own specific design for the 5G mmWave RF front-end. Each cost/performance ratio optimized implantation is described and studied in the report from passive antennas to single-ended antennae-in-packages.
• Introduction of the first generation of 5G mmWave transceiver from MediaTek using the 22FDX technology node, available on the market in High Volume Manufacturing

Starting in 2019, with a huge profitable projection of revenue, Qualcomm started the 5G wave with its device for high-end phones. Today, with newcomers and wide adoption in the US of the technology, the market is becoming more diversified. Also, with a forecasted Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14% in shipped units from 2022-2027, the 5G market is expected to be stable in the next few years. In this context, Yole System Plus believes that this is the perfect time to review all the technology available on the market from the different players and from the different levels of smartphone in terms of implementation, technology, and cost. 

In this first Radio Frequency (RF) front-end comparative report of 2023, we provide insights into technology and cost data for RF front-end device found in six of the latest smartphones: Apple’s iPhone 13 & 14 series, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G, the Google Pixel 6 Pro, Samsung A53 UW 5G and Motorola Edge 2022. The report features a comprehensive overview of the RF front-end structures on the market, from intermediate frequency devices to antennae systems. These features have been brought to customers with several iterations of systems since 2019, from the major player Qualcomm, and now Samsung and MediaTek. This evolution is shown along with the technology change and cost optimization.

So far Qualcomm, the main leader and the first solution provider, for 5G mmWave technology, has relied on the CMOS 28 nm lithographic technology node. In 2021 it has two major smartphone-making customers: Apple and Samsung. In 2021, Samsung started with a large customer: Google, still for the high-end market, bringing Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator (FD-SOI) technology to the smartphone in transceivers. In 2022, the market has become more open, with the first application of Samsung’s solution in a mid-range phone, the A53, and the entry of a new player directly into the mid-range segment, MediaTek, with Motorola also relying on FD-SOI technology.

This report will analyze these five major solutions and compared them directly and with the solutions from 2019 at the chipset, technology, process, and cost levels to highlight the differences and the similarities between designs. One interesting fact is that depending on the end user equipment segment the design could be very complex with Intermediate Frequency (IF) RF Integrated Circuits (ICs), front-end modules, passive antennae and antenna-in-package (AiP) devices, for Apple for example. Or it could be very simple with an IF RFIC, and a AiP device for Samsung, for example. Also, on the receive/transmit side, FD-SOI technology is a real game changer for suppliers and the technology is expected to become the market leader in the next few years.

The report contains a complete analysis of the chipsets, including a detailed analysis of the transceivers, passive antennae, and the AiPs. The report also features a cost analysis and a price estimation of the chipsets. Finally, it also integrates a comparison between the solutions in terms of technical choices and costs since 2019.