5.19 R&A Daily News

AMD and Qualcomm Collaborate to Optimize FastConnect Connectivity Solutions for AMD Ryzen Processors

AMD and Qualcomm Technologies announced a collaboration to optimize the Qualcomm FastConnect connectivity system for AMD Ryzen processor-based computing platforms, starting with AMD Ryzen PRO 6000 Series processors and the Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 system. With the FastConnect 6900, the latest AMD Ryzen processor-powered business laptops feature Wi-Fi 6 and 6E connectivity, including advanced wireless capabilities enabled with Windows 11.

In collaboration with Microsoft, next-generation Windows 11 PCs, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad Z Series and HP EliteBook 805 Series, can harness the full potential of Windows 11 Wi-Fi Dual Station through Qualcomm 4-Stream Dual Band Simultaneous. Multiple Wi-Fi bands outperform traditional single-band connections for improved video conferencing experiences, reduced latency, and enhanced connection robustness. Leveraging the 6 GHz band, next-gen laptop users can take full advantage of its bandwidth and speed improvements without competing with any non-6E devices.

For IT administrators, the AMD Manageability Processor, now available in Ryzen PRO 6000 systems, is a solution that enables remote management of AMD commercial platforms. When paired with the FastConnect 6900, this solution allows for wireless manageability with support for 32+ widely used Open Standard-Based (DASH) profiles. Together the AMD Manageability processor and the FastConnect 6900 unlock enhanced capabilities for IT to manage systems.

"Out-of-band Wi-Fi remote management is an important tool for enterprise IT managers to diagnose and fix issues, even when the operating system is not running," said Jason Banta, CVP and General Manager, OEM Client Computing, AMD. "AMD Ryzen PRO 6000 Series processors with FastConnect 6900 enable next-generation business laptops to have the processing and connectivity tools needed to perform in modern environments, offering professional-strength remote manageability for users in the new, hybrid workplace."

"Our collaboration with AMD reflects Qualcomm Technologies' commitment to the mobile computing space. By optimizing FastConnect 6900 for platforms powered by AMD Ryzen 6000 Series processors, we're bringing secure Wi-Fi remote management to AMD enterprise customers," said Dino Bekis, vice president and general manager, Mobile Compute and Connectivity, Qualcomm?Technologies?Inc. "This represents the first step in our relationship to bring superior wireless connectivity to the AMD mobile computing roadmap."

Biden'svisit to Samsung chip plant aimed at boosting tech alliance: experts

U.S.President Joe Biden is expected to tour Samsung Electronics'semiconductor manufacturing plant in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, with president Yoon Suk-yeol on the first day of his official visit to Korea on Friday, a move designed to enhance the technology alliancebetween the two countries, according to industry experts, Thursday.

TheAmerican president starting his visit to Korea with a tour of theworld's largest chipmaking plant shows the U.S.' willingness toforge closer economic ties with Asia's fourth-largest economy bycreating a new global supply chain for semiconductors and otherhigh-tech components independently from China, the experts added.

"Koreahas already announced its intention to participate in theIndo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a trade pact led by the U.S.It is certain that more and more chips will be used in various fieldsin the future, and from that point of view, the U.S. president seemsto seek to solidify the partnership with Korea by visiting Samsung'splant as the company produces 70 percent of the memory chips in theworld," Kim Dae-jong, a professor of business administration atSejong University, said.

Tocounter China's growing influence, the U.S. government confirmed thatthe IPEF will be launched during Biden's trip to Asia. The IPEF isaimed at reinforcing cooperation between the U.S. and its allies inthe Indo-Pacific region in various fields such as supply chainnetworks. Korea is one of the countries that has revealed itsintention to join the economic framework along with Japan, Australia,New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines.

"TheU.S. president's visit to the Samsung plant is interpreted as a moveto strengthen cooperation between Samsung and the U.S. and growtogether," Kim added.

Afterexperiencing supply chain disruptions caused by semiconductorshortages during the last one or two years, Biden has shown greatinterest in the U.S. regaining control of the chip manufacturingbusiness, which the country handed over to Korea, Taiwan, Japan andChina due to rising labor costs.

Healso invited Samsung's executives to the White House for a series ofmeetings on chip supply chains. In response, Samsung announced inNovember 2021 that it would invest $17 billion to build a newsemiconductor fabrication plant, or foundry, in Taylor, Texas.

Samsung'sPyeongtaek plant is the largest chip-manufacturing factory in theworld. The plant was built in 2015 on a 2.89-million-square-metersite, which is similar in size to 400 football fields combined.

ThePyeongtaek plant's first assembly line began full-fledged operationsin June 2017 and line two in 2020. Currently, Samsung is preparingfor the full operation of a third line within this year, while afourth one is under construction.

Anotherexpert said Biden could pressure Samsung to invest more in the U.S.,which is pushing hard to decouple with China, which has become theworld's factory.

"PresidentBiden wants to run a supply chain network centered on the U.S. Inthat sense, I think the U.S. president is visiting Samsung's Koreanplant in order to ask the chipmaker to increase its investment in hiscountry," Kim Yang-paeng, a senior researcher at the KoreaInstitute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET), said.

"Itis not known whether Biden will ask Samsung to build a foundryfactory or a memory chip factory when he asks for more investments.However, it would be unreasonable to ask for a new memory factorybecause producing memory chips there would be a bad move for Samsungin terms of controlling production costs. As the U.S. is trying toincrease chip production on its home soil, I think it will be afoundry factory," the researcher added.

LeeJae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and the head of thecountry's largest conglomerate, is expected to guide the leaders ofKorea and the U.S. in person during the visit.

Taiwan's Foxconn is setting up a semiconductor factory in Malaysia for EVs

Asthe push for electric vehicles (EVs) intensifies over time, demandfor facilities are ramping up as well, as automakers push for higherproduction. Key iPhone assembler Foxconn, as part of its EV push,have been accelerating its collaborations around the region as wellwith the latest being in Malaysia. The Taiwanese electronic giant iscollaborating with its local partner to build a semiconductorproduction facility dedicated for EVs.

Ina filing to the local bourse, Malaysia's Dagang NeXchange Berhad(DNex) said it has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Foxconn's wholly-owned subsidiary, Big Innovation Holdings Ltd(BIH), to set up a joint venture company for that purpose. The collaboration would result in Malaysia's first 12-inch chip manufacturing plant. capable of producing up to 40,000 wafers permonth in 28-nanometer and 40-nanometer technology.

As Nikkei puts it, the 28nm and 40nm are the most widely used chipproduction technologies for microcontrollers, sensors, driverintegrated circuits and connectivity-related chips, including Wifiand Bluetooth. Concurrently, major chipmakers like TaiwanSemiconductor Manufacturing Co., United Microelectronic Corp, and China?Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co. are allexpanding capacity for 28-nanometer chips.

Whilethe finalized location or investment amount for the upcomingsemiconductor plant were not shared, DNeX group managing director TanSri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir has previously indicatedthat the group has excess land in Kulim, Kedah, the first hightechnology industrial park in Malaysia. That lad could ideally fitanother wafer plant block, according to him.

ForFoxconn, if the plan materializes, it will mark another milestone forthe Taiwanese giant when it comes to enlarging its presence in thesemiconductor field, an important move to accelerate its EVambitions. It is also in line with the Malaysian government's plan to strengthen its semiconductor industry.

DNex is the parent company of Silterra. Currently,Foxconn owns about a 5% stake in DNex with one seat on its board.That has in turn, given the iPhone assembler indirect control overchipmaker Silterra's 8-inch chip plant in Malaysia.

Otherrecent updates on the semiconductor facilities in Malaysia includesInfineon, the biggest European chipmaker, investing 2 billion eurosto expand its manufacturing facilities in Kulim, Malaysia, for powersemiconductors, a key component in EVs.

Foxconn's EV push includes a flurry of M&As.

Atthis juncture, the global EV market is expected to reach US$1.3trillion by 2028 at a compound annual growth rate of 24%, FortuneBusiness Insights forecasts. The automotive semiconductor market isestimated to grow from US$35 billion in 2020 to US$68 billion in2026, Taipei-based Market Intelligence & Consulting Institutehave said.

Giventhat automotive production only restarted around the world in late2020, after the first wave of the pandemic, the rush to getautomotive chips has grown and remains strong because of "pent-upconsumer demand" for EVs and hybrids, Moody's Investors Servicesaid in a commentary note.

Thatsaid, Foxconn, a "latecomer" to EV technologies, is usingmergers, acquisitions and cooperation with third parties to getahead. Some examples include how the Taiwanese assembler at itsfactories in China has been shifting toward EVs over the past year.In 2021, Foxconn reached deals with Los Angeles-based startup Fiskerand global auto-making giant Stellantis to make electric cars in theUS and co-develop automotive chips, respectively.

Additionallyin China, the world's biggest EV market, Foxconn is working withdomestic car maker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Besides all that,Foxconn has invested in Taiwanese electric scooter developer Gogoroover the past year to help its push into EVs. Foxconn also bought achip plant in the northern Taiwanese city of Hsinchu — the heart of Taiwan's chipmaking cluster — in 2021 to develop silicon carbidechips for automotive uses.

Inother parts of Southeast Asia, Foxconn in February this year,announced plans to build a chip facility in India with local naturalresources conglomerate Vedanta. In Thailand, it also collaboratedwith Thai energy conglomerate PTT Group (PTT) to begin mass producingEVs by 2024.

ArunPlus and CATL announce strategic collaboration in battery business toaccelerate ASEAN EV supply chain

ArunPlus and Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) have signed astrategic MOU to explore potential cooperation and developmentopportunities in battery-related business in ASEAN, to increase thecompetitive-edge of both parties in battery business, as well as tosecure a long-term energy storage system technology in Thailand andin global markets.

Thiscollaboration between China-based battery maker CATL and Arun Plus -a wholly owned subsidiary of PTT Public Company (PTT) - aims to focuson the EV value chain business. According to the MOU, CATL willauthorize its cell-to-pack (CTP) technology to Arun Plus and bothparties will explore the opportunity both in Thailand and othercountries around the world.

As battery is one of the most important components for electric vehicles(EV), this partnership will be the starting point for building acomplete EV value chain using state-of-the-art technology whichsupports a wide range of applications, CATL said. Both Arun Plus andCATL aim to supply the battery to Horizon Plus, a JV of Arun Plus andFoxconn focusing to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in Thailandin 2024, and other EV brands.

Featuringhighly efficient integration, CTP is a technology that directlyintegrates cells into packs without modules, said CATL. By leveragingCATL's CTP technology, the battery pack's design improves systemenergy density, simplifies manufacturing and results in cost savings.

Solid-staterelay chips work well for power isolation in EVs, says TI manager

Theemerging trend of vehicles going electrical and adopting ever-moreautomotive electronics has not only brought new growth opportunitiesfor the entire automotive industry, but also enabled semiconductormakers to use more of their solutions to solve the resultingtechnical problems. Texas Instruments (TI), for instance, hasrecently launched two solid-state relay chips to improve powerisolation in EVs.

Accordingto Priya Thanigai, manager of power switches at TI, traditionalmechanical relays could work well in isolating power current inoil-fueled vehicles as there were fewer components operating underhigh-voltage power current scenarios. But higher-spec isolationsolutions are now badly needed to secure EV driving safety, becauseelectrical batteries, power management solutions, charging and manyother modules inside the vehicles all have to use high-voltagecurrents, Thanigai said.

Accordingly,power isolation is extremely important in EVs, and will be even moreso, as the EV industry transitions from 400V batteries to 800V ones.Thanigai noted TI's solid-state relays, dubbed TPS13050-Q1 andTPS12140-Q1, are able to offer longer operating life and higherisolation capability than mechanical or photo relays.

Thanigaistressed that both mechanical and photo relays, now still widelyadopted in vehicles, cannot meet product life and switching speedrequirements under high voltage current scenarios of EVs and willthus seriously affect the operations of the vehicles and increasesafety risk. In this regard, TI's semiconductor solid-state relayscan fill the specification gap.

Thanigaialso noted that old relay solutions are generally large in size andshould be paired with a lot of peripheral components that can hardlybe integrated. In the future, it will be difficult to fit so manyrelays into a new module, as the number of electronic components inEV will increase significantly, and therefore only smallersemiconductor solid-state relays can enable lighter modules and moreefficient vehicle operation, while also able to monitor internalcurrent switching and the functional conditions of various electroniccomponents.

Thanigaiacknowledged that the ratio of customers actually incorporatingsemiconductor relays is not high for the moment, but they are awarethat existing relay products cannot solve high-voltage isolationneeds for EVs. As such, TI believes that its solid-state relayproducts can well enter the EV market in the future, in addition toindustrial control and other infrastructure applications.