Samsung is adding RF/IoT and fingerprint sensor solutions to its 8-inch (200nm) foundry portfolio, the South Korean company announced earlier this week. The new products will still be processed at the firm’s automated Giheung-based Line 6 together with the rest of its 8-inch offerings. The fingerprint scanners offered by the tech giant will be of the 180nm variety, whereas the RF/IoT platforms will be 90nm affairs, Samsung confirmed. The solutions are hence joining Samsung’s existing 8-inch family which already includes various CMOS image sensors, eFlash, power, and display driver IC technologies. All of the new additions to the lineup are now available to the company’s clients through its 8-inch foundry services.
Samsung claims the demand for the newly included technologies is already high, pointing to that state of affairs as the main reason for deciding to expand its activities to fingerprint readers and RF/IoT solutions. The move itself should see a broader range of applications benefit from the latest advancements in the semiconductor industry, though the Seoul-based original equipment manufacturer has yet to name any partners that are planning to leverage the newly added products going forward. Samsung’s foundry business has been enjoying unprecedented growth in recent quarters and was largely responsible for allowing the firm to innovate in the semiconductor segment, consequently becoming the world’s largest chipmaker and putting an end to decades of Intel’s dominance in the field.
Samsung’s unit is planning to introduce a 7nm process in the second half of the year with the goal of taking on TSMC, according to its previously disclosed technology roadmap. Qualcomm is still expected to leave Samsung for TSMC and commission the Taiwanese tech giant for the Snapdragon 855, though the firm may return to the South Korean company’s foundry business next year with the Snapdragon 865, according to recent reports. Earlier today, the OEM unveiled the world’s first 10nm mid-range chip for smartphones in the form of the Exynos 9610.