Top 10 5G chips and modules

The higher-bandwidth, lower-latency and higher-reliability requirements of 5G mobile networks drive the need for higher-performance, higher-efficiency and lower-power–consumption 5G chips and modules. Chipmakers are tackling these challenges in several ways, which include incorporating higher integration, AI enhancements ranging from imaging to massive MIMO beamforming, and power-saving features.

Many chipmakers are also addressing the challenge of adding more RF antennas to 5G-enabled devices. Some are now incorporating support for the 3rd Generation Partner Project (3GPP) Release 17 and Release 18 features, which includes support for the next generation of 5G Advanced systems.

One key trend that continues an upward swing is integration. Many of these new solutions pack a lot of features and functionality to streamline the complexity of designs, particularly around the RF chain, while addressing the need for miniaturization and lower cost.

Here are the top 10 5G chips, chipsets and modules introduced over the past year that address these challenges, in alphabetical order by company. Applications include smartphones, base stations and automotive.

AMD: Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC DFE

AMD is ramping up its support for 5G, from the core to the radio access network (RAN), with its latest RF chips and EPYC processors. The company also created a new Telco Solutions testing lab in collaboration with Viavi.

AMD recently expanded its Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC digital front-end (DFE) portfolio with two additions to the family: the Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZU63DR and Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZU64DR devices. These new RFSoCs target global markets where lower-cost, lower-power and spectrum-efficient radios are required to address increased wireless connectivity, the company said.

The Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZU63DR targets four transmit and four receive (4T4R) and dual-band entry-level O-RAN radio unit (O-RU) applications. The Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZU64DR is designed for eight transmit and eight receive (8T8R) O-RU applications using the 3GPP split-8 option, which supports alternative and legacy radio unit architectures.

Ceva Inc.: CEVA-XC20 DSP architecture

Ceva Inc. has developed a DSP architecture for 5G Advanced. The fifth-generation CEVA-XC DSP architecture, the CEVA-XC20, is based on a new vector multi-threaded massive compute technology that targets next-generation 5G Advanced workloads in a variety of use cases.

The novel dynamic vector threading (DVT) scheme supports true hardware multi-threading, Ceva said, and up until now, it was found only in general-purpose CPU architectures. It enables the sharing of vector resources between different execution units for an efficiency boost in vector utilization.

Designed to improve mobile network performance and power efficiency and solve the challenges of next-generation compute-intensive 5G Advanced, the new architecture can be used in smartphones, high-end enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) devices and cellular infrastructure devices.

Thanks to the vector multi-threaded compute technology, the next-generation architecture increases power and area efficiency by up to 2.5× compared with the predecessor. As a result, SoC and ASIC designers using the CEVA-XC20 architecture can deliver smaller and lower-power processors that have a positive impact on the environment, the company said.

Marvell Technology Inc.: OCTEON 10 FUSION baseband processors

Marvell Technology Inc. has launched industry-first 5-nm baseband processors with enhanced performance and energy efficiency for 5G networks. The next-generation OCTEON 10 Fusion family of baseband processors for 5G base stations offers enhanced 5G feature support, energy efficiency and performance, including twice the system capacity as the previous generation.

The new family of wireless processors includes comprehensive inline Layer 1 hardware accelerators that bring Marvell’s 5G networks into open, virtualized RANs (vRANs), the company said.

Key features include Arm Neoverse N2 CPU cores, a series of programmable DSP cores and a range of hardware accelerators for 5G baseband, networking and security. One of the new hardware accelerators is an integrated inline AI/ML engine for edge inferencing in RAN applications like AI-enhanced massive MIMO beamforming.

The OCTEON 10 Fusion design comes with advanced power management that is reported to deliver best-in-class RAN performance per watt across a wide range of 5G use cases. These include distributed and radio unit applications, wide-bandwidth massive MIMO beamforming to 64T64R and beyond, conventional and vRAN architectures and Open RAN with support for all L1 split options. The OCTEON 10 Fusion 5G baseband processors are in production.

MediaTek Inc.: Dimensity 6100+ chipset

The latest 5G chipsets from MediaTek Inc. address mainstream and flagship 5G smartphones. These include the new Dimensity 6000 series for mainstream 5G devices and the Dimensity 9200+ for premium phones.

The company officially launched the new Dimensity 6000 series in July, along with the Dimensity 6100+ SoC, which are designed to deliver premium features to mainstream 5G devices. These features include high power efficiency, vivid displays, high frame rates, AI-powered camera technologies, low power consumption and reliable sub-6-GHz 5G connectivity at an “accessible price point.”

Featuring two Arm Cortex-A76 big cores and six Arm Cortex-A55 efficiency cores, the Dimensity 6100+ integrates an enhanced 5G modem supporting 3GPP’s Release 16 standard with up to 140-MHz 2CC 5G carrier aggregation. It also offers significantly lower power consumption thanks in part to the MediaTek UltraSave 3.0+ technology. The power-saving technology is reported to offer a 20% reduction in 5G power consumption compared with competitive solutions.

Other key enhancements include support for AI-powered cameras (including AI-bokeh and AI-color technology), 10-bit displays, high UX and GPU performance and rich peripheral features. The 10-bit display support delivers more than 1 billion colors for vibrant images and videos, MediaTek said, along with support for 90-Hz and 120-Hz frame rates.

MediaTek Inc.: Dimensity 9200+ chipset

Driving higher performance in flagship 5G smartphones, the new Dimensity 9200+ chipset delivers improved performance and significant power savings. The chipset supports higher clock speeds than the predecessor Dimensity 9200 and integrates one ultra-core Arm Cortex-X3 operating at up to 3.35 GHz, three Arm Cortex-A715 supercores running up to 3.0 GHz and four Arm Cortex-A510 efficiency cores at 2.0 GHz. It also offers a boosted (by 17%) Arm Immortalis-G715 GPU for gaming and other compute-intensive applications.

The chipset integrates a 4CC-CA 5G Release 16 modem that switches between long-reach sub-6-GHz and superfast mmWave connections. It supports Wi-Fi 7 2 × 2 + 2 × 2 with up to 6.5-Gbits/s data rate, along with Bluetooth 5.3. MediaTek said its Bluetooth and Wi-Fi coexistence technology allows Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) audio and wireless peripherals to connect at the same time with very low latency.

Other key features include the HyperEngine 6.0 smartphone gaming technology for sustaining high data rates and minimizing latency, the sixth-generation AI processing unit (APU 690), Imagiq 890 flagship image signal processor for bright and sharp images and videos even in low light, and the MiraVision 890 display technology that supports adaptive refresh rate technology and motion blur reduction. It also uses the 5G UltraSave 3.0 power-efficiency technology to optimize battery life.

NXP Semiconductors: RF amplifier modules

For higher-performing and smaller 5G radios, NXP Semiconductors has claimed the industry’s first top-side–cooling solution for RF power, which reduces the thickness and weight of 5G radios by more than 20%. The new family of top-side–cooled RF amplifier modules offers high-power capabilities and advanced thermal performance to enable smaller, thinner and lighter radios for 5G base stations.

The first products in the new family combine NXP’s LDMOS and GaN technologies and top-side–cooling packaging in multi-chip modules. The top-side–cooled RF power module series is designed for 32T32R, 200-W radios covering 3.3 GHz to 3.8 GHz. By combining NXP’s in-house LDMOS and GaN semiconductor technologies, the devices achieve high gain and efficiency with wideband performance, delivering 31-dB gain and 46% efficiency over 400 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth.

Delivering a streamlined and lower-cost solution, the new design enables the power amplifier to be mounted on the side of the heat sink, removing the separate RF shield. It also eliminates the need for the copper coin in the printed-circuit board (PCB) and embeds it in the module for a simplified thermal path.

The design also reduces the size of the filter and the number and length of the connectors, as well as enables all of the components to be mounted on the same side of the PCB and cooled directly with the heat sink, which also acts as the RF shield.

Qualcomm Technologies Inc.: Snapdragon X75 modem-RF system

Qualcomm Technologies Inc. is ready for the “next phase of 5G” with several new 5G Advanced–ready innovations. One of those is the Snapdragon X75 with 3GPP Release 17 and Release 18 features, claimed as the industry’s first 5G Advanced modem-RF system. The sixth-generation modem-to-antenna solution is set to drive new opportunities across a range of industries, including automotive, compute, fixed wireless access, industrial IoT, mobile broadband, private networks and smartphones.

The Snapdragon X75 brings lots of performance improvements with a new modem-RF architecture, hardware-accelerated AI and support for upcoming 5G Advanced capabilities. It debuts a new modem-RF architecture and software suite with a converged mmWave and sub-6-GHz transceiver and new mmWave antenna module, the QTM565. The software-upgradeable modem RF delivers up to a 20% power savings, a 25% smaller footprint and up to a 40% reduced eBOM compared with a previous RF transceiver, plus a mmWave IF subsystem, while simplifying design, according to Qualcomm.

Snapdragon X75 is the first modem-RF system with a dedicated hardware tensor accelerator, the Qualcomm 5G AI Processor Gen 2, which is reported to enable over 2.5× better AI performance compared with the Gen 1 processor. It is also the first RF modem with sensor fusion for mmWave beam processing.

The new platform also launches the Qualcomm 5G AI Suite Gen 2, designed to deliver better speeds, coverage, mobility, link robustness and location accuracy. The AI suite claims the industry’s first sensor-assisted mmWave beam management and AI-based GNSS Location Gen 2, which optimizes the Snapdragon X75’s 5G performance and offers up to a 50% improved location-tracking accuracy (compared with non-AI-based location tracking).

Other firsts include 10-carrier aggregation for mmWave, 5× downlink carrier aggregation and FDD uplink MIMO for sub-6-GHz bands as well as a converged mmWave and sub-6-GHz transceiver, along with the new QTM565 mmWave antenna module.

The Snapdragon X75 also leverages Qualcomm’s 5G PowerSave Gen 4 and RF Power Efficiency Suite for extended battery life and Smart Transmit Gen 4 for fast and long-range uploads, which includes support for the new Snapdragon Satellite.

Qualcomm Technologies Inc.: Snapdragon X35 NR-Light modem-RF system

Set to drive new 5G use cases, Qualcomm Technologies Inc. has launched its Snapdragon X35, claiming the first 5G NR-Light modem-RF system. 5G NR-Light falls between high-speed broadband devices and very low-bandwidth NB-IoT devices. With the Snapdragon X35’s streamlined architecture, 5G devices can be smaller and lower-cost with reduced complexity and power consumption in smaller form factors, Qualcomm said.

Addressing the need for mid-tier use cases, the Snapdragon X35 with optimized RFIC and PMIC modules is said to offer a mix of capabilities in data rates, power consumption, complexity and footprint to develop new use cases like entry-level industrial IoT devices, mass-tier fixed-wireless–access consumer premise equipment, mass-tier connected PCs and first-generation 5G consumer IoT devices like direct-to-cloud AR glasses and premium wearables.

The Snapdragon X35 supports both LTE and 5G NR-Light, so it is both backward-compatible and futureproof. It supports dual-frequency GNSS (L1+L5) to offer precise positioning suited for new industrial use cases and applications, and it supports all spectrum bands within sub-6 GHz, FDD and TDD.

The modem-RF system also leverages several of Qualcomm’s technologies aimed at lower power consumption, lower latency, increased battery life, enhanced 5G coverage and improved uplink speeds. These include Qualcomm’s QET5100 envelope tracking, Smart Transmit technology, 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite and 5G PowerSave Gen 4.

Semtech Corp.: PerSe Connect SX9376 5G chipset

Semtech Corp. has expanded its PerSe product portfolio with the launch of the PerSe Connect SX9376 5G chipset. It is designed to optimize RF performance, enhance connectivity and support compliance with global specific absorption rate (SAR) standards for 5G-enabled consumer devices, the company said.

The PerSe technology senses human proximity and enables end devices to implement advanced RF control, Semtech said, enabling automatic adjustment of system-level RF emissions, which allows connected devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops to operate at peak performance while maintaining compliance.

The SX9376 SAR sensor addresses the challenge of adding more RF antennas to 5G-enabled products to meet the frequency increase, which makes it more challenging for designers to maintain global compliance and accurately manage the devices’ RF power, according to the company.

The SX9376 chipset offers a maximum of eight sensor inputs to support multiple antennas and simplify the sensor design. It is also compatible with various antenna designs, which makes it easy to integrate into the latest 5G mobile devices, Semtech said.

Key specs include a capacitance resolution down to 0.74 aF, capacitance offset compensation up to 600 pF and an operating temperature range of –40°C to 85°C. It also features advanced temperature correction to minimize false triggers caused by noise and temperature as well as ultra-low power consumption. The SX9376 is housed in a 1.8 × 1.9 × 0.55-mm QFN package.

Skyworks Solutions Inc.: 5G NR Sky5A RF front-end modules

Chipmakers are also addressing 5G automotive connectivity. Skyworks Solutions Inc. is working with MediaTek to develop 5G NR solutions for integration with automotive communications systems. Offering a complete modem-to-antenna automotive-grade 5G solution, the 5G NR Sky5A RF front-end modules are expected to drive the deployment of the new protocol across a range of automotive OEM and consumer service offerings.

The 5G NR Sky5A RF front-end solution, designed for automotive applications, supports 3GPP Release 15 and Release 16 standards. Key features include bandwidth exceeding 100 MHz, flexible antenna architectures, regional optimization, auxiliary ports to support the addition of future bands and full automotive-grade reliability qualification.