Samsung Electronics has introduced a quad-core application processor built on the High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power process technology. With performance capacities exceeding 1.4 GHz based on the ARM Cortex A9 quad-core, the Exynos 4 Quad allows system-level architects to integrate maximised power efficiencies into smartphones and tablets, Samsung said. This enables double the processing power at a 20 percent lower power bill over the previous 45nm process-based Exynos 4 Dual. The Exynos 4 Quad is particularly well-suited for heavy-load applications such as 3D games, video editing, and calculation-intensive simulation, Samsung said. To improve power efficiency, the company adopted hot-plug functionality to support on-off switching for each core and the per-core dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). Having identical form factor measurements, the Exynos 4 Quad is pin-to-pin compliant with the 32nm process based Exynos 4 Dual. The processor incorporates a full HD 30 fps video codec engine for video recording and play-back, an embedded image signal processor interface for camera functionality and an HDMI 1.4 interface. Samsung developed a power management IC, the S5M8767, as a companion chip to power the Exynos 4 Quad processor. By integrating various circuitry such as nine programmable buck converters and 28 low-dropout regulators into the small package, the S5M8767 is designed to scale up or down the voltage depending on the clock speed in 6.25 mV step for managing power delivery. The Exynos 4 Quad is scheduled to be adopted first into Samsung's next Galaxy smartphone, which will officially be announced in May. Samsung's Exynos 4 Quad is also sampling to other handset makers.
