Samsung Launches USB Type-C Power Controller Chips

Samsung Electronics has launched two new USB Type-C power delivery (PD) controllers for more efficient charging, the company has announced.

The SE8A and MM101 meet the latest USB specification, USB-PD 3.0, for fast-charging. They will be able to authenticate whether a connected device is certified with USB-PD 3.0 and can charge accordingly.

Both chips have embedded flash for firmware updates. They also support up to 100W compared to the 10W offered in conventional smartphone chargers, which will allow them to be applied to other more power-consuming devices such as tablets, laptops, and monitors.

See: Samsung SDI launches ESS for new energy use  

SE8A is also the first chip to combine a Secure Element Integrated Circuit with a power controller into a single chip. Samsung said this will allow for extra protective measures, such as security key storage, and compact encoding and decoding sensitive data within a device.

According to Samsung, these measures will prevent hacking during charging.

MM101, meanwhile, can support a symmetric encryption algorithm for product authentication and can measure moisture levels to ensure safe charging.

Samsung added that SE8A is already in mass production and while samples of MM101 have been sent to clients.

In April, the South Korean tech giant announced it would invest 133 trillion won into its logic chip businesses by 2030.

Earlier this month, the company introduced 64MP image sensors aimed at smartphones.

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