Samsung is banking on its 10-nanometer FinFET technology to power its upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S8, but reports suggest that the chip may not be all cut and dried.
Samsung is on the brink of facing a lawsuit over allegedly infringing a patent on the aforementioned FinFET technology, the same one Samsung has boasted about generously and the same one crucial to the manufacturing process of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835.
Patent Infringement
The lawsuit comes from KAIST IP, the intellectual property management arm of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, the research university confirmed Wednesday.
KAIST IP sued Samsung Electronics in a Texas Court, The Korea Herald reported.
According to the report, KAIST developed FinFET but was stolen by Samsung when it invited FinFET developer Lee Jong-ho to do a presentation on the technology to engineers at Samsung's turf. Lee is a professor at Seoul National University, KAIST's partner institution.
For perspective, Intel also uses FinFET technology but has acquired proper licenses from KAIST to do so, while Samsung hasn't gone through the same process. Intel pays royalties to KAIST for using the patent.
Not Just Samsung
Apart from Samsung, KAIST also sued Qualcomm and Global Foundries, the latter of which has secured a licensing agreement with Samsung. KAIST will also target Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, once it procures proof of patent infringement.
FinFET Technology
The technology in question, FinFET, is a crucial component in manufacturing advanced processors for mobile handsets. It's a transistor designed to improve semiconductor performance and reduce power consumption.
KAIST alleges that Samsung developed its own technology identical to FinFET, reducing development time and cost by copying the technology Lee developed. Samsung hasn't issued proper credit or provided compensation to Lee or KAIST.
A 10-nanometer chip developed with FinFET technology will power the Samsung Galaxy S8. Other Galaxy S8 rumors purport the phone to rock curved displays for all of its variants, a step away from Samsung's curved and flat display combo found on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The smartphone could also have 5.7-inch and 6.2-inch display variants, in an attempt for Samsung to appeal to Note customers. The smartphone might also come with wireless charging and a touch-based power button.
Samsung will also incorporate artificial intelligence to power the Galaxy S8's voice assistant, similar with Google's Assistant feature. The assistant will reportedly be called Viv, an offspring of Samsung-acquired Viv Labs, run by Siri's cocreator, which might spell good fortune for Samsung's AI push.
The Galaxy S8 is slated for a 2017 unveiling.
