USB-C is being adopted by many manufacturers for their upcoming smartphones, mainly due to its support for fast charging and reversibility.
Samsung has given them new motivation to go for USB type-C ports by announcing two new USB-C PD controller chips that will be able to support 100W of charging. The PD controller chips can be used in smartphones, tablets, monitors, laptops and more.
For safer fast charging, the USB-C port needs a controller chip that ensures that a safe amount of power goes through the port. These new chips by Samsung support up to 100 W (20V/5A) charging speed with USB-PD 3.0.
Both the chips, SE8A and MM101, come with flash memory to support future firmware updates. SE8A is the first PD chip with Secure Element Integrated Circuit and the MM101 comes with symmetric encryption algorithm for product authentication.
According to Samsung, SE8A is in the mass production phase at the moment while MM101 is still being tested and chips are being sent to clients for feedback.
SE8A
SE8A is the first PD controller that combines the power controller and Secure Element (CC EAL5+ equivalent) onto a single chip. This enables extra protection and security measures which include compact encoding and decoding within the device, and security key storage. SE8A also has support for the authentication of products and prevents misuse. This support will prevent hacking while you’re charging your device.
MM101
MM101 comes with product authentication abilities as it supports a symmetric encryption algorithm for product authentication. Other safety measures it comes with includes moisture detection for a safer charging environment and over-voltage protection.
The following image shows how the fast charging process for PD controllers work:
100W fast charging in smartphones is unlikely, but this could be a hint that Samsung wants to incorporate USB-C PD fast charging in its phones. The current highest fast charging support by Samsung is 25W in its Galaxy S10 5G.
