EE Times interviewed Yole and System Plus Consulting analysts based in France not long ago. When asked if Apple made the biggest advance in iPhone X design, Yole CEO and President Jean-Christophe Eloy considered it as "Apple Optical system for handheld devices. "He pointed out that Apple set a major milestone in making 3D-sensing more accurate than any existing Android phone-recognizing the function of the face- Devices, cars and doorbell and so on a variety of devices.
The following EE Times reporter asked Eloy to share with Fraux the 'bright spots' found in deep dismantling and also asked them to identify the few well-known companies that won the iPhone X design case.
Austrian PCB manufacturer AT & S is one of the big winners
Analysts said AT & S, a PCB maker headquartered in Leoben, Austria, was the biggest contributor to the highly integrated iPhone X interior design.
While experts such as TechInsights and iFixit dismantling analysis institutes were all astonished with 'PCB Sandwiches' in iPhone X, Fraux pointed out that AT & S is by far the only one capable of delivering this unprecedented high density on the PCB Leveling interconnected vendors; by stacking two PCBs together, he estimates that Apple can therefore save 15% of the floor space on the iPhone X and thus have room to plug in more batteries.
Two PCBs stacked together and their cross-section (Source: System Plus Consulting)
Undoubtedly, adjusted semi-additive processes (mSAPs) and advanced manufacturing technologies enable high-density interconnects in smartphones with lower cost and faster production speeds. Yole's Eloy Noting that AT & S's mSAP has contributed significantly to the recent performance of the company - a EUR 765.9 million for the first three quarters of FY 2017, up 24.5% from the same period in 2016.
Advanced substrate process comparison (Source: Yole Developpement)
Fraux explained that mSAP is' used to make laminates or build-up substrates and has pre-fabricated dielectric sheets and thin copper layers as a Patterned or copper-coated seed layers. The advantage of mSAP, however, is that it provides a thinner layer of copper that is applied to the uncovered laminate and board areas of the resist.
mSAP supports the ability to demarcate the wiring patterns using optical lithography and therefore allows for more accurate alignment, maximum circuit density, and hence precise impedance control and lower signal distortion.
Bosch develops custom inertial sensors for Apple
Apple decided to add an LTE module to the latest Apple Watch that had to overcome one big challenge: the thickness of the smartwatch; and Fraux pointed out that Germany's Bosch Sensortec jumped out to customize the inertial sensor (IMU) for the new Apple Watch, The component thickness is reduced from 0.9mm to 0.6mm: 'This is the thinnest six-axis IMU on the market today.'
Bosch also replaced InvenSense as a sensor supplier for the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. In the Apple Watch Series 3 it replaced STMicroelectronics. Fraux pointed out that these three product designs bring hundreds of millions of shipments to Bosch each year, Bosch is the undisputed leader in the consumer MEMS IMU market.
Fraux shared his observations in a recent report by System Plus Consulting: 'Bosch Sensortec has made significant changes, especially in accelerometers, abandoning the old single-mass structure that can be achieved New structure for better sensing performance; in addition, the company has not changed the micro-machining process for many years has also been innovative, accelerometers and gyroscopes have adopted a new process.
He added: "The new ASIC die is designed to fuse data from accelerometers and gyroscopes and should also provide lower current consumption and additional functionality."
Broadcom for LTE to build advanced SiP solutions
Industry has been concerned about Intel and Qualcomm (Qualcomm) battle for Apple's latest iPhone baseband chipboard war, and we should also know that the two companies later were captured in different regions of the market sold different models iPhone X ; But one of the less discussed topics is the front-end module RF system-in-package (SiP) design for the handset.
Systemux Consulting's Fraux notes that iPhone X's advanced RF SiP was developed by Broadcom (Avago) to achieve unprecedented levels of integration - 18 filters in a single package, nearly 30 Naked die; Broadcom designed this program's goal is to adapt to Japan's high-frequency (Band 42, 3.6GHz).
Broadcom Designed Front End Module (Source: System Plus Consulting)
Broadcom is especially important for SIM-less handsets; Fraux notes that the A1865 and A1902 models of the iPhone X are powered by Broadcom and Skyworks front-end modules, the A1901 model iPhone X and front-end module vendors Broadcom and Skyworks With Epcos.
Mobile phone optical system of technological breakthroughs
Yole's Eloy concluded that the iPhone X optical system is a real improvement, saying that its TrueDepth camera is a combination of five complex sub-modules embedded in Apple's optical hub; those sub-modules include near infrared cameras provided by ST , ToF distance sensors and IR flood sensors, as well as RGB cameras, dot projectors and color / ambient light sensors from AMS.
Fraux observed that the RGB camera sensor is a product with a complex supply chain: 'Sony offers CMOS image sensors (CIS) and LG Innotek should be the entire module supplier;' and the key to the system is its IR camera , RGB video cameras and dot matrix projector design is consistent, and can work together.
TrueDepth for iPhone X contains 5 submodules (source: System Plus Consulting)
As Pierre Cambou, head of imaging technology and sensor at Yole Developpement, explained to EE Times earlier, there is a 3D camera on the front of the iPhone X that discerns the user's face, unlocks the phone, and combines ToF distance sensors and infrared 'structured light 'Camera, so you can use uniform' flood 'or' dot-pattern 'lighting.
Cambou pointed out that the 3D sensing camera system works very differently from a typical CMOS image sensor that takes a photo.First, the iPhone X combines an infrared camera with a pan-sensing element to project a uniform infrared light in front of the phone. , And this triggers the face recognition algorithm.
However, this face recognition does not work continuously, and an infrared camera connected to a ToF range sensor signals that the camera takes a photo when it detects a face, iPhone X then activates its dot matrix projector, and then Generic images and bitmap images are sent to the application processing unit (APU) for neural network training to identify and lock the cellphone user.
Fraux pointed out that ST uses its own vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) on the proximity sensor and floodlight module, he said, as the five sub-modules are arranged On the top of the iPhone X, if Apple considers reducing the size of the iPhone, it's important to think about how to miniaturize or integrate these submodules further.
iPhone X proximity sensor and floodlighting module (source: System Plus Consulting)
Why a microphone less one?
Apple has four microphones on both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8, including a top, a total of three front microphones on the bottom two, and another microphone on top of the back of the phone, according to which Fraux explains that the front-to- The microphones are designed to eliminate noise. The one on the back is for recording, and the other two microphones on the bottom are for talking.
iPhone X uses only a total of three microphones (source: System Plus Consulting)
However, System Plus Consulting found that the iPhone X is equipped with only three microphones, of which only one is located at the bottom; for the reason, Fraux said they have not yet solved the mystery. IPhone X's three microphones have dual sources of supply, which One is Goertek, a Chinese player, and another is Knowles.
Compile: Judith Cheng