Huawei Kirin Processor

Kirin is a processor for smartphones and tablets.

2023

Mastering 5nm chip production

In early December 2023, it became known that China, contrary to sanctions from the United States, mastered the manufacture of microchips using 5-nm technology. Moreover, in this regard, Chinese companies were able to get ahead of American manufacturers.

According to Tom's Hardware resource, the announcement of the Huawei Qingyun L540 laptop speaks of the readiness of Chinese companies to release products using a 5nm process technology. This laptop is equipped with a proprietary Kirin 9006C chip manufactured according to 5 nm standards. The product combines eight Arm computing cores with a maximum clock speed of 3.13 GHz and an Arm Mali-G78 graphics accelerator.

Kirin 9006C

It is noted that the Chinese corporation SMIC is engaged in the production of Kirin 9006C. It has hardware that can be used to create 5nm processors. We are talking about the use of lithographic scanners working with deep ultraviolet light (DUV). Due to Western sanctions, SMIC does not have access to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography facilities. But Chinese companies are introducing alternative technologies to improve production capabilities: for example, multi-catering can be used to increase the density of the elements.

Chipmakers in China can use a triple or even quadruple pattern to produce 5nm chips. This lithography technique involves dividing a complex pattern into several simpler ones, which are then applied sequentially to achieve higher accuracy and detail. Creating multiple templates is a complex process that affects the performance and number of usable chips per plate. This approach circumvents the problem of lack of modern equipment, but leads to an increase in the cost of final products.^[1]

Kirin 9000s on 7nm SMIC technology

The analysis of Huawei chips indicates a breakthrough in the field of chip production, which is a blow to US sanctions.

According to an analysis smartphone by TechInsights for Bloomberg News, the Mate 60 Pro uses a new Kirin 9000s chip manufactured by the China company. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp

According to the research company, this processor is the first to use 7nm SMIC technology, and suggests that the Chinese government is making some progress in trying to create an internal ecosystem of chips.

U.S. export controls have not stopped China from developing surprisingly advanced semiconductors for smartphones, adding to American worries about the country's military capabilities amid significant uncertainty.

The Kirin chip in the Huawei Mate 60 Pro smartphone is not as perfect as the 3nm chips running Apple's latest new iPhones. But export controls were aimed at keeping Chinese technology capabilities 8 to 10 years behind American ones, and the phone demonstrated Huawei's chip partner, Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), could be just four years behind.

2022: Huawei's lack of processors due to US sanctions

On December 21, 2022, it became known that Huawei had exhausted its own processor stocks for smartphones. This is evidenced by statistics collected by the analytical company Counterpoint Research.

Amid US sanctions, the introduction of which began against Huawei in 2019 (more here), the Chinese manufacturer has lost the opportunity to purchase advanced chips from American developers. Later, the restrictions were expanded, as a result of which Huawei cannot order the production of processors from enterprises using American software or equipment, in particular TSMC.

Kirin 990 5G processor

Counterpoint Research estimates that the share of new smartphones with Kirin chips developed by Huawei's HiSilicon division shrank to zero in the third quarter of 2022. For comparison: in the second quarter of 2022, it was 0.4%, and a year earlier - 3%. Thus, Huawei no longer has its own mobile processors.

At the same time telecommunication , the giant, according to reports, is considering the possibility of using Chinese-made products in its smartphones: they will be able to provide support, 5G but in terms of functionality and performance they will be inferior to advanced solutions. The fact is that, SMIC the largest Chinese semiconductor manufacturing enterprise, is capable of producing 7nm chips, but such solutions are not suitable for smartphones - they can be used in mining systems. cryptocurrencies As for processors for mobile devices, SMIC and other manufacturers PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA in are not yet able to use technologies with norms less than 14nm. For comparison: TSMC Samsung and Foundry are already manufacturing chips for smartphones using a 4nm method. In 2023, these enterprises will begin to ship products made using 3-nm technology.^[2]

2020

Huawei starts making chips on its own

In early November 2020, it became known about the launch of Huawei's own production of processors. Thus, the Chinese manufacturer of telecommunications equipment and servers intends to minimize the consequences of the American sanctions imposed on it. Read more here.

Processor shutdown due to US sanctions

In August 2020, it became known that the Chinese manufacturer smartphones Huawei Technologies in September will be forced to stop the production of phones based on the Kirin processor. The reason is the sanctions imposed by the United States (see Sanctions against Huawei).

"Production will cease on the fifteenth of September. This year may be the last for high-performance Huawei Kirin processors, "said Richard Yu, head of the company's consumer division.

He added that Huawei "has no processors and no supplies": the announced Mate 40 smartphone will be the last based on Kirin.

2019

Kirin 1000 announcement

Huawei began in the fall of 2019 to trial production of the unique Kirin 1000 processor as of October 1, 2019. It is a flagship chip focused on future top-end smartphones and possibly Huawei tablet computers, as well as mobile gadgets launched under its sister brand Honor.

The uniqueness of the Kirin 1000 lies in the technological process used in its production - according to the Korea Herald, Huawei has relied on 5 nanometers. For comparison, the most modern chips Qualcomm Samsung and are 7-nanometer, and smaller vendors have not yet had time to master this technology. In other words, at the time of publication of this material, not a single 5-nanometer processor existed in the world.

Kirin 990 и Kirin 990 (5G)

On September 6, 2019, Huawei unveiled the flagship Kirin 990 mobile processor and its 5G version. The line of processors was created to significantly increase overall performance, reduce energy consumption, improve the processing of intelligent tasks and photos, and offer mobile users a higher level of capabilities and comfort compared to existing 4G solutions.

"Kirin 990 (5G) is a 5G processor that will provide full access to the wide range of high-speed data transmission capabilities in the first phase of the widespread adoption of 5G communication. To meet the growing needs of users in the 5G era, the Kirin 990 (5G) has been completely updated in terms of performance and energy efficiency, intelligent computing and image processing, " noted Richard Yoo '

According to the developer, the Kirin 990 (5G) processor is a 5G processor that provides the most compact implementation of 5G communication on smartphones. Thanks to the advanced 7nm + EUV process and integrated 5G modem, the Kirin 990 is compact and energy efficient. Kirin 990 (5G) is a full-frequency 5G processor that supports both non-autonomous (NSA) and autonomous (SA) 5G network architecture, as well as full TDD/FDD frequency bands, which allows it to operate in all types and modes of new generation networks. Built on the basis of the 5G Balong 5000 chip, the Kirin 990 (5G) provides high download and download speeds: up to 2.3 and up to 1.25 Gbps, respectively.

As noted in Huawei, the Kirin 990 (5G) is a processor with an integrated NPU dual-core neural computing module built on the Da Vinci architecture, which includes large and small NPU cores. Large cores provide high performance and energy efficiency on resource-intensive tasks, while small ones take on small tasks, which in total allows you to organize the fastest processing of a wide variety of applications with minimal battery consumption.

According to the manufacturer, to reduce power consumption, the Kirin 990 CPU module received a three-level structure, which includes two ultra-large cores, two large cores and four small cores with a dominant frequency of up to 2.86 GHz. In addition, the Kirin 990 is equipped with a 16-core Mali-G76 graphics module and Smart Cache system-level cache for intelligent flow allocation, which effectively saves bandwidth, reducing power consumption. For processing resource-intensive video games, Kirin 990 (5G) supports advanced Kirin Gaming + 2.0 technology, which provides efficient interaction between software and hardware infrastructure, which allows you to achieve high performance and smoothness on modern gaming applications.

To improve the photographic capabilities of smartphones, Kirin 990 (5G) has received an updated ISP 5.0 module, using block matching technology, 3D filtering (BM3D) and professional-grade hardware noise cancellation technology, which will allow you to take brighter and clearer pictures in low light conditions. The module also uses double noise cancellation for video for the first time, providing more accurate image processing in video mode. Post-processing and real-time video rendering based on intelligent segmentation provide frame-by-frame color adjustment to produce cinematic-quality videos.

As reported in Huawei in September 2019, updated smartphones Huawei P30 Pro Mate series based on the Kirin 990 processor will appear on sale.

2018: Kirin 980

On August 31, 2018, Huawei introduced the Kirin 980 processor, the next stage in the development of mobile artificial intelligence. According to the company, becoming the first commercial chip created by the 7-nanometer process developed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), it combines performance, efficiency and is equipped with a dual module of neural computing.

According to company representatives, the 7nm process developed by TSMC allows you to place 980 6.9 billion transistors in Kirin on an area of ​ ​ 1 sq. cm, which is 1.6 times the capabilities of the previous generation processor. Compared to a 10nm process, the technology provides 20% performance improvement and 40% efficiency growth.

The Kirin 980 processor also became a chip that received Cortex-A76-based cores, 75% more powerful and 58% more efficient than the previous generation. The Kirin processor subsystem uses an intelligent Flex-scheduling engine that creates a three-tiered energy efficiency architecture that contains two high-performance Cortex-A76-based cores, two energy-efficient Cortex-A76-based cores, and four of the most energy-efficient Cortex-A55. This technology assigns urgent and resource-intensive tasks to the most productive cores, distributes less complex actions to large energy-efficient cores, and gives simple, routine tasks to the most economical ones. Running at higher clock speeds than the previous generation, the Kirin 980 delivers faster app downloads, improved multitasking and the comfort of everyday device use.

Huawei has integrated a Mali-G76 graphics module into the processor that provides a vibrant gaming experience. Introduced in the Kirin 980, the Mali-G76 gives 46% higher performance and 178% higher energy efficiency compared to the previous generation. Mali-G76 also received innovative clock-up technology that uses artificial intelligence to identify game tasks and allocate resources for optimal performance.

According to the company, the Kirin chip opens the next stage in the development of artificial intelligence technologies. Dual neural processor module improves the efficiency of intelligent tasks. The collaboration of the two NPUs results in more than twice the performance for image recognition. The Kirin 980 processor is capable of recognizing up to 4,600 images per minute, which is 120% more than the previous generation. Kirin 980 supports generic AI platforms such as Caffee, TensorFlow and Tensorflow Lite, and offers a suite of tools to make it easier to develop solutions on the device. This allows developers to easily exploit the full potential of a dual neural module.

Huawei has integrated its own fourth-generation image stabilization system into the processor. ISP supports multi-camera configurations and includes HDR color playback technology that is able to control image contrast by illuminating objects in different parts of the frame. In addition, the Kirin 980 uses an improved noise reduction solution that removes picture defects with high accuracy without damaging image details. This is expressed in the higher overall quality of pictures taken in low light. Another ISP function is motion tracking. With its help, ISP recognizes moving objects with an accuracy of 97.4%, allowing any user to easily capture dynamic scenes.

Kirin 980 also uses a video frame processing process chain that reduces processing latency by 33%.

To provide Kirin 980-based mobile devices with maximum wireless speed, Huawei has integrated an LTE Cat.21 modem with a peak download speed of 1.4 Gbps. In addition, the Kirin 980 received support for carrier aggregation even from different frequency bands. This gives users the freedom to choose mobile operators and the ability to enjoy maximum data rates anywhere in the world.^[3]

2017: Kirin 970

On September 2, 2017, Huawei introduced the Kirin 970 processor. It is designed for smartphones and tablets.

A feature of the device is the NPU (Neural Processing Unit) module, which gives the device support for artificial intelligence. The developers said the use of NPU helps Kirin 970 devices "understand the user and support real-time image recognition, voice interaction and intelligent shooting"^[4]

Kirin 970 was developed in conjunction with Huawei's HiSilicon subsidiary through a 10nm process technology. The processor contains eight computing cores: a quad-core ARM Cortex-A73 clocked at up to 2.4 GHz and a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 clocked at up to 1.8 GHz. The video subsystem operates on a 12-core graphics accelerator Mali-G72 MP12. It is possible to decode 4K video at a rate of 60 frames per second and encode 4K video at a rate of 30 frames per second.

NPU performance ~ 1.92 Tflops for half-precision calculations (FP16). The coprocessor uses a HiAI architecture. Huawei has opened access to NPU capabilities for third-party application developers through an open AI ecosystem and associated software settings.

The Kirin 970 has a dual signal processor with motion capture and face detection capabilities, four-level hybrid autofocus, shooting moving objects in low light. The processor includes an LTE Category 18 modem, which theoretically provides the ability to download information through a cellular network at speeds up to 1.2 Gbps.

LPPDR 4X RAM (1883 MHz), HDR10, i7 sensor, separate Security Engine processor with TEE and inSE support and Hi-Fi sound are supported.

Notes