SK Hynix "HBM Demand to Increase... Customized from 7th Generation HBM4E"

Lee Kang-wook, Vice President of Packaging Development, to Present at 'SEMICON Taiwan 2024' Session

Lee Kang-wook, Vice President in charge of PKG (Packaging) development at SK Hynix, said on the 3rd, "Although it varies depending on the application product, as the generations of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) advance, the average number of adoptions mounted on training and inference artificial intelligence (AI) servers will increase."

On the same day, Lee made this remark during a session presentation titled "HBM and Advanced Packaging Technology Preparing for the AI Era" at 'Semicon Taiwan 2024' held in Taipei, Taiwan.

Lee Kang-wook, Vice President of SK Hynix. [Photo by SK Hynix]

Lee explained, "HBM4 will be supplied in 12 and 16 layers, with capacities up to 48GB, and data processing speeds will improve to over 1.65TB (terabytes) per second. Starting from HBM4, logic processes are applied to the base die, which is expected to enhance performance and energy efficiency." The base die is a core component that acts as the foundation of HBM and controls the HBM.

Lee projected that demand for HBM will increase further as HBM performance advances. According to the industry, the generative AI market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 27% from last year through 2032, while the HBM market is anticipated to grow at an average annual rate of 109% from 2022 to 2025.

SK Hynix plans to launch the HBM4 12-layer product in the second half of next year. In particular, the company aims to enhance product competitiveness in terms of energy efficiency and heat dissipation performance through its independently developed packaging technology.

Lee emphasized, "We plan to apply 'Advanced MR-MUF' to the mass production of the HBM4 12-layer product. For the 16-layer product, we are preparing both Advanced MR-MUF and hybrid bonding methods, and will select the optimal method according to customer needs."

Advanced MR-MUF is a technology that packages multiple semiconductor chips stacked at once. Hybrid bonding is a technology that reduces the thickness of HBM while increasing speed. Recently, SK Hynix confirmed the applicability of Advanced MR-MUF technology for the 16-layer product.

Lee stated, "We are also preparing for the development of HBM4 and subsequent generation products, and are reviewing various options such as 2.5D and 3D SiP (System in Package) packaging to solve technical challenges in bandwidth, capacity, and energy efficiency. From HBM4E (7th generation HBM), it is expected to have a stronger custom (customer-tailored) nature, so we are strengthening cooperation with global partners from the perspective of ecosystem building."

Meanwhile, Semicon Taiwan, held from the 4th to the 6th, is the largest semiconductor industry exhibition in Taiwan, where about 1,000 global companies, centered on Taiwanese companies including TSMC, the number one foundry company, will showcase semiconductor materials, equipment, and related technologies.