SK Hynix introduces Gen.4 HBM product for data centers

HBM3 (SK Hynix)

In an industry first, SK Hynix has developed the fourth generation of high bandwidth memory, or HBM3, the company said Wednesday.

HBM is a high value DRAM product with fastened data processing, which combines multiple DRAM chips vertically.

Demand for HBM products has been growing from high-performance data center businesses as well as machine learning platform operators.

SK Hynix has three previous HBM products, HBM, HBM2 and HBM2E, and the latest development is an update to the HBM2 by increasing the bandwidth and capacities.

The latest product can process up to 819 gigabytes per second, meaning that 163 full-HD movies could be transmitted in a single second. This represents a 78 percent increase in the data-processing speed compared with last year’s HBM2E.

It also corrects data errors with the help of the built-in on-die error-correction code, significantly improving the reliability of the product, the company said.

According to the company, SK Hynix’s HBM3 is not only the fastest DRAM in the world, but also comes with the greatest capacity and a significantly improved level of quality.

The product will be provided in two capacity types of 24 gigabytes -- the industry’s biggest -- and 16 gigabytes.

For the 24-gigabyte product, SK Hynix engineers ground the height of a DRAM chip to approximately 30 micrometers, equivalent to a third of an A4 paper’s thickness, before vertically stacking 12 chips using the through-silicon via technology.

“Since its launch of the world’s first HBM DRAM, SK Hynix has succeeded in developing the industry’s first HBM3 after leading the HBM2E market,” said Cha Seon-yong, executive vice president in charge of DRAM development. “We will continue our efforts to solidify our leadership in the premium memory market and help boost the values of our customers by providing products that are in line with the ESG management standards.”

By Song Su-hyun(song@heraldcorp.com)