SK hynix develops 12-layer HBM3 with industry’s largest memory capacity

SK hynix Inc.‘s 12-layer HBM3 product with a 24 gigabyte memory capacity [Photo provided by SK hynix]

SK hynix Inc. said on Thursday it has become the industry’s first to develop 12-layer HBM3 product with a 24 gigabyte (GB) memory capacity, currently the largest in the industry, and customers‘ performance evaluation of sample products is underway.

The maximum memory capacity of the previously developed 8-layer HBM3 product was 16GB.

HBM or high bandwidth memory is a high-value, high-performance memory that vertically interconnects multiple DRAM chips and dramatically increases data processing speed in comparison to traditional DRAM products. HBM3 is the 4th generation of the previous products HBM, HBM2 and HBM2E.

The company said it succeeded in developing the 24GB package product that increased the memory capacity by 50 percent from the previous product, following the mass production of the world’s first HBM3 in June last year.

SK hynix anticipates the supply of the new products to the market from the second half of this year in line with growing demand for premium memory products driven by the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot industry.

SK hynix engineers improved process efficiency and performance stability by applying Advanced Mass Reflow Molded Underfill (MR-MUF) technology to the latest product, while Through Silicon Via (TSV) technology reduced the thickness of a single DRAM chip by 40 percent, achieving the same stack height level as the 16GB product.

SK hynix Inc.‘s 12-layer HBM3 product with a 24 gigabyte memory capacity [Photo provided by SK hynix]

TSV is an interconnecting technology used in advanced packaging that links the upper and lower chips with electrode that vertically passes through thousands of fine holes on DRAM chips.

SK hynix’s HBM3 that integrated this technology can process up to 819GB per second, meaning that 163 full-HD movies can be transmitted in a single second.

The HBM, first developed by SK hynix in 2013, has drawn broad attention from the memory chip industry for its crucial role in implementing generative AI that operates in high-performance computing systems.

The latest HBM3 standard is considered the optimal product for rapid processing of large volumes of data, and therefore its adoption by major global tech companies is on the rise.

“SK hynix was able to continuously develop a series of ultra-high speed and high capacity HBM products through its leading technologies used in the back-end process,” said Hong Sang-hoo, Head of Package & Test at SK hynix. “We plan to complete mass production preparation for the new product within the first half of this year to further solidify our leadership in cutting-edge DRAM market in the AI era.”