SK hynix develops industry's 1st 12-layer HBM3 DRAM

SK hynix's 12-layer HBM3 DRAM chips / Courtesy of SK hynix

By Baek Byung-yeul

SK hynix successfully developed the industry's first 12-layer stacked high bandwidth memory (HBM3) chip, aiming to overcome the low demand for semiconductor products with its advanced technology, according to the memory chipmaker, Thursday.

HBM is a high-value and high-performance memory chip that vertically interconnects multiple DRAM chips to increase data processing speed in comparison to traditional DRAM chips.

HBM3 is the fourth-generation one, succeeding the previous generations of HBM, HBM2 and HBM2E. SK hynix developed the first-generation HBM in 2013 and drew industry attention for its crucial role in implementing a generative AI that operates in high-performance computing systems.

The company said it expects the product to be in high demand in sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI) that require a high capacity and fast data processing, and is currently validating its performance with customers.

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

“We will be able to start supplying the new products to the market in the second half of the year, in line with growing demand for premium memory products driven by the AI-powered chatbot industry.”

The company elaborated further saying that it was able to develop the 12-layer product because its engineers improved process efficiency and performance stability by applying advanced mass reflow molded under fill (MR-MUF) technology. This was done by placing multiple chips on the lower substrate and bonding them at once through reflow, and then simultaneously filling the gap between the chips with a mold material.

The company also applied through-silicon via (TSV) technology to reduce the thickness of a single DRAM chip by 40 percent and achieved the same stack height level as the 16-gigabyte product.

“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.