Processing speed increased by 50% compared to existing HBM2
| Processing 460 GByte of data per second with 1,024 I/Os
16GB achieved by vertically connecting 8 16Gb chips via TSV

DRAM faster than HBM2, which is faster than DDR4, is being released.

SK Hynix announced on the 12th that it has succeeded in developing HBM2E DRAM.

HBM2E is the next-generation product of HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) DRAM, which has a higher data processing speed than existing DRAM, and has increased the processing speed by 50% compared to the previous standard, HBM2.

Until a few years ago, memory bandwidth and system requirements increased proportionally.

However, recently, the demand for memory throughput across industries has surged due to advancements in AI, IoT, blockchain, RADAR, 5G, and 8K video. On the other hand, the increase in memory bandwidth has not been able to keep up with this.

Although the bandwidth of the most widely used DDR SDRAM has doubled with each generation over the past 20 years, the commercialization of DDR5 SDRAM is still a long way off in 2019. Furthermore, it seems difficult to keep up with recent trends with only a twofold increase in bandwidth.

HBM2E developed by SK Hynix can achieve a processing speed of 3.6 gigabits (Gbit/s), enabling 460 gigabytes (GByte) of data processing per second through 1,024 I/Os.

This is a level capable of processing data equivalent to 124 FHD (Full-HD) movies (3.7GB) in one second.

The capacity is 16GB, achieved by vertically connecting eight 16Gb chips using TSV (Through Silicon Via) technology on a single product basis.

TSV is an interconnection technology that drills thousands of tiny holes in a DRAM chip and connects the holes of the upper and lower chips with electrodes that penetrate vertically.

HBM2E is a high-specification memory solution suitable for systems based on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as machine learning, supercomputers, and AI, as well as high-performance GPUs that require ultra-high speed characteristics.

HBM does not use the conventional method of creating memory chips in the form of modules and connecting them to the motherboard; instead, the chips themselves are mounted close to logic chips such as GPUs at a distance of tens of micrometers (µm). SK Hynix announced the first-generation HBM product with AMD in 2013 and developed HBM2 with Samsung Electronics in 2016.

"SK Hynix HBM Business Strategy Manager Jun-Hyeon Jeon stated, 'SK Hynix will begin full-scale mass production starting in 2020 when the HBM2E market opens, and will continue to strengthen its leadership in the premium memory market.'"