SK Hynix has set out to strengthen its leadership in the cutting-edge DRAM market by developing 'HBM3,' a 24GB 12-layer stacked DRAM with the highest performance and capacity currently available.

SK Hynix announced on the 20th that it has developed a new HBM3 product that achieves the highest capacity currently available at 24GB (gigabytes) by vertically stacking 12 individual DRAM chips for the first time in the world, and is currently verifying the product's performance with customers.

HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) is a high-value, high-performance product that 혁신적으로 boosts data processing speeds compared to conventional DRAM by vertically connecting multiple DRAMs. HBM has been developed in the order of 1st generation (HBM), 2nd generation (HBM2), 3rd generation (HBM2E), and 4th generation (HBM3).

The maximum capacity of the existing HBM3 was 16GB, which consisted of eight individual DRAM chips stacked vertically.

An official from SK Hynix emphasized, “Following the world’s first mass production of HBM3 last June, we have now succeeded in developing a 24GB package product with a capacity 50% higher than the existing one,” adding, “We expect to be able to supply the new product to the market starting in the second half of the year to meet the growing demand for premium memory driven by the recent expansion of the AI chatbot industry.”

SK Hynix's technical team applied Advanced MR-MUF and TSV technologies to this product. The company stated that it enhanced process efficiency and product performance stability through Advanced MR-MUF technology, and utilized TSV technology to vertically stack 12 individual DRAM chips that are 40% thinner than existing ones, enabling the product to achieve the same height as a 16GB product.

MR-MUF is a process of stacking semiconductor chips, injecting a liquid protective material into the spaces between the chips to protect the circuits between them, and then solidifying it. Compared to the method of laying down a film-type material every time a chip is stacked, this process is evaluated as being more efficient and effective for heat dissipation.

Through Silicon Via (TSV) is an advanced packaging 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. SK Hynix’s HBM3, which utilizes this technology, achieves a maximum speed of 819 GB/s (819 gigabytes per second), capable of transmitting 163 Full-HD movies in one second.

HBM, developed by SK Hynix in 2013 as the world's first, is attracting attention from the industry as a memory semiconductor product essential for generative AI that requires high-performance computing.

In particular, the latest standard, HBM3, is considered the optimal memory for rapidly processing large amounts of data, and demand from big tech companies is gradually increasing.

The company is currently providing HBM3 24GB samples to numerous global customers to verify their performance, and it is reported that customers are also showing great anticipation for the product.

SK Hynix Vice President Hong Sang-hoo (Head of P&T) stated, “Based on our world-class back-end process technology, we were able to successively develop ultra-high-speed, high-capacity HBM products,” adding, “We will complete preparations for the mass production of these new products within the first half of the year to solidify our leadership in the cutting-edge DRAM market for the AI era.”