SK Hynix has been exploring the potential of manufacturing 3D NAND at ultra-low temperatures, which may enable the South Korean memory giant to produce its new-generation product with over 400 layers, South Korea’s media outlet TheElec revealed.

According to the report, instead of testing in its own wafer fabs, SK Hynix has sent test wafers to Tokyo Electron (TEL) to test the performance of the latter’s latest cryogenic etching tool. Unlike existing ones, which usually operate at 0~30°C, the Japanese fab equipment maker’s new etching equipment is capable of performing high-speed etching at -70°C.

According to a press release by TEL, its latest memory channel hole etch technology enables a 10-µm-deep etch with a high aspect ratio in just 33 minutes. It can also reduce the global warming potential by 84% compared with previous technologies.

Industry sources cited by the report indicated that SK Hynix plans to utilize a triple-stack structure for 321-layer NAND. However, when it comes to etching in deep channel holes, achieving uniformity is a major challenge. As a result, companies usually adopt double or even triple-stack structures for 3D NAND manufacturing due to the considerable difficulty in etching vertical holes.

With the help of TEL’s new etching equipment, it may be possible in the future to manufacture 3D NAND with over 400 layers, even in structures with fewer stacked layers, allowing memory manufacturers to reduce costs thanks to simplified processes. SK Hynix aims to produce 3D NAND products with over 400 layers, and depending on their performance, these NAND chips may adopt single or double-stack structures.

(Photo credit: SK hynix)

The surge in memory product prices continues, driven by the AI wave revitalizing the memory market. According to a report from Liberty Times Net, prices of high-performance DRAM are also on the rise. Industry sources cited by the same report have indicated that SK Hynix’s LPDDR5/LPDDR4/DDR5 and other DRAM products will see a comprehensive price hike of 15-20%.

According to a report from Chinese media Wallstreetcn, it has cited industry sources, noting that SK Hynix’s DRAM product prices have been steadily increasing month by month since the fourth quarter of last year, with cumulative increases ranging from approximately 60% to 100%. This upward trend in memory prices is expected to continue until the second half of the year.

On April 25th, SK Hynix announced its first-quarter financial results, with revenue soaring to KRW 12.42 trillion, marking a staggering 144.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Operating profit reached KRW 2.88 trillion, far exceeding market expectations of KRW 1.8 trillion, and achieving the second-highest historical figure for the same period.

Contrasting with the loss of KRW 3.4 trillion in the same period last year, this performance represents a significant turnaround for SK Hynix, signaling a shift from a prolonged period of stagnation to comprehensive recovery.

Looking ahead, SK Hynix expressed optimism, stating that the growing demand for memory driven by AI and the recovery of demand for general DRAM products starting from the second half of this year will contribute to a stable growth trend in the memory market for the rest of the year.

Industry sources cited by the report predict that as demand for high-end products like HBM increases, requiring larger capacity compared to general DRAM products, the increase in output of high-end products will lead to a relative decrease in supply of general DRAM products. Consequently, both suppliers and clients are expected to deplete their inventories.

In line with the trend of growing memory demand for AI applications, SK Hynix has decided to ramp up the production of its HBM3e products, which began global production in March this year, and expand its customer base. Additionally, the company plans to launch its fifth-generation 10-nanometer class (1b) 32Gb DDR5 DRAM products within this year, aiming to strengthen its market leadership in high-capacity DRAM products for servers.

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(Photo credit: SK Hynix)

According to South Korean media outlet BusinessKorea’s report on May 2nd, NVIDIA is reported to be fueling competition between Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, possibly in an attempt to lower the prices of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

The report on May 2nd has cited sources, indicating that the prices of the third-generation “HBM3 DRAM” have soared more than fivefold since 2023. For NVIDIA, the significant increase in the pricing of critical component HBM is bound to affect research and development costs.

The report from BusinessKorea thus accused that NVIDIA is intentionally leaking information to fan current and potential suppliers to compete against each other, aiming to lower HBM prices. On April 25th, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won traveled to Silicon Valley to meet with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, potentially related to these strategies.

Although NVIDIA has been testing Samsung’s industry-leading 12-layer stacked HBM3e for over a month, it has yet to indicate willingness to collaborate. BusinessKorea’s report has cited sources, suggesting this is a strategic move aimed at motivate Samsung Electronics. Samsung only recently announced that it will commence mass production of 12-layer stacked HBM3e starting from the second quarter.

SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung announced on May 2nd that the company’s HBM capacity for 2024 has already been fully sold out, and 2025’s capacity is also nearly sold out.  He mentioned that samples of the 12-layer stacked HBM3e will be sent out in May, with mass production expected to begin in the third quarter.

Kwak Noh-Jung further pointed out that although AI is currently primarily centered around data centers, it is expected to rapidly expand to on-device AI applications in smartphones, PCs, cars, and other end devices in the future. Consequently, the demand for memory specialized for AI, characterized by “ultra-fast, high-capacity and low-power,” is expected to skyrocket.

Kwak Noh-Jung also addressed that SK Hynix possesses industry-leading technological capabilities in various product areas such as HBM, TSV-based high-capacity DRAM, and high-performance eSSD. In the future, SK Hynix looks to provide globally top-tier memory solutions tailored to customers’ needs through strategic partnerships with global collaborators.

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(Photo credit: SK Hynix)

According to a report from Korean media outlet viva100, Samsung has signed a new USD 3 billion agreement with processor giant AMD to supply HBM3e 12-layer DRAM for use in the Instinct MI350 series AI chips. Reportedly, Samsung has also agreed to purchase AMD GPUs in exchange for HBM products, although details regarding the specific products and quantities involved remain unclear.

Earlier market reports indicated that AMD plans to launch the Instinct MI350 series in the second half of the year as an upgraded version of the Instinct MI300 series. The MI350 series is reportedly expected to adopt TSMC’s 4-nanometer process, delivering improved computational performance with lower power consumption. The inclusion of 12-layer stacked HBM3e memory will enhance both bandwidth and capacity.

In October 2023, at Samsung Memory Tech Day 2023, Samsung announced the launch of a new HBM3e codenamed “Shinebolt.” In February of this year, Samsung unveiled the industry’s first HBM3e 12H DRAM, featuring 12 layers and a capacity of 36GB, marking the highest bandwidth and capacity HBM product to date. Samsung has provided samples and plans to commence mass production in the second half of the year.

Samsung’s HBM3e 12H DRAM offers up to 1280GB/s bandwidth and 36GB capacity, representing a 50% increase compared to the previous generation of eight-layer stacked memory. Advanced Thermal Compression Non-Conductive Film (TC NCF) technology enables the 12-layer stack to meet HBM packaging requirements while maintaining chip height consistency with eight-layer chips.

Additionally, optimizing the size of chip bumps improves HBM thermal performance, with smaller bumps located in signal transmission areas and larger bumps in heat dissipation areas, contributing to higher product yields.

The adoption of HBM3e 12-layer DRAM over HBM3e 8-layer DRAM has shown an average speed improvement of 34% in AI applications, with inference service users increasing by over 11.5 times.

In view of this matter, industry sources cited by the report from TechNews has indicated that this deal is separate from negotiations between AMD and Samsung Foundry for wafer production. AMD plans to assign a portion of new CPUs/GPUs to Samsung for manufacturing, which is unrelated to this specific transaction.

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(Photo credit: Samsung)

SK hynix announced today that it recorded 12.43 trillion won in revenues, 2.886 trillion won in operating profit (with an operating margin of 23%), and 1.917 trillion won in net profit (with a net margin of 15%) in the first quarter.

With revenues marking an all-time high for a first quarter and the operating profit a second-highest following the records of the first quarter of 2018, SK hynix believes that it has entered the phase of a clear rebound following a prolonged downturn.

The company said that an increase in the sales of AI server products backed by its leadership in AI memory technology including HBM and continued efforts to prioritize profitability led to a 734% on-quarter jump in the operating profit. With the sales ratio of eSSD, a premium product, on the rise and the average selling prices rising, the NAND business has also achieved a meaningful turnaround in the same period.

SK hynix forecasts the overall memory market to be on a steady growth path in coming months as demand for AI memory continues to rise, while the market for the conventional DRAM also starts to recover from the second half. Industry experts believe that inventories both at suppliers and customers will decrease as an increase in production of premium products such as HBM requires higher production capacities than conventional DRAM, resulting in a relative reduction in conventional DRAM supply.

(Photo credit: SK Hynix)