South Korean memory giant SK hynix has introduced the industry’s first 48GB 16-high HBM3E at SK AI Summit in Seoul today, which is the world’s highest number of layers followed by the 12-high product, according to its press release.

According to SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung, though the market for 16-high HBM is expected to open up from the HBM4 generation, SK hynix has been developing 48GB 16-high HBM3E in a bid to secure technological stability and plans to provide samples to customers early next year, the press release noted.

In late September, SK hynix announced that it has begun mass production of the world’s first 12-layer HBM3E product with 36GB.

On the other hand, SK hynix is expected to apply Advanced MR-MUF process, which enabled the mass production of 12-high products, to produce 16-high HBM3E, while also developing hybrid bonding technology as a backup, Kwak explained.

According to Kwak, SK hynix’s 16-high products come with performance improvement of 18% in training, 32% in inference vs 12-high products.

Kwak Noh-Jung made the introduction of SK hynix’s 16-high HBM3E during his keynote speech at SK AI Summit today, titled “A New Journey in Next-Generation AI Memory: Beyond Hardware to Daily Life.” He also shared the company’s vision to become a “Full Stack AI Memory Provider”, or a provider with a full lineup of AI memory products in both DRAM and NAND spaces, through close collaboration with interested parties, the press release notes.

It is worth noting that SK hynix highlighted its plans to adopt logic process on base die from HBM4 generation through collaboration with a top global logic foundry to provide customers with best products.

A previous press release in April notes that SK hynix has signed a memorandum of understanding with TSMC for collaboration to produce next-generation HBM and enhance logic and HBM integration through advanced packaging technology. The company plans to proceed with the development of HBM4, or the sixth generation of the HBM family, slated to be mass produced from 2026, through this initiative.

To further expand the memory giant’s product roadmap, it is developing LPCAMM2 module for PC and data center, 1cnm-based LPDDR5 and LPDDR6, taking full advantage of its competitiveness in low-power and high-performance products, according to the press release.

The company is readying PCIe 6th generation SSD, high-capacity QLC-based eSSD and UFS 5.0.

As powering AI system requires a sharp increase in capacity of memory installed in servers, SK hynix revealed in the press release that it is preparing CXL Fabrics that enables high capacity through connection of various memories, while developing eSSD with ultra-high capacity to allow more data in a smaller space at low power.

SK hynix is also developing technology that adds computational functions to memory to overcome so-called memory wall. Technologies such as Processing near Memory(PNM), Processing in Memory(PIM), Computational Storage, essential to process enormous amount of data in future, will be a challenge that transforms structure of next-generation AI system and a future of AI industry, according to the press release.

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(Photo credit: SK hynix)

Driven by booming demand for AI chips, TSMC’s advanced CoWoS (Chip on Wafer on Substrate) packaging faces a significant supply shortage. In response, TSMC is expanding its production capacity and is considering price increases to maintain supply chain stability.

According to a recent report from Morgan Stanley cited by Commercial Times, TSMC has received approval from NVIDIA to raise prices next year, with CoWoS packaging expected to increase by 10% to 20%, depending on capacity expansion.

At TSMC’s Q3 earnings call, Chairman C.C. Wei highlighted that customer demand for CoWoS far outstrips supply. Despite TSMC’s plan to more than double CoWoS capacity in 2024 compared to 2023, supply constraints persist.

To meet demand, TSMC is collaborating closely with packaging and testing firms to expand CoWoS capacity. Industry sources quoted by CNA reveal that ASE Group and SPIL are working with TSMC on the back-end CoWoS-S oS (on-Substrate) process. By 2025, ASE may handle 40-50% of TSMC’s outsourced CoWoS-S oS packaging.

ASE announced investments in advanced packaging, covering CoWoS front-end (Chip on Wafer) and oS processes, along with advanced testing.

SPIL, a subsidiary of ASE, recently invested NT$419 million in land at Central Taiwan Science Park’s Erlin Park, boosting CoWoS capacity. Additionally, SPIL has allocated NT$3.702 billion to acquire property from Ming Hwei Energy in Douliu, Yunlin, for further expansion.

ASE also announced in early October that its new Kaohsiung K28 facility, slated for completion in 2026, will expand CoWoS capacity.

In early October, TSMC announced a partnership with Amkor in Arizona to expand InFO and CoWoS packaging capabilities. Industry sources cited by CNA suggest that Apple, a user of TSMC’s U.S.-based 4nm process for application processors, may leverage Amkor’s CoWoS capacity. Other U.S.-based AI clients utilizing TSMC’s advanced nodes for ASICs and GPUs are also expected to consider Amkor’s CoWoS packaging in the future.

(Photo credit: TSMC)

Ahead of the upcoming presidential election and shortly after the TSMC-Huawei investigation, U.S.-based GlobalFoundries, the world’s third largest foundry company, was fined by the U.S. government for USD 500,000 for unauthorized shipments of chips to SJ Semiconductor, an affiliate of blacklisted Chinese chipmaker SMIC, according to a report by Reuters.

According to a press release by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), GlobalFoundries made 74 shipments, valued at USD17.1 million, to SJ Semiconductor, an SMIC affiliate, without obtaining the required license. “We want U.S. companies to be hypervigilant when sending semiconductor materials to Chinese parties,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod in the press release.

The report by Reuters notes that both SMIC and SJ Semiconductor were placed on the Entity List, which is a trade restriction list, in 2020 due to SMIC’s alleged ties to China’s military-industrial complex. SMIC has denied any wrongdoing, according to Reuters.

According to BIS’ explanation, GlobalFoundries understood that shipments of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to SJS required a BIS license. Although SJS was not a direct customer of GlobalFoundries, it was the designated third-party outsource assembly and test service provider (OSAT) for one of GlobalFoundries’ customers, which meant it should have been screened by GlobalFoundries’ transaction screening system.

Citing a statement by GlobalFoundries, the report by Reuters states that the foundry giant expressed regret for “the inadvertent action, which was the result of a data-entry error made prior to the entity listing,” leading to the unintentional shipment of legacy chips without a license.

It is worth noting that Washington seems to be gradually enhancing its regulatory strength on preventing China from accessing leading-edge semiconductors recently. Just a weeks ago, foundry leader TSMC has been amidst the storm when its chips were found on Huawei’s Ascend910B. The Taiwan-headquartered foundry giant reportedly notified the U.S. afterwards about chips fabricated for a potential Huawei proxy, Sophgo, as well as halting the supply.

According to Reuters, this development also coincides with GlobalFoundries set to receive approximately USD 1.5 billion from the Commerce Department to establish a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Malta, New York, and to expand its existing operations in Burlington, Vermont.

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(Photo credit: GlobalFoundries)

Media report that researchers at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) have developed a new optical storage technology that could surpass the density limitations of traditional optical disks, achieving ultra-high-density storage.

In the past, a key challenge for traditional optical storage was the diffraction limit of light. Since the size of each data unit cannot be smaller than the wavelength of the read-write laser beam, there is an upper limit to the density of current optical storage.

The researchers proposed a method to circumvent this limitation by using wavelength-division multiplexing. They embedded rare-earth emitters, such as magnesium oxide crystals, within the material. Each emitter uses a slightly different wavelength, allowing more data to be stored within the same physical space.

The report states that researchers initially modeled and simulated the physical principles of this technology and designed a theoretical solid material containing rare-earth atoms. This material can absorb and re-emit photons, while nearby quantum defects can capture and store these photons. One significant discovery was that when defects absorb narrow-wavelength energy from nearby atoms, their spin state flips. Once the spin state flips, it is nearly impossible to revert, which means these defects can store data for an extended period.

The report emphasizes that, although this is a promising initial test, there are still some key issues to address before commercialization. For instance, the durability of these emitters needs to be verified. Additionally, the researchers have not provided specific capacity estimates, merely suggesting the potential for “ultra-high density.” Despite these challenges, the researchers are optimistic about the future of this technology, calling it a major advancement in storage technology.

 
 
(Photo credit: IBM)

According to a report from South China Morning Post, Huawei Technologies founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei stated that he admires the “openness and inclusivity” of the U.S. tech community. However, Huawei “had no choice” but to build its own tools because of U.S. sanctions.

The report quoted a transcript of Ren Zhengfei’s recent conversation with students and academics from the website of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), stating Huawei should learn from the open culture of the U.S., which has enabled the country to achieve significant advancements in science and technology.

According to the report, Ren indicated that Huawei is “still struggling” and cannot confidently assert that it can survive, as the company is restricted from accessing better chips and technologies due to U.S. sanctions.

Used to call himself an “Apple fan,” Ren stated that “American technologies and tools are very good … [but] Huawei cannot use them; we had no choice but to create our own tools,” as the report noted.

According to the report, since May 2019, Huawei has been restricted from acquiring hardware, software, and services from U.S. manufacturers, as it was included in Washington’s trade blacklist. In 2020, the U.S. implemented stricter trade restrictions, restricting Huawei’s access to advanced semiconductors developed or produced using U.S. technology, regardless of where they were manufactured.

The report noted that Huawei has been a significant force in China’s self-sufficiency efforts, in areas from AI chips to operating systems. These include the launch of a series of smartphones featuring processors entirely manufactured in China, as well as the introduction of HarmonyOS Next, a domestic mobile operating system that no longer supports Android-based applications.

Regarding the AI trend, according to the report, Ren stated that the AI trend is unstoppable, and AI applications are creating the turning point of the times. According to another report from South China Morning Post, Huawei is said to initiate sampling of its latest AI accelerator, Ascend 910C, to Chinese customers, which is regarded as an upgraded version of the Ascend 910B and claimed to be comparable to NVIDIA’s H100 GPU, which cannot be directly sold in China.

The report noted that this is not the first time Ren has expressed admiration for the U.S.. He also encouraged employees to learn from the U.S. in terms of technology and science during an internal meeting in 2021.

Read more

• [News] Huawei Reportedly Begins Sampling of Ascend 910C to Rival NVIDIA
• [News] U.S. Reportedly Investigates TSMC on whether It Manufactured AI or Smartphone Chips for Huawei

(Photo credit: Huawei)