Earlier in June, Samsung updated its roadmap in the Angstrom era, stating that its 2nm node optimized with backside power delivery network (BSPDN), referred to as SF2Z, will enter mass production in 2027. Now, according to the latest report by the Korea Economic Daily, compared with the traditional front-end power delivery technology, BSPDN is said to reduce the size of Samsung’s 2nm chip by 17%.

Citing Lee Sungjae, vice president of the Foundry PDK Development Team at Samsung, on Thursday, the report also notes that by applying BSPDN to its 2nm chips, Samsung is expected to improve the product’s performance and power efficiency by 8% and 15%, respectively.

Lee’s remarks was the first time a Samsung foundry business executive provided details publicly regarding its BSPDN roadmap. The report explains that by positioning the power rails on the back of the wafer to remove bottlenecks between power and signal lines, the production of smaller chips would be easier.

However, Samsung is not the first semiconductor giant to adopt this technology. Among the Big Three in the foundry sector, Intel is at the forefront, aiming to produce chips with BSPDN technology, which it calls PowerVia, with Intel 20A (2 nm) in 2024. The tech giant also plans to implement PowerVia on Intel’s 20A along with the RibbonFET architecture for the full-surround gate transistor.

According to Intel, power lines typically occupy around 20% of the space on the chip surface, while its self-developed PowerVia’s backside power delivery technology saves this space, allowing more flexibility in the interconnect layers.

On the other hand, foundry leader TSMC reportedly plans to integrate its backside power delivery technology, Super PowerRail architecture, and nanosheet transistors in its A16 chip in 2026.

In addition to BSPDN, Samsung also revealed its roadmap about the next-generation gate-all-around (GAA) technology, which the company was first introduced in 2022, according to the report.

Samsung plans to begin mass production of 3 nm chips based on its second-generation GAA technology (SF3) in 2H24 and will also implement GAA in its upcoming 2 nm process, the report notes.

According to Lee, SF3 has enhanced chip performance by 30%, improved power efficiency by 50%, and reduced chip size by 35% compared to the chips produced with the first-generation GAA process. Coupling with the adoption of BSPDN, the two technologies can further reduce the chip size for Samsung.

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• [News] Samsung Unveils Next-gen 2nm Node Roadmap; SF2Z with Backside Power Delivery to Enter Production in 2027
• [News] TSMC’s Backside Power Delivery Reportedly Set for 2026, Benefiting the Supply Chain

(Photo credit: Samsung)

HBM4, the sixth generation of HBM, is poised to become the key to breakthroughs in computing power for next-generation CSPs (Cloud Service Providers). According to a report from Commercial Times citing Global Unichip Corp. (GUC), to support the development of HBM4, their semiconductor IP (Intellectual Property) is already prepared and awaiting CSP manufacturers to advance their manufacturing processes.

GUC pointed out that if future clients need to integrate general-purpose HBM4 into ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits), GUC can provide assistance.

GUC further emphasized that its IP is ready for HBM4 development, waiting for CSPs to advance their manufacturing processes. Currently, the ASICs being mass-produced by CSPs still use HBM2 or HBM2e, while HBM3 is in the R&D stage.

The company candidly acknowledged that it cannot play any role at the moment and needs to wait for CSPs to adopt HBM4 on a large scale, taking cost considerations into account. When that time comes, GUC expects to assist CSPs in designing their solutions.

Currently, SK hynix has the technological capability for the general-purpose base die used in HBM4. However, when moving to more advanced processes like 5nm or beyond, external design service providers will be required.

Industry sources cited by Commercial Times believe that the pace of advancements in computing power is accelerating.

For instance, Google’s sixth-generation TPU, expected to be launched by the end of this year, is already based on TSMC’s 4nm process and designed on the Arm architecture.

Similarly, Meta’s upcoming MTIAv2 is built on TSMC’s 5nm process. The trend toward developing in-house chips is characterized by lower power consumption and larger memory capacities.

Read more

• [News] TSMC Reportedly Secures Another AI Opportunity, Winning Order from SK Hynix
• [News] SK Hynix Disclosed Details Regarding HBM4e, Reportedly Integrating Computing and Caching Functionalities

(Photo credit: GUC)

The U.S. Department of Labor released the unemployment insurance weekly claims report on August 22. Initial claims for unemployment benefits for the previous week were 232,000, an increase of 4,000 from the revised figure of the prior week. The four-week moving average was 236,000, a decrease of 750 from the revised figure of the previous week. The number of continuing claims for unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to 1,863,000, nearing the highs last seen in November 2021.

Overall, the upward trend in initial unemployment claims has not yet changed. In the minutes of the July FOMC meeting, Federal Reserve officials clearly indicated that initial claims for unemployment benefits are a key indicator for monitoring the labor market (Regarding the outlook for the labor market, participants discussed various indicators of layoffs, including initial claims for unemployment benefits and measures of job separations.). Therefore, it remains crucial to closely monitor any significant changes in the trend of unemployment claims.

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Per a report by BusinessKorea, SK hynix Vice President Ryu Seong-su announced the company’s strategic plan in the HBM field during the SK Group Icheon Forum 2024 held on August 19. SK hynix plans to develop a product that boasts dozen of times the performance of existing HBM technologies.

The report indicates that SK hynix aims to develop a product with performance 20 to 30 times higher than current HBM offerings, achieving product differentiation.

During the forum, Ryu Seong-su emphasized that SK hynix will concentrate on leveraging advanced execution capabilities to provide memory solutions tailored for the AI (Artificial Intelligence) sector to meet the demands of the mass market.

• Seven Giants Proposed Customized Demands for HBM

Amid AI advancements, the demand for high-performance HBM has been on the rise, making it a hotspot among global high-tech companies.

According to Ryu Seong-su, Apple, Microsoft, Google Alphabet, Amazon, NVIDIA, Meta, and Tesla—seven of the world’s tech giants—have all engaged with SK hynix , seeking customized HBM solutions tailored to their specific needs.

Compared to existing HBM products, customized HBM offers clients more options in terms of PPA (Performance, Power, Area), thereby delivering more substantial value.

For example, Samsung believes that the power consumption and area of semiconductors can be largely reduced by stacking HBM memory with custom logic chips in a 3D configuration.

On this trend towards customization in the HBM sector, TrendForce predicted that HBM industry will become more customization-oriented in the future. Unlike other DRAM products, HBM will increasingly break away from the standard DRAM framework in terms of pricing and design, turning to more specialized production.

SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung also believes that as HBM4 continues to advance, the demand for customization will grow, which is likely to become a global trend and shift towards a more contract-based model. Moreover, it is expected to mitigate the risk of oversupply in the memory market.

In fact, HBM market is gradually evolving from a “general-purpose” to a “customization-oriented” market with the rise of AI. Later, as breakthroughs are made in speed, capacity, power consumption, and cost, HBM is poised to play an even more critical role in the AI sector.

• Customized HBM to Become a Reality in the HBM4 Generation

Currently, buyers have already begun making customized requests for HBM4, and both SK hynix and Samsung Electronics have developed strategies to address these demands.

SK hynix has been in collaboration with TSMC to develop the sixth generation of HBM products, known as HBM4, which is expected to enter production in 2026.

Unlike previous generations, inclusive of the fifth-generation HBM3E, which were based on SK hynix’s own process technology, HBM4 will leverage TSMC’s advanced logic process, which is anticipated to significantly enhance the performance of HBM products.

Additionally, adopting ultra-fine processing technology for the base die could enable the addition of more features.

SK hynix has stated that with these two major technological upgrades, the company plans to produce HBM products that excel in performance and efficiency, thereby meeting the demand for customized HBM solutions.

Ryu Seong-su believes that as customized products enjoy burgeoning growth, memory industry is approaching a critical point of paradigm shift, and SK hynix will continue to make advantage of the opportunities presented by these changes to advance its memory business.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics, as a leading IDM semiconductor company with capabilities in wafer foundry, memory, and packaging, is also actively promoting customized HBM AI solutions.

In July 2024, Choi Jang-seok, head of the new business planning group at Samsung Electronics’ memory division, stated at the “Samsung Foundry Forum” that the company intends to develop a variety of customized HBM memory products for the HBM4 generation and announced collaborations with major clients like AMD and Apple.

Choi Jang-seok pointed out that the HBM architecture is undergoing profound changes, with many customers shifting from traditional general-purpose HBM to customized products. Samsung Electronics believes that customized HBM will become a reality in the HBM4 generation.

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• [News] Samsung Reportedly to Tape out HBM4 with 1c DRAM by Year-end
• [News] SK hynix CEO: Demand for Memory Chips to Remain Robust until 1H25, Driven by HBM

(Photo credit: Micron)

Earlier in July, ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet noted that though China’s progress on cutting-edge chips is ten years behind the U.S., the world is in need of the legacy chips it manufactured. Now it seems that in order to become “the world’s factory,” China has to turn itself into “the world’s market” first.

And it has already been doing so. Over 40% of major semiconductor equipment manufacturers’ revenue in the second quarter of 2024, including that of Applied Materials, ASML and Tokyo Electron, came from China. In addition, another report by Maeli Business Newspaper highlights that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix also saw their sales in China double in the first half of this year.

Samsung’s Revenue from China Doubled in 1H24, Mainly Boosted by Semiconductors

Citing comments from Analysts, the report attributes China’s strong demand for Korean semiconductors to the country’s aggressive economic stimulus measures and the surge in AI, coinciding with the semiconductor upturn.

Citing Samsung’s semi-annual report on the 22nd, the report notes that its sales in China soared to KRW 32.3452 trillion (around USD 24.2 billion) in the first half of 2024, doubling from KRW 17.808 trillion in the first half of last year. According to Samsung’s website, China accounted for 17% of its revenue in the second quarter of 2024, rising from 11% in 2Q23.

The sales figures for China reported by Samsung encompass not only its flagship semiconductor products but also others like smartphones and home appliances. However, it is worth noting that unlike the situation in the U.S. and Europe, where the revenue structure is more diversified, semiconductors are believed to constitute the majority of sales in China, the report suggests.

HBM May Be a Major Contributor of South Korean Memory Giants’ Soaring Revenue in China

The soaring revenue in China echoes with the rumor that the U.S. is reportedly mulling new measures to limit China’s access to AI memory, an arena South Korean memory giants excel at. A previous report by Reuters noted that as the restrictions might be imposed as early as late August, Chinese tech giants like Huawei and Baidu, along with other startups, are said to be stockpiling high bandwidth memory (HBM) semiconductors from Samsung Electronics.

Citing a source from the semiconductor industry, Maeli states that the rapid growth of HBM is driving a significant shift in China’s DRAM market. The surging demand, derived from the need for server and enterprise PC upgrades as well as the launch of new AI-equipped PCs, appears to have boosted sales in China, benefiting South Korean memory giants.

The current HBM market leader, SK hynix, currently operates a DRAM plant in Wuxi, a packaging facility in Chongqing, and a NAND plant acquired from Intel in Dalian. Its sales in China in 1H24, according to the report, is estimated to amount to KRW 8.6061 trillion (around USD 6.4 billion), more than doubling its sales from the same period last year (KRW 3.8821 trillion).

The report, citing SK hynix’s semi-annual report, notes that the sales and net profit of SK hynix Semiconductor China in 1H24 were KRW 2.6624 trillion and KRW 119.4 billion, respectively. In the same period last year, it reported a loss of KRW 165.6 billion.

Read more

• [News] ASML Claims the World Counts on China for Legacy Chips; So Do Chip Equipment Giants
• [News] Chinese Tech Giants Reportedly Stockpile Samsung’s HBM ahead of Potential U.S. Restrictions

(Photo credit: Samsung)