NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang revealed that Samsung’s High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is still striving on the certification process, but is one step away from beginning supply.

According to a report from Bloomberg on June 4th, Huang, during a briefing at the COMPUTEX, told reporters that NVIDIA is evaluating HBM provided by both Samsung and Micron Technology. Huang mentioned that there is still some engineering work needed to be completed, expressing the desire for it to have been finished already.

As per Huang, though Samsung hasn’t failed any qualification tests, its HBM product required additional engineering work. When asked about Reuter’s previous report concerning overheating and power consumption issues with Samsung’s HBM, Huang simply remarked, “there’s no story there.”

Previously, Reuters cited sources on May 24th, reporting that overheating and power consumption issues would affect Samsung’s fourth-generation HBM chip, “HBM3,” as well as the fifth-generation “HBM3e” planned for release by Samsung and its competitors this year.

Per the same report from Reuters, Samsung has been attempting to pass NVIDIA’s tests for HBM3 and HBM3e since last year, while a test for Samsung’s 8-layer and 12-layer HBM3e chips was said to fail in April.

In an official statement, Samsung noted that it is in the process of optimizing products through close collaboration with customers, with testing proceeding smoothly and as planned. The company said that HBM is a customized memory product, which requires optimization processes in tandem with customers’ needs.

Currently, SK Hynix is the primary supplier of NVIDIA’s HBM3 and HBM3e. According to an earlier TrendForce’s analysis, NVIDIA’s upcoming B100 or H200 models will incorporate advanced HBM3e, while the current HBM3 supply for NVIDIA’s H100 solution is primarily met by SK Hynix.

According to a report from the Financial Times in May, SK hynix has successfully reduced the time needed for mass production of HBM3e chips by 50%, while close to achieving the target yield of 80%.

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• [News] Reasons for Samsung’s HBM Chips Failing Nvidia Tests Revealed, Reportedly Due to Heat and Power Consumption Issues
• [News] Samsung Reportedly Establishes New HBM Team, Looking to Improve AI Chip Yield

(Photo credit: Samsung)

Recently, Samsung Electronics announced that the development of its 8nm eMRAM has almost been completed and process upgrades is underway as planned.

According to a report from WeChat account DRAMeXchange, as a new type of non-volatile memory technology based on magnetic principles, eMRAM falls under the category of embedded MRAM (Magnetoresistive random-access memory). Compared to traditional DRAM, eMRAM offers faster access speeds and higher durability. Unlike DRAM, it does not require data refreshing, and its write rate is 1000 times that of NAND.

Due to these characteristics, the industry holds a positive outlook on the potential of eMRAM, especially in scenarios that demand high performance, energy efficiency, and durability.

Samsung Electronics is one of the main producers of eMRAM and is dedicated to promoting its adoption in the automotive sector. In 2019, Samsung developed and mass-produced the industry’s first eMRAM based on 28nm FD-SOI. After achieving the production capability of 28nm eMRAM, Samsung reportedly plans to mass-produce 14nm eMRAM in 2024, 8nm in 2026, and 5nm in 2027.

Samsung is confident about the application of eMRAM in future automotive uses, stating that its product’s temperature tolerance has reached 150-160°C, which can fully meet the stringent requirements of the automotive industry for semiconductors.

In recent years, the proliferation of big data and artificial intelligence applications has generated massive memory demands and placed higher requirements for memory technologies. Against this backdrop, new memory technologies have continuously emerged, among which SCM (Storage Class Memory) is a representative, which combines high-speed read and write performance of DRAM with the persistent storage capability of NAND flash, potentially addressing issues of small capacity, volatility, and high cost associated with DRAM. Key SCM products include phase-change memory (PCM), resistive RAM (ReRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and nanotube RAM (NRAM).

Aside from Samsung, companies like Kioxia and ByteDance have also acted vigorously in the new memory field this year. In April, Kioxia’s CTO Hidefumi Miyajima stated that compared to competitors developing both NAND and DRAM, Kioxia is at a competitive disadvantage in terms of business diversity, making the cultivation of new memory product business like SCM a necessity. With this goal in mind, Kioxia reorganized its “Memory Technology Research Laboratory” into the “Advanced Technology Research Laboratory.”

In March, it was reported by South China Morning Post that ByteDance invested in a Chinese memory company Innostar, becoming its third-largest shareholder. Innostar focuses on the R&D of new memory technologies like ReRAM and related chip products covering three categories: high-performance industrial control/automotive-grade SoC/ASIC chip, computing-in-memory (CIM) IP, chip and system-on-memory (SoM) chip.

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• [News] Intel’s Lunar Lake Bundled Memory Reportedly Causes Uproar in the PC Supply Chain
• [News] Battle in AI PCs: Exploring Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm Chips’ AI Computing Power

(Photo credit: Samsung)

AMD Chairman and CEO Lisa Su unveiled the company’s latest AI chip, MI325X, at the opening of Computex Taipei on June 3. She emphasized that the MI325X boasts 30% faster computing speed compared to NVIDIA’s H200. According to a report from CNA, Su also announced that AMD plans to release a new generation of AI chips each respective year, hinting at a strong competitive stance against NVIDIA.

Lisa Su announced that the MI300 series is AMD’s fastest progressing product. The tech giant’s next-generation AI chip, MI325X, features HBM3e and is built on the CDNA 3 architecture.

According to Su, AMD MI325X outperforms NVIDIA’s H200 in performance and bandwidth, more than twice than that of NVIDIA’s H200. On the other hand, MI325X delivers 30% faster computing speed compared to the H200.

Furthermore, Su also announced that AMD will release MI350 in 2025, which will be manufactured with 3nm process, while MI400 is expected to follow, launched in 2026.

On June 3, Lisa Su stated that AMD will continue its collaboration with TSMC, advancing process technology to the 3nm and even 2nm nodes. Yet, Su did not directly address the previous market rumors suggesting that AMD might switch to Samsung’s 3nm technology.

Previously, as per a report on May 29th from The Korea Economic Daily, it has speculated that AMD is likely to become a customer of Samsung Electronics’ 3nm GAA process. Reportedly, during AMD CEO Lisa Su’s appearance at the 2024 ITF World, which was hosted by the Belgian microelectronics research center imec, Su revealed that AMD plans to use the 3nm GAA process for mass-producing next-generation chips.

Per the same report, Lisa Su stated that 3nm GAA transistors can enhance efficiency and performance, with improvements in packaging and interconnect technology. This will make AMD products more cost-effective and power-efficient. The report further addressed that, as Samsung is currently the only chip manufacturer with commercialized 3nm GAA process technology, Su’s comments were interpreted as indicating that AMD will officially collaborate with Samsung for 3nm production.

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• [News] South Korean Media Suggests AMD Could Become Samsung’s 3nm GAA Process Customer
• [News] Samsung Reportedly Signs USD 3 Billion HBM3e Deal with AMD

(Photo credit: AMD)

Following its success in the LCD panel market, China’s BOE Technology Group has now been actively narrowing the technology gap with Korean giants in the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel domain. Citing industry experts, Business Korea reported that BOE has reduced the technological gap with Korea regarding the high-growth mid-sized OLED sector to one to one and a half years.

The Chinese display industry is rapidly expanding its presence in the OLED market, driven by robust governmental support as well as competitive pricing, while high domestic consumption also fuels sales growth.

BOE, top Chinese display maker, has gradually become a crucial part of the global supply chain for tech giants. In late 2023, Apple finally approved BOE as an iPhone 15 AMOLED supplier. Though the delivery time was delayed due to quality issues, making it falling behind Samsung and LG, BOE is said to supply 2 million panels to Apple, about 3% of its total OLED supply in 2023.

However, BOE has introduced a series of latest OLED panels at SID2024 in mid-May to showcase its progress. According to Business Korea, it disclosed a 31.6-inch slidable OLED panel, which can extend sideways when needed, concealing the screen while not in use. It is also noteworthy that BOE showcased 15-inch and 17-inch foldable panels, targeting the automotive OLED market.

According to an earlier report from Japanese media outlet Nikkei News, BOE plans to boost its OLED panel production capacity by more than 50% compared to the current level within the next three years, demonstrating its ambition in the field.

Reportedly, BOE’s new OLED panel plant “B16” in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, began construction in late March. The goal is to complete the plant building by 2024, install manufacturing equipment by September 2025, and start mass production in 2026, producing 8.6-generation OLED panels. BOE’s competitor, Samsung Electronics, is also said to be looking for mass production of 8.6-generation OLED panels in 2026 by upgrading its existing plants.

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• [News] BOE Looking to Become OLED Panel Leader, Rumored to Have a 50% Capacity Expansion

(Photo credit: BOE)

In the past two years, the semiconductor industry has experienced a market downturn, a recovery slower than expected, and a cash crunch. Major companies such as Intel, TSMC, and Samsung, while continuing to advance their expansion projects, have been constantly adjusting and slowing down the pace and schedule of their fab construction to better serve their long-term development goals. It’s found that seven fabs worldwide are projected to delay construction.

• Intel’s 1nm Chip Plant in Germany and Ohio Plant in the US Delay Construction

According to a report from global media outlet Volksstimme, the construction of Intel’s Fab 29.1 and Fab 29.2 near Magdeburg, Germany, has been postponed due to pending approval of EU subsidies and the need to remove and reuse black soil. The date of commencement has been pushed from summer 2024 to May 2025.

Earlier reports indicated that the construction of this chip planr was initially expected to begin in 1H23, but due to subsidy delays, construction was put off to summer 2024. Moreover, the topsoil at the construction site cannot be cleared until May 2025 at the earliest.

It is reported that Intel’s Fab 29.1 and Fab 29.2 were originally scheduled to start operations by late 2027 and were expected to employ advanced manufacturing processes, potentially Intel 14A (1.4nm) and Intel 10A (1nm) process nodes. However, Intel now estimates that it will take four to five years to build these two plants, and production is expected to commence between 2029 and 2030.

• Samsung’s Chip Plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea and Fab in Taylor, US Delay Construction

In February 2024, Samsung revealed that it had partially halted the construction of its fifth semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. Samsung originally planned to build six semiconductor plants on an 855,000 square meter site in Pyeongtaek, creating the world’s largest semiconductor hub. Currently, the P1, P2, and P3 plants at the Pyeongtaek park house the most advanced DRAM, NAND flash memory, and foundry production lines, while the P4 and P5 plants are under construction.

Samsung stated that the halt was for further inspection. However, industry sources have revealed that Samsung’s adjustment of the new production lines for P4 and P5 fabs is to prioritize the construction of the PH2 production line at P4 fab. It is reported that P4 plant might build PH3 production line to produce high-end DRAM to meet market demands.

Besides, South Korean media Businesskorea also revealed Samsung has postponed the mass production timeline of the fab in Taylor, Texas, US from late 2024 to 2026, which is possibly due to a slowdown in the wafer foundry market growth, and the delay was attributed to U.S. government subsidies and issues related to the complexities in gaining permits.

• TSMC Postponed the Production of Two Plants in Arizona, US

On April 9, TSMC announced the plan to build a third fab in Arizona. Once completed, this fab will use 2nm process or even more advanced technologies to manufacture wafers for customers. With this addition, TSMC’s total capital expenditure in Phoenix, Arizona, will exceed USD 65 billion.

Meanwhile, TSMC disclosed that their first fab in Arizona will start production in 1H25, using 4nm process. The second fab, initially announced to use 3nm process, will also incorporate the more advanced 2nm process, with mass production set to begin in 2028. This fab was announced in December 2020, which was originally scheduled to start mass production using 3nm process in 2026, primarily, but the latest schedule represents a delay of nearly two years from the original one.

As to the third fab planned to set up in Arizona, TSMC has not yet disclosed the date for construction. However, they mentioned that it will use 2nm process or more advanced ones, with production expected to commence in the late 2030s.

• Wolfspeed’s 8-Inch SiC Fab might Delay Construction to 2025

Wolfspeed’s 8-inch SiC fab in Ensdorf, Saarland planned to invest about EUR 2.75 billion, but the construction has been postponed. The project has already secured subsidies of EUR 360 million from the German federal government and EUR155 million from the Saarland government. In addition, Wolfspeed is also seeking financial assistance from the European Chips Act. ZF will provide Wolfspeed with several hundred million dollars of financial investment in exchange for a minority stake in the plant.

Industry sources indicate that Wolfspeed aims to secure more funding before the groundbreaking ceremony. If it fails to gain financial assistance from the European Chips Act, the project is very likely to be delayed. The plant was initially scheduled to start construction in summer 2024, but Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe revealed that it might now begin in 2025.

Read more

• [News] Intel’s 1nm-class Fabs in Germany Reportedly Delayed Due to Black Soil Concerns and Pending EU Subsidy Approval
• [News] TSMC’s Nanjing Plant Reportedly Pushes for Indefinite Exemption From US Before the May 31 Deadline
  

(Photo credit: TSMC)