Samsung and SK hynix, which have been rapidly advancing in the High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) arena, now confirm their intention to incorporate hybrid bonding in the upcoming 3D DRAM technology, according to the latest report by The Elec.

While the current technology uses micro bump to connect DRAM modules, hybrid bonding, which could stack chips vertically by using through-silicon-via (TSV), can eliminate the need for micro bumps, significantly reducing chip thickness.

According to an earlier report by The Korean Economic Daily, currently, DRAM comprises up to 62 billion cells on a substrate with densely integrated transistors on a flat plane, posing challenges such as current leakage and interference.

In contrast, 3D DRAM stacks transistors into multiple layers, which is expected to widen the gaps between them, thereby reducing leakage and interference.

Therefore, to replace the current horizontal placement, a 3D DRAM chip triples capacity per unit area by vertically stacking cells. This also differs from HBM, which vertically connects multiple DRAM chips.

During the International Memory Workshop 2024 conference held in Seoul last week, SK hynix announced its intention to implement hybrid bonding in the production of 3D DRAM. On the other hand, Samsung plans to launch 3D DRAM in 2025, according to an earlier report by The Korean Economic Daily.

Meantime, Samsung is also exploring 4F Square DRAM and plans to integrate hybrid bonding into the production process. If successful, the tech giant could reduce die surface area by 30% compared to the currently commercialized 6F2 DRAM, according to sources cited by The Elec. Samsung is said to implement the 4F2 structure in DRAM using 10nm or finer nodes.

Read more

• [News] Samsung Considers Hybrid Bonding a Must for 16-stack HBM
• [News] The Quiet Beginning of the 3D DRAM Market Share Battle

(Photo credit: SK hynix)

As tech heavyweights eagerly pursue more market share in the AI sector, the battle for talents in the semiconductor industry has also heated up. According to the latest report by The Chosun Daily, citing LinkedIn data as of June 18, NVIDIA has become the hottest tech talent hub, not only drawing talents from semiconductor giants, but recruiting from memory companies in full swing.

According to the report, NVIDIA employs 89 former TSMC employees, while only 12 former NVIDIA employees have joined TSMC. Moreover, comparing with the number of former NVIDIA employees now at Samsung (278), there are 515 NVIDIA employees coming from Samsung Electronics, which indicates a significant talent migration to the GPU giant.

Regarding the talent war between NVIDIA and Intel, the former has attracted as many as 2,848 employees from Intel, whereas only 544 former NVIDIA employees have joined Intel.

NVIDIA also attracts talents with its charisma in AI from other memory giants. The LinkedIn data cited by the report shows that there are 38 NVIDIA employees previously with SK hynix, with none moving in the opposite direction. In addition, NVIDIA has attracted 159 employees from Micron, whereas only 38 former NVIDIA employees have joined Micron.

Interestingly enough, though Samsung lags behind in the competition with TSMC regarding the advanced nodes, it seems to be attractive to talents from the world’s largest foundry. Data show that there are 195 TSMC employees transitioning to Samsung, while only 24 former employees have joined TSMC.

An industry insider cited by the report observed that Korean semiconductor companies are vigorously recruiting for high-performance memory positions, such as those involving HBM. Moreover, a growing number of master’s and doctoral-level semiconductor experts in South Korea are joining the industry, showing a trend where talent moves from academia to local companies and then to international firms.

(Photo credit: NVIDIA)

As the market demand for AI chips keeps booming, two South Korean AI chip companies, Sapeon and Rebellions, are pursuing a merger to enhance their competitiveness. According to a report by the Korea Economic Daily, if everything proceeds as planned, the merger will result in the formation of Korea’s first semiconductor unicorn, with the new company’s corporate value amounting to 2 trillion won (USD 1.5 billion).

According to a report by Korean media outlet TheElec, the merger will be finalized within this year, following the signing of the deal in the third quarter.

TheElec stated that Sapeon Inc, headquartered in the US and the sole owner of Sapeon Korea, will be the largest shareholder of the merged entity. Post-merger, Sapeon Inc is expected to hold about 30% of the shares, with Rebellions’ CEO, Sunghyun Park, leading the new company.

Based on the reports, the alliance has been formed in order to win in the global AI chip market, while the two companies identify the next two to three years as a crucial window of opportunity.

Sources cited by TheElec indicated that Sapeon Korea is valued at 500 billion won, while Rebellion is valued at 880 billion won. Regarding details of the merger, during its Series A funding round, Sapeon issued convertible bonds to its investors instead of equity. Afterwards, these investors will receive shares in the merged entity.

It is worth noting that both Sapeon and Rebellion have been backed up by tech heavyweights. According to The Elec, South Korean telco SK Telecom, as Sapeon Inc’s largest shareholder, holds 62.5% of the company. On the other hand, memory giant SK hynix owns 25%, while SK Square holds 12.5%.

Meanwhile, according to the Korea Economic Daily, Rebellions is part of the telecom giant KT Corp.-led Korean “AI full stack” service providers, offering AI infrastructure including AI chips, cloud computing, and various applications.

The report by TheElec, citing industry sources, noted that since SK Group will be the majority shareholder of the merged entity, it may prefer TSMC over Samsung Foundry, given that SK hynix and Samsung are rivals in memory chips. For now, Sapeon uses TSMC as its foundry, whereas Rebellions collaborates with Samsung Foundry.

(Photo credit: Rebellions)

South Korean patent management company Mimir IP, which acquired approximately 1,500 chip-related patents from SK hynix in May, has filed a complaint against Micron, accusing the US memory giant of infringing on its chip-related patents, the Korea Economic Daily reported. Sources suggested that if Mimir wins the case, the damages could amount to as much as USD 480 million.

The Korea Economic Daily learned that the lawsuit, filed on June 3, also targets four other companies that use Micron products: Tesla, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, while the patents involved are reportedly related to circuits, voltage measurement devices, and non-volatile memory devices.

The case has been filed with both the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and the US International Trade Commission (ITC), which marks the first instance of a Korea-based non-practicing entity (NPE) that acquired patents from domestic chipmakers filing a suit against a US semiconductor company.

Officials from the involved parties were unavailable for comment, the report said.

SK hynix, the current market leader in HBM, has been facing heated competition from Samsung and Micron, both of which have recently developed their HBM3e chips, trying to win favor from the world’s leading AI chip designer, NVIDIA. Now it seems that the battleground for industry dominance is expanding from technology competition to patent disputes.

It is worth noting that transferring patents to non-practicing entity (NPE) has become more and more popular, as it seems to be a preliminary measure for companies to prepare for legal disputes with its competitors, the report noted.

The Big Three in the memory industry have made similar moves on their patent strategy recently. According to the report, Micron transferred over 400 chip-related patents to Lodestar Licensing Group in March, 2023, followed by Samsung, which transferred 96 US chip patent rights, including the right to file patent infringement complaints, to IKT, an affiliate of Samsung Display, in June 2023.

Read more

• [News] HBM Supply Shortage Prompts Micron’s Expansion, Expected Schedule in Japan and Taiwan Revealed
• [News] The HBM4 Battle Begins! Memory Stacking Challenges Remain, Hybrid Bonding as the Key Breakthrough

(Photo credit: SK hynix)

Taiwanese panel company Innolux have said to be involving in collaborating with leading global memory manufacturers. According to a report from the Economic Daily News, plans are underway to repurpose its 4th Plant in Tainan (5.5-generation LCD panel plant) for AI-related semiconductor applications, specifically targeting back-end packaging.

Sources cited in the report indicate that, based on the strategies of the top three global memory manufacturers, the partner in this collaboration is likely a memory manufacturer that already has a presence in Taiwan and seeks to expand its capacity there. Innolux’s advantage lies in its advanced panel-level fan-out packaging (FOPLP), which is poised to make a substantial impact in the AI field. However, these reports have not been confirmed by Innolux or any global memory giants.

Regarding the 4th Plant developments at Tainan, Innolux stated on June 16 that, based on flexible strategic planning principles, the company continues to optimize production configurations and enhance overall operational efficiency. Some production lines and products are being adjusted to streamline and strengthen the group’s layout and development.

The surge in AI demand has driven the need for advanced chip heterogenous integration and high-end packaging technologies to meet the high-performance application requirements of AI devices. Targeting these opportunities, Innolux has reportedly repurposed its Tainan 3.5-generation and 4-generation LCD panel production lines for semiconductor-related uses, including FOPLP and X-ray sensors.

Sources cited in the report also revealed that Innolux’s transformation efforts are making progress. After closing the 5.5-generation LCD panel production at the 4th Plant last year, the company has gradually reassigned staff to other facilities. To revitalize capacity and assets, Innolux has been in close contact with leading global memory manufacturers, aiming to develop AI-related applications.

Currently, the three major global memory manufacturers are actively developing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI servers. South Korea’s SK Hynix is the most proactive in collaborating with Taiwanese companies. SK Hynix has partnered with TSMC to aggressively target the AI market. As per a report from Korean media outlet The Korea Herald,  SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won recently visited TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei to ensure continued close cooperation on the next-generation HBM.

On the other hand, Micron has established memory production in Taiwan but does not yet have HBM capacity for AI servers in the region. Meanwhile, Samsung does not have direct AI cooperation with Taiwanese companies in the memory sector.

Sources cited in the report from Economic Daily News indicate that Innolux is engaging with one of these three major international memory manufacturers, focusing on new semiconductor applications. As Innolux is advancing into the promising glass substrate packaging business through panel-level fan-out packaging, this technology is expected to be combined with memory applications for AI development. Therefore, the developments at its 4th Plant in Tainan are receiving considerable attention.

Read more

• [News] Samsung Reportedly to Challenge Apple/TSMC with 3nm Exynos W1000
• [News] MediaTek Announces 4nm Dimensity 7300 Series Chips, Supporting Foldable Devices

(Photo credit: Innolux)