According to a report from South Korean media The Chosun Daily, Samsung Electronics is set to increase wafer input by approximately 30% this quarter at its NAND Flash production lines in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, and Xi’an, China. However, Samsung remains cautious about further production increases to avoid impacting NAND Flash price trends.

The report indicates that while Samsung’s NAND Flash production lines can exceed 2 million wafers in a quarter at full capacity, internal targets for wafer output in the second to fourth quarters are capped at 1.2 million wafers each, maintaining overall utilization rate at around 50%.

Market expectations cited in the same report suggest that Samsung Electronics will reaffirm its stance on reducing NAND Flash production during the first quarter earnings call later this month. In the previous earnings call, Samsung noted persistent high levels of NAND Flash inventory among major customers, necessitating continued aggressive production cuts.

The same report further indicates that SK hynix has set a quarterly cap of around 600,000 wafers for NAND Flash production, with overall utilization rate ranging between 50% and 60%.

As per TrendForce’s data, it has projected a strong 13–18% increase in Q2 NAND Flash contract prices, with enterprise SSDs expected to rise highest. Despite Kioxia and WDC boosting their production capacity utilization rates from Q1 this year, other suppliers have kept their production strategies conservative. The slight dip in Q2 NAND Flash purchasing—compared to Q1—does not detract from the overall market’s momentum, which continues to be influenced by decreasing supplier inventories and the impact of production cuts.

Read more

• [News] Memory Manufacturers’ Price Hikes Prompt Backlash, Module Suppliers Hesitate to Follow
• [News] Micron Expects 4-6% Quarterly DRAM Supply Impact Post Taiwan Earthquake

(Photo credit: Samsung)

AI and big data are driving a massive demand for memory data, which also imposes higher requirements on memory technologies. Against this backdrop, the technology competition among memory giants is heating up.

In terms of NAND Flash, major companies are focusing on breakthroughs in the number of layers. Recently, The Korean Economic Daily reported that Samsung Electronics is expected to mass-produce the ninth-generation NAND Flash (V-NAND) later this month.

The company had already produced the 236-layer eighth-generation V-NAND Flash memory at scale in 2022. The upcoming ninth-generation V-NAND Flash memory will continue to use the structure of double NAND Flash stacks, with the number of layers reaching 290. According to industry predictions, Samsung’s future tenth-generation V-NAND is expected to reach 430 layers, and Samsung will switch to a three-stack structure at that time.

Looking further into the future, both Samsung and Kioxia have revealed plans to develop 1000-layer NAND Flash. Samsung aims to develop 1000-layer NAND Flash by 2030, while Kioxia plans to mass-produce 3D NAND Flash chips with more than 1000 layers by 2031.

In terms of DRAM, memory giants are zeroing in on advanced process nodes and 3D DRAM.

In March 2024, Micron disclosed in its financial result that the majority of DRAM chips are currently at the 1α and 1β advanced nodes, and the next generation 1γ DRAM will introduce EUV lithography machine, which has already undergone trial production.

Samsung’s DRAM chip technique is at the 1b nm level, and recent reports suggest that Samsung plans to start large-scale production of 1c nm DRAM within this year, using EUV technology. Samsung will also step into the era of 3D DRAM in 2025. The company has already demonstrated two 3D DRAM technologies: vertical channel transistors and stacked DRAM.

SK Hynix is also developing 3D DRAM. Last year, BusinessKorea reported that SK Hynix proposed using IGZO as the new generation channel material for 3D DRAM. According to industry sources, IGZO is a metal oxide material composed of indium, gallium, and zinc oxide. Its biggest advantage is its low standby power consumption, making it suitable for DRAM transistors requiring long lifespan. This characteristic is easily achievable by adjusting the composition ratio of In, Ga, and ZnO.

(Photo credit: Samsung)

Samsung Electronics Co. has recently established a HBM team within its memory division, with the goal of enhancing yield during the development of the sixth-generation AI memory HBM4 and the AI accelerator Mach-1.

According to a report of the Korea Economic Daily (KED) citing industry sources on March 29th, Samsung’s HBM team is primarily responsible for the research, development, and sales of DRAM and NAND flash memory. Samsung’s Executive Vice President and Chief of DRAM Product and Technology, Hwang Sang-joon, will lead the new team. This marks the second team focused on HBM since Samsung initiated its HBM task force in January.

Per KED’s report, Samsung is stepping up its efforts in hopes of surpassing SK Hynix, the leader in the advanced HBM field. In 2019, Samsung dissolved its HBM team due to a mistaken belief that the market would not see significant growth.

Per a previous TrendForce press release, the three major original HBM manufacturers held market shares as follows in 2023: SK Hynix and Samsung were both around 46-49%, while Micron stood at roughly 4-6%.

To vie for dominance in the AI chip market, Samsung is pursuing a “two-track” strategy by concurrently developing two cutting-edge memory chips: HBM and Mach-1.

According to TrendForce’s report, SK Hynix led the way with its HBM3e validation in the first quarter, closely followed by Micron, which plans to start distributing its HBM3e products toward the end of the first quarter, in alignment with NVIDIA’s planned H200 deployment by the end of the second quarter.

Samsung, slightly behind in sample submissions, is expected to complete its HBM3e validation by the end of the first quarter, with shipments rolling out in the second quarter.

According to the same report from KED, Samsung is also gearing up to develop the next-generation accelerator, “Mach-2,” tailored for AI inference. According to Kyung on March 29th, Samsung must expedite the development of Mach-2 as there is strong interest from customers in this regard.

Read more

• [News] Memory Manufacturers Vie for HBM3e Market
• [News] Another Semiconductor Giant Makes a Move on HBM

(Photo credit: Samsung)

Recently, South Korean media Alphabiz reported that Samsung may exclusively supply 12-layer HBM3e to NVIDIA.

The report indicates NVIDIA is set to commence large-scale purchases of Samsung Electronics’ 12-layer HBM3e as early as September, who will exclusively provide the 12-layer HBM3e to NVIDIA.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, as per Alphabiz reported, left his signature “Jensen Approved” on a physical 12-layer HBM3e product from Samsung Electronics at GTC 2024, which seems to suggest NVIDIA’s recognition of Samsung’s HBM3e product.

HBM is characterized by its high bandwidth, high capacity, low latency, and low power consumption. With the surge in artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the acceleration of AI large-scale model applications has driven the continuous growth of demand in high-performance memory market.

According to TrendForce’s data, HBM market value accounted for approximately 8.4% of the overall DRAM industry in 2023, and this percentage is projected to expand to 20.1% by the end of 2024.

Senior Vice President Avril Wu notes that by the end of 2024, the DRAM industry is expected to allocate approximately 250K/m (14%) of total capacity to producing HBM TSV, with an estimated annual supply bit growth of around 260%.

HBM3e: Three Major Original Manufacturers Kick off Fierce Rivalry

Following the debut of the world’s first TSV HBM product in 2014, HBM memory technology has now iterated to HBM3e after nearly 10 years of development.

From the perspective of original manufacturers, competition in the HBM3e market primarily revolves around Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung. It is reported that these three major manufacturers already provided 8-hi (24GB) samples in late July, mid-August, and early October 2023, respectively. It is worth noting that this year, they have kicked off fierce competition in the HBM3e market by introducing latest products.

On February 27th, Samsung announced the launch of its first 12-layer stacked HBM3e DRAM–HBM3e 12H, which marks Samsung’s largest-capacity HBM product to date, boasting a capacity of up to 36GB. Samsung stated that it has begun offering samples of the HBM3e 12H to customers and anticipates starting mass production in the second half of this year.

In early March, Micron announced that it had commenced mass production of its HBM3e solution. The company stated that the NVIDIA H200 Tensor Core GPU will adopt Micron’s 8-layer stacked HBM3e memory with 24GB capacity and shipments are set to begin in the second quarter of 2024.

On March 19th, SK Hynix announced the successful large-scale production of its new ultra-high-performance memory product, HBM3e, designed for AI applications. This achievement symbolizes the world’s first supply of DRAM’s highest-performance HBM3e in existence to customers.

A previous report from TrendForce has indicated that, starting in 2024, the market’s attention will shift from HBM3 to HBM3e, with expectations for a gradual ramp-up in production through the second half of the year, positioning HBM3e as the new mainstream in the HBM market.

TrendForce reports that SK hynix led the way with its HBM3e validation in the first quarter, closely followed by Micron, which plans to start distributing its HBM3e products toward the end of the first quarter, in alignment with NVIDIA’s planned H200 deployment by the end of the second quarter.

Samsung, slightly behind in sample submissions, is expected to complete its HBM3e validation by the end of the first quarter, with shipments rolling out in the second quarter. With Samsung having already made significant strides in HBM3 and its HBM3e validation expected to be completed soon, the company is poised to significantly narrow the market share gap with SK Hynix by the end of the year, reshaping the competitive dynamics in the HBM market.

Read more

• HBM3 Initially Exclusively Supplied by SK Hynix, Samsung Rallies Fast After AMD Validation, Says TrendForce
• [News] SK Hynix Reportedly Plans to Invest USD 4 Billion in Advanced Packaging Fab in Indiana

(Photo credit: SK Hynix)

SK Hynix is rumored planning to build an advanced packaging fab worth USD 4 billion in West Lafayette, Indiana. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, it is expected to commence operations by 2028, creating up to 1,000 job opportunities. This initiative may receive support in the form of state and federal tax incentives.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal and Tom’s Hardware, SK Hynix’s investment aims to enhance its capabilities in advanced semiconductor packaging, with a particular emphasis on manufacturing High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

Considering a potential capital expenditure of USD 4 billion for the construction, per Tom’s Hardware, if the project proceeds, it will become one of the largest advanced packaging facilities globally. Hence, government support is crucial, with expectations of tax incentives from both state and federal levels in the US.

SK Hynix, a supplier of HBM memory for NVIDIA, is eyeing enhanced capabilities in advanced chip packaging, particularly crucial for manufacturing HBM. The recent NVIDIA Blackwell B200, with each GPU utilizing 8 HBM3e chips, has also underscored SK Hynix’s role in the critical components supply chain for the AI industry.

The recent CHIPS and Science Act allocated USD 8.5 billion to Intel, enhancing US semiconductor competitiveness. SK Hynix’s plan to build a fab in Indiana is a significant stride, fostering US semiconductor growth.

However, US subsidies for chip manufacturing and packaging have been slow, with only three American companies currently benefiting, including BAE Systems, GlobalFoundries, and Microchip Technology.

Reportedly, SK Hynix’s plan remains more of an intention statement than a finalized deal, and whether it proceeds to the construction phase remains to be seen.

Read more

• [News] SK Hynix Reportedly Invests USD 1 Billion in Advanced Packaging to Strengthen HBM Chip Leadership
• [News] SK Hynix Rumored to Propose Collaboration with Kioxia for HBM Production in Japan

(Photo credit: SK Hynix)