SK Hynix has unveiled its latest DRAM innovation, the HBM3E memory, a groundbreaking product specifically designed for AI applications. This announcement establishes the company’s dominance in the ultra-high-performance memory sector. Samples are already being distributed to customers for performance verification, and mass production starts in 1H24.

HBM3E Achieves an Astounding 1.15TB/s Data Processing Speed

HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) refers to a stack of multiple DRAM chips vertically arranged, which considerably amplifies data processing speeds. The evolution of HBM DRAM has seen its advancements from the first-generation HBM to the most recent, fifth-generation HBM3E. Notably, HBM3E is an enhancement of its predecessor, HBM3.

With their extensive history in HBM production, SK Hynix commented on the release, “As the exclusive manufacturer of HBM3, our development of the world’s most superior HBM3E showcases our deep expertise and commitment to leading the AI memory market.” The company has plans to commence mass production of this cutting-edge memory by the first half of the subsequent year.

The HBM3E boasts a staggering data processing speed of 1.15 terabytes per second. To put this in perspective, it’s capable of handling 230 full high-definition (FHD) movies, each 5 gigabytes in size, in just one second.

Beyond its sheer speed, the product incorporates the latest Advanced MR-MUF technology, enhancing heat dissipation by a notable 10% compared to its previous generation. Furthermore, the HBM3E is designed with backward compatibility. This feature enables a seamless transition for customers, allowing the integration of HBM3E into existing HBM3-based systems without necessitating any design alterations.

The longstanding partnership between NVIDIA and SK Hynix further solidifies the promise of HBM3E. Ian Buck, VP of NVIDIA’s Hyperscale and HPC Division, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration’s future, emphasizing the potential of the new HBM3E in revolutionizing AI computing.

Samsung is also set to start mass production of HBM chips tailored for AI in the latter half of 2023, competing directly with SK Hynix. In 2022, SK Hynix held a 50% share of the HBM market, Samsung had 40%, and Micron accounted for the remaining 10%. The HBM market constitutes just 1% of the overall DRAM segment.

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Samsung Electronics, the South Korean technology giant, reported a staggering 95% drop in operating profit for Q1 2023 compared to the same period last year. The company has attributed this significant decline to the reduced demand for memory chips. While Samsung has not disclosed the exact extent to which it will reduce its memory module production, industry analysts predict a cut of around 25%.

Semiconductor Analyst Minbok Wi from Daishin Securities estimates that Samsung could reduce memory chip production by 20% to 25% in the first half of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. KB Securities, on the other hand, forecasts that Samsung will reduce NAND flash chip production by 15% and DRAM chip production by over 20%, starting in Q3 2023. Min Seong Hwang, an Analyst at Samsung Securities, believes that if inventory levels do not decrease as expected, the company may need to further reduce production.

Samsung to reduce the production of low-Cost DRAM modules, focus on DDR5

Samsung has stated that it has a sufficient inventory of memory chips to meet mid to long-term demand and is planning to reduce the production of legacy products. Although the company has not specified which memory chips will see a decrease in production, The Korea Herald reports that Samsung will focus on cutting the production of low-cost DRAM modules such as DDR3 and DDR4 due to their dwindling demand. Instead, the company will concentrate its efforts on advanced memory chips like DDR5, which are rapidly gaining popularity.

Recent market trends have not been favorable for Samsung, with the average contract price of an 8GB DDR4 RAM module falling by 19.9% last month, following an 18.1% drop in January. Although prices stabilized in February and March, they have begun to fall once again, despite Samsung’s announcement of a production cut. Market research firm TrendForce predicts a further 15% to 20% drop in prices during Q2 2023 as suppliers grapple with high inventory levels.

While the current outlook for Samsung and the chip industry appears bleak, some analysts remain optimistic, suggesting that a turnaround could be on the horizon in 2024. As the market continues to shift and advanced memory chips like DDR5 gain traction, Samsung’s decision to focus on next-generation technologies could position the company well for a recovery in the coming years.

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The trade war between China and the US continues at full speed. The technology sector, as always, is the one most affected by the tensions between the two countries. The US government bans the sale of high value-added technology products to some Chinese companies due to security concerns, while the Asian country retaliates with difficulties in supplying critical raw materials. However, both countries are not solely focusing on aggressive tactics.

For instance, US companies are seeking alternative raw materials for batteries and other technologies, while Chinese companies strive to develop the technologies that are not being sold to them. Recently, China’s leading memory chip manufacturer, YMTC, has made advancements in producing advanced 3D NAND products using locally sourced equipment. Here are the details…

China’s YMTC Advancing Self-Sufficiency in 3D NAND Flash Chip Production with Local Equipment

According to the latest reports, China’s leading memory chip maker, Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC), is reportedly making progress in producing advanced 3D NAND flash chip products using only domestically sourced equipment. The top-secret project, named Wudangshan, has placed significant orders with Chinese suppliers such as Naura Technology Group. YMTC’s aim is to help China become self-sufficient in semiconductor production, which has been hindered by restrictions on the export of advanced chip-making tools by the US, citing concerns about technology falling into the hands of the Chinese military.

However, the “choke points” in China’s chip manufacturing supply chain, where domestic alternatives are not yet available, remain a challenge for YMTC. These include metrology tools from US equipment maker KLA and lithography systems from Dutch company ASML and Japanese vendors Nikon and Canon. Despite the challenges, YMTC has received fresh funding from state-backed investors, including the “Big Fund”, which is positive news for the company after being placed on a US trade blacklist last year.

If successful, the Wudangshan project would be a breakthrough for China’s semiconductor industry, as it could help the country compete with other advanced chip manufacturers like Samsung. However, it remains to be seen how YMTC will overcome the choke points in its chip manufacturing supply chain.

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Despite the global chip market seeing a decline, it seems that Samsung aims to push through the fall in its profits. The company has announced that it will maintain its chip production level amid the downward trend of the memory chip segment.

The South Korean tech giant made this announcement during its latest financial report earlier this week. During this report, the brand stated that it had an operating income of 270 billion won for the fourth and final quarter of 2022. This marked the lowest ever operating income over the last ten years. But while the company is aiming on retaining its production output for its chips, its rivals in the industry, Micron and SK Hynix, have announced their plans to lower their spending on chips.

Due to the current market conditions, both firms are slashing expenses on their facilities this year to produce fewer chipsets. SK Hynix has stated that it plans to reduce its expenditure on its foundries in 2023 by around 50 percent to that it spent in 2022. Similarly, Micron is also lower chip production output by 20 percent this year. Amid these announcements, Samsung revealed that it will still maintain its expenditures despite seeing a drop in profits.

The company believes that retaining its investments during the weak market condition, it is also a “good opportunity” for the future. Furthermore, the company added that it will continue to spend on infrastructure to better prepare for mid to long term demand, since it could impact growth from maintenance or equipment reorganization.

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Samsung Electronics has been the market leader for memory chips for almost three decades now. But now, its dominance might not continue for much longer as emerging rivals have intensified competition, while it lags behind other major chip makers in the SoC industry (System on Chip).

According to a BusinessKorea report, the South Korean tech giant held a market share of 41 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. This was followed by SK Hynix that held 29.3 percent and Micron Technology with 24.3 percent market share. Furthermore, this is indicative of the gaps between Samsung and the other firms narrowing. As per the report, Samsung’s dominance might continue if its performance in the system on chip sector. Although, this would be quite difficult for the company.

An industry source close to the matter said that “Foundry-based ecosystem establishment to cover fabless and packaging is urgent to catch up with TSMC. South Korea’s system-on-chip industry can grow only after global leaders emerge in each of the segments.” In simpler terms, the fabless industry in South Korea is still insufficient as they lack original technology and professional manpower.

Notably, TSMC and Samsung Electronics’ first quarter foundry market shares are estimated to be around 56 percent and 18 percent respectively, with the latter’s market share never crossing 20 percent in the global foundry market. Talking about the former, the Taiwanese chip maker has been more than 300 percent of Samsung’s this year.

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SK Hynix announced earlier today (29th January 2021) that it would be shifting some of its foundry facilities that use its 8 inch wafers from its home country South Korea to China. The move arrives to meet the surging demand in the market.

According to a NikkeiAsia report, the South Korean chip maker and the second largest semiconductor based firm of the region is moving chip facilities to China to meet rising customer demands and lower costs as well. As per the company’s official notes, its foundry chips that are based on its 8 inch wafers is facing strong demand, as its supply of chips using 12 inch wafers is limited due to the higher requirement of investment to build newer facilities.

SK Hynix stated during its fourth quarter earnings report that it “plans to move 8-inch wafer facilities to China, where cost-saving is expected, to seize the chance fully. Initially we planned to do it in two years, but we changed the plan to do it as soon as possible to cope with rising customer demand.” Interestingly, Sky Hynix’s shift to China arrives amid major OEMs moving their supply chain and production away from the Southeast Asian nation.

The company further added that “For us it is better to add more facilities in China, as we have no overseas factories outside of the country.” During the fourth quarter of last year, SK Hynix saw a four fold rise in operating profits, reaching 966 billion won (roughly 865 million US Dollars) year on year, thanks to the strong demand for mobile chips. Its operating profit for the whole of 2020 jumped by 84 percent as well, which was backed by rising demand for memory chips.

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Samsung Electronics has seen a healthy bump in its chip sales, especially to data centers that are expanding due to a growing surge of work from home traffic. Although, despite its chip sales, it is unlikely that it will make up for its declining smartphone sales.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, more and more individuals are working from home, which has caused a boom in online learning. This, in turn, reflects in the growth of chip demand. Samsung is the world’s biggest supplier of DRAM and NAND memory chips. These account for nearly half of the South Korean tech giant’s total profits. The rest is mainly from smartphones.

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With the recent increase in demand, a rise in DRAM prices helped the company to maintain a great performance in the second quarter. These price hikes were likely driven by data centers that were stockpiling chips, so the trend is not likely to be sustainable in the near future. However, despite its strong chip sales, the company will not be able to cover up the improved revenue over falling smartphone sales. But the upcoming Samsung Unpacked 2020 event might change the company’s current predicament.

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Back in 2019, SK Hynix announced that it was successful in the development of a new generation of DRAM memory chips. These new chips were labeled as HBM2E, which are now finally ready for mass production.

According to official claims, the HBM2E has a performance of  3686.4Gbps per pin. This translates to a bandwidth of more than 460GB/s, with a total of 1024 I/O (input/output). The HBM2E architecture stacks eight 16 gigabit DRAM chips with TSV (Through Silicon Via) technology to achieve a total capacity of 16GB, which is more than twice the capacity of previous generation HBM2 memory.

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For those unaware, HBM2 was the memory used by AMD in its previous generation of Radeon Fury graphics cards that were first released back in 2015. Despite having various advantages, its high cost and other limiting factors led to its eventual discontinuation in later generations. Although now, SK Hynix has launched the latest generation of memory solution that arrives with AI systems with deep learning accelerators that would be useful for high performance computers.

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Huawei was put on the Entity List by the U.S. government in May last year and recently, the ban was further extended by another year. A few days ago, the United States tightened export controls in a move that is aimed at limiting Huawei’s access to chip supplies.

Now, the Chinese giant is seeking help from the likes of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix for continued supply of memory chips despite mounting pressure from the United States as the Trump administration tries to isolate Huawei.

As per the reports, Huawei is one of the biggest clients for Samsung and SK Hynix as the company spends more than 10 trillion won (around $8.1 billion) for purchasing DRAM and NAND flash memory chips from the South Korean companies.

While memory chipmakers aren’t subject to the restrictions recently announced by the United States but Huawei is worried that such move could come in later and the Chinese company is preparing for the same.

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The U.S. Commerce Department announced that the all the chip manufacturers using American chipmaking equipment, intellectual property or design software needs to apply for a license before shipping chips to Huawei. Soon after this new rule was announced, TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipset maker stopped taking new orders from Huawei.

In response to this, China’s Department of Commerce said that it strongly objects to the tighter U.S. export controls and added that such restrictions pose a huge threat to the global supply chain. It also demanded U.S. to reverse the new restrictions and warned to take necessary countermeasures.

Commenting on this new rule from the U.S., Andy Purdy, the US Chief Security Officer for Huawei, said that the company will survive this event and will eventually adapt to this and added that the problem will mostly be borne by American employees and companies.

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