SK hynix leads market with HBM3e 16hi products, boosting capacity limits

SK hynix recently unveiled its development of HBM3e 16hi memory at the SK AI Summit 2024, featuring a 48 GB capacity per cube, with sampling scheduled for the first half of 2025. 

TrendForce’s latest findings reveal that this new product is aimed at applications that include CSPs’ custom ASICs and general-purpose GPUs. The 16hi HBM3e product is expected to push memory capacity limits ahead of the HBM4 generation’s launch. 

TrendForce reports that HBM suppliers traditionally introduce two stack height options—such as 8hi and 12hi stacks for HBM3e and 12hi and 16hi stacks planned for HBM4— within each generation. While industry players are set to launch HBM4 12hi starting in the second half of 2025, SK hynix’s move to add a 16hi option within the HBM3e family can be attributed to several key factors.

Firstly, TSMC’s CoWoS-L packaging technology is expected to support larger package sizes between 2026 and 2027, allowing for more HBM stacks per SiP. However, challenges and uncertainties remain in advancing beyond these planned upgrades. Prior to the more demanding production of HBM4 16hi, the HBM3e 16hi provides customers with a high-capacity alternative. With up to eight HBM stacks per SiP, HBM3e 16hi can deliver a maximum capacity of 384 GB per system, significantly surpassing NVIDIA’s Rubin at 288 GB.

Transitioning from HBM3e to HBM4 also doubles the I/O count. This drives higher computational bandwidth while increasing die size, but the per-die capacity remains at 24 GB. In the upgrade from HBM3e 12hi to HBM4 12hi, the HBM3e 16hi can serve as an option that offers lower I/O, smaller die sizes, and higher memory capacity.

TrendForce adds that SK hynix’s HBM3e 16hi will adopt the Advanced MR-MUF stacking process. Compared to the TC-NCF process, MR-MUF allows for higher stack counts and greater computational bandwidth. By producing HBM3e 16hi ahead of HBM4’s 16hi versions, SK hynix will be able to accumulate valuable high-stack manufacturing experience that will facilitate a smoother transition to HBM4 16hi production. SK hynix is also considering a future release of a 16hi variant using hybrid bonding, further expanding high-bandwidth options for advanced computing applications.

-- Source: TrendForce, Taiwan.