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Semiconductors

SK Hynix unveils industry’s highest-performing DRAM chip

With 78% better data processing rate, the new chip can transmit 163 full-HD movies in a second

By Oct 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)

2 Min read

SK Hynix develops the industry's first HBM3 DRAM chip
SK Hynix develops the industry's first HBM3 DRAM chip

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, has unveiled the industry’s highest-performing DRAM with a data speed capable of transmitting 163 full-HD movies in a single second.

Called HBM3, short for High Bandwidth Memory 3, the chip is the third-generation DRAM memory with an 819 gigabyte (GB) data processing rate, up 78% compared to its predecessor HBM2E, the company said on Wednesday.

The latest development, which follows the start of mass production of HMB2E in July last year, will help consolidate SK Hynix’s market leadership, the company said.

SK Hynix was also the first memory vendor to start mass production of HMB2E.

The company said HBM3 is not only the fastest DRAM in the world but also has the biggest capacity and a significantly improved quality level.

The Korean chipmaker will be offering the new memory in two capacities: 16 GB and 24 GB.

SK Hynix
SK Hynix

To make the 24 GB HBM3 chip, the industry’s largest, SK Hynix said its engineers have squeezed the height of a DRAM chip to approximately 30 micrometers, equivalent to a third of an A4 paper’s thickness, before vertically stacking 12 chips using an interconnecting technology called Through Silicon Via (TSV).

MINIMIZING STACK HEIGHT

Minimizing stack height is technically competitive due to the challenges involved in making deep-stacked and TSV-connected high-speed memory work.

“Since our launch of the world’s first HBM DRAM, SK Hynix has succeeded in developing the industry’s first HBM3 after leading the HBM2E market,” said Cha Seon-yong, executive vice president in charge of the company’s DRAM development.

SK Hynix develops the industry's first HBM3 DRAM chip
SK Hynix develops the industry's first HBM3 DRAM chip

“We will continue our efforts to solidify our leadership in the premium memory market and boost customer value by providing products that are in line with  ESG management standards.”

The company said the latest chip also corrects data bit errors with the aid of the built-in on-die error-correction code, significantly improving the reliability of the product.

HBM3 will be mainly used for high-performance data centers as well as machine learning platforms that enhance the level of artificial intelligence and super-computing performance, it said.

Write to Hyung-Suk Song at click@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
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