[News] Samsung, SK hynix Reportedly Reconsider Hybrid Bonding Timeline; 16-High HBM4E May Be Earliest Adoption
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are reportedly reconsidering when to adopt hybrid bonding for HBM. According to ZDNet, growing industry speculation suggests widespread deployment of the technology for next-generation HBM may be delayed beyond earlier expectations. Although hybrid bonding had once been expected to debut with HBM4, both companies ultimately continued using conventional thermo-compression (TC) bonding. Industry forecasts now point to 16-high HBM4E (the seventh-generation HBM) as the earliest likely adoption point.
Some industry observers believe hybrid bonding adoption could be delayed further, arguing that the need for its key advantages—including thinner HBM packages and improved thermal performance—is becoming less pressing.
Still, Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and other major memory companies continue to develop hybrid bonding technology, the report says. Industry observers predict that the need for hybrid bonding will resurface as the number of HBM I/O (input/output terminals) increases dramatically.
Unlike conventional bonding, hybrid bonding directly joins the copper interconnects of adjacent DRAM dies without using bumps. This enables thinner HBM packages while improving thermal performance and power efficiency, while also supporting higher-density interconnections for the HBM I/O terminals responsible for internal data transfer, according to the report.
Relaxed Thickness Standards and Delayed High-Stack Adoption
The report attributes the reduced urgency of adopting hybrid bonding to several factors. One is the gradual relaxation of HBM thickness standards across the industry. Up to HBM3E (the fifth-generation HBM), the standard package thickness was 720 micrometers. With HBM4, however, the limit increased to 775 micrometers, largely reflecting the shift from 8- and 12-high DRAM stacks to 12- and 16-high configurations.
JEDEC is also discussing, according to the report, raising the thickness limit for next-generation HBM, including 20-high HBM5, from around 900 micrometers to as much as 1,000 micrometers. A higher thickness allowance would reduce the need to minimize spacing between DRAM dies, easing the technical demands placed on bonding technologies.
Another factor is the delayed demand from key customers, including NVIDIA, for higher-stack-count HBM. A memory industry executive cited in the report said discussions between customers and memory manufacturers on 16-high HBM remain limited, adding that 12-high HBM4E products are still expected to remain the mainstream offering.
Thermal Advances Reduce Hybrid Bonding’s Appeal
Meanwhile, the report notes that the urgency of adopting hybrid bonding has eased as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix develop alternative technologies to improve HBM thermal performance. While hybrid bonding enhances heat dissipation by eliminating underfill material, which has relatively low thermal conductivity, both companies are instead pursuing dedicated heat-dissipation structures alongside HBM stacks. Samsung’s Heat Path Block (HPB) and SK hynix’s iHBM (ICE HBM) are currently being tested for HBM5.
The delayed adoption of hybrid bonding is reportedly supporting demand for TC bonding equipment. According to Newsis, as manufacturers opt to increase die area instead of adopting hybrid bonding—which remains a highly complex process—demand for Hanmi Semiconductor’s Wide TC Bonder, designed to stably handle larger die areas, is increasing.
Read more
- [News] Samsung Files New HBM Dummy Die Patent to Enhance High-Stack Reliability; Seen as Aimed at 16-Layer HBM5
- [News] SK hynix Reportedly Completes 12-High Hybrid Bonding HBM Validation, Raises Yields for Mass Production
(Photo credit: Samsung)
