Samsung to Use TSMC 3nm Process for Base Dies of Nvidia's Next-Generation Custom HBM
SEOUL — Samsung Electronics will use TSMC's 3-nanometre process to produce base dies for Nvidia's next-generation custom high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, the Seoul Economic Daily reported on Sunday, in what would be the first time Samsung has worked with the Taiwanese contract chipmaker at the HBM manufacturing stage, Reuters reported.
Nvidia has asked Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron Technology — the three suppliers tapped to produce NVHBM, the custom HBM it unveiled in August — to manufacture the base die using TSMC's 3nm process, while standardising the core die on sixth-generation DRAM technology, known as 1c, the newspaper said, citing industry sources. NVHBM, based on the HBM4E architecture, integrates Nvidia's custom memory controller into the base die and is aimed at standardising implementation across multiple memory suppliers.
Nvidia made the request because differing manufacturing methods across HBM suppliers make it difficult to deliver consistent performance from a single design, and standardisation also reduces the burden of validating products separately for each supplier, according to the report.
Samsung's Device Solutions division, which operates the company's foundry business, decided after an internal review to accept Nvidia's requirements. The company plans to retain its in-house turnkey production model for standard HBM and for custom products for other customers, and is also assessing whether its own foundry could produce NVHBM base dies if demand exceeds TSMC's capacity, the newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying.
Samsung worked with TSMC four years ago to ensure compatibility with the Taiwanese company's packaging process when connecting HBM to graphics processors, but this is the first time the two have partnered from the HBM manufacturing stage. (GSM, via Reuters)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：台积电晶圆厂（资料图）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 4.0。Photo: A TSMC fabrication plant (file photo). Image: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
