Key Points:
- Samsung is to launch 3D packaging services for HBM in 2024. The advanced technology is expected to debut in the sixth-generation HBM4
- Expected in Nvidia’s Rubin GPU model in 2026. 3D packaging stacks HBM chips vertically, eliminating the need for a silicon interposer.
- Samsung Advanced Interconnection Technology-D for turnkey 3D HBM packaging. All-in-one heterogeneous integration technology by 2027.
- HBM is projected to make up 30% of the DRAM market in 2025, and the advanced packaging market will grow to $80 billion by 2032.
Samsung Electronics Co. will introduce three-dimensional (3D) packaging services for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) within the year. According to company and industry sources, this advanced technology is expected to debut in the sixth-generation HBM4, which is anticipated for release in 2025.
On June 20, during the Samsung Foundry Forum 2024 in San Jose, California, the world’s largest memory chipmaker unveiled its latest chip packaging technology and service roadmaps. This marked the first public introduction of Samsung’s 3D packaging technology for HBM chips, currently packaged primarily with 2.5D technology.
This announcement comes after Nvidia’s co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang introduced the new-generation architecture of its AI platform, Rubin, during a speech in Taiwan. HBM4 is expected to be integrated into Nvidia’s Rubin GPU model, which is set to launch in 2026.
Samsung’s innovative packaging technology features HBM chips stacked vertically on top of a GPU, significantly enhancing data learning and inference processing speeds. This 3D packaging approach is a transformative advancement in the rapidly growing AI chip market. Unlike the 2.5D technology, where HBM chips are horizontally connected to a GPU via a silicon interposer, the 3D packaging eliminates the need for this interposer.
Samsung calls its new packaging technology SAINT-D, which stands for Samsung Advanced Interconnection Technology-D. The company plans to offer 3D HBM packaging on a turnkey basis. This involves vertically interconnecting HBM chips from its memory division with GPUs assembled by its foundry unit for fabless companies.
“3D packaging reduces power consumption and processing delays, improving the quality of electrical signals in semiconductor chips,” said a Samsung Electronics official.
Samsung plans to introduce an all-in-one heterogeneous integration technology by 2027. This technology will incorporate optical elements that significantly increase semiconductors’ data transmission speed, creating a unified package for AI accelerators.
The demand for low-power, high-performance chips is driving the growth of HBM. According to TrendForce, a Taiwanese research company, HBM is projected to account for 30% of the DRAM market in 2025, up from 21% in 2024. MGI Research forecasts that the advanced packaging market, including 3D packaging, will expand to $80 billion by 2032, compared to $34.5 billion in 2023.
