(News) SK Hynix’s HBM4 will use TSMC’s 3nm base chip

The Korea Economic Daily reports that SK Hynix, a leading AI memory chip maker, plans to manufacture its sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory chips (HBM4) using TSMC’s 3nm process technology. These chips are scheduled to ship to NVIDIA in the second half of next year.

The report notes that SK Hynix originally intended to use a 5nm process for HBM4 production. However, due to strong customer demand for more advanced memory, the company moved to the 3nm process, with shipments to NVIDIA expected in the second half of 2025.

According to the report, SK Hynix’s HBM4 chip prototype, unveiled in March, features vertically stacked chips on a 3nm base chip. Compared to 5nm base chips, the 3nm based HBM chips are expected to provide a 20-30% performance improvement. However, the general-purpose HBM4 and HBM4E chips from SK Hynix in collaboration with TSMC will use a 12nm process.

The same report reveals that SK Hynix’s fifth-generation HBM3E chips are based on its own base chip technology, but the company has chosen to use TSMC’s 3nm technology for HBM4. This decision is expected to significantly increase the performance gap with rival Samsung Electronics, which plans to manufacture its HBM4 chips using the 4nm process.

(Image credit: SK Hynix)