SK hynix is said to be highly likely to introduce Singapore's ASMPT equipment for its 5th generation high bandwidth memory (HBM3E) technology, which is considered a cutting-edge product line among high bandwidth memory. Due to the nature of HBM, which is packaged by stacking DRAM, yield becomes more unstable as the layers increase, and it has been reported that ASMPT equipment has received high evaluations from SK hynix.
According to the industry on the 26th, SK hynix is currently testing various HBM product lines including the HBM3E 16-layer product by ordering TC bonder equipment from ASMPT. TC bonder, an essential piece of equipment in the HBM manufacturing process, stacks multiple chips vertically. In the case of SK hynix, the process of slightly placing chip dies with the TC bonder is repeated before the chips are bonded through the mass reflow (MR) process. After that, the underfill process is carried out for insulation. SK hynix refers to this process as MR-MUF (Molded Underfill).
Earlier, it was confirmed that SK hynix unveiled the HBM3E 16-layer product manufactured with ASMPT equipment at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 held in Las Vegas, USA, in January this year. The HBM3E 16-layer product is referred to as a transitional product moving from the HBM3E 12-layer product to HBM4 (6th generation HBM). While major tech corporations such as Meta and Google are requesting custom HBM4 products as they develop their own artificial intelligence (AI) chips, the HBM3E 16-layer could serve as the most viable alternative prior to the commercialization of HBM4.
An industry official noted, "Since HBM4 is customized, unlike previous generation products, some clients are more likely to adopt the more versatile HBM3E. Additionally, with the emergence of low-cost AI models like "DeepSeek," the hardware demand for the HBM3E product line, which is less expensive than HBM4, could last longer."
SK hynix, the world's leading HBM market company, has seen its TC bonder long dominated by HANMI Semiconductor. However, SK hynix has continuously been making efforts to diversify its equipment suppliers. In addition to ASMPT, Hanwha Semitek, which is also actively developing TC bonders, is among the leading candidates for supplies. There are reports in the industry that about 30 ASMPT devices were already deployed on SK hynix's production line last year.
As the number of HBM layers increases, the process changes, raising the importance of bonding equipment. For instance, in the case of HBM3E's 12 layers, the thickness of the chip die has become thinner, so a slight heat is applied during bonding to prevent warpage, followed by the MR process. SK hynix refers to this method as hMR (heated Mass Reflow).
A source familiar with SK hynix said, "I understand that in simulating the HBM3E 16-layer process, the performance of ASMPT equipment is found to be higher than that of HANMI Semiconductor equipment as the number of HBM layers increases," adding that "the use of ASMPT's equipment in the HBM3E 16-layer product showcased at CES 2025 seems to be related. "