HANMI Semiconductor will supply SK hynix with the "TC bonder" (thermocompression bonder), a core high-bandwidth memory (HBM) manufacturing tool, in a deal worth 9.65 billion won.
HANMI Semiconductor disclosed on the 14th that it signed a supply contract with SK hynix for the equipment. The contract runs through Apr. 1, and the size is equivalent to 1.73% of 2024 sales. With additional supply contracts resuming after being relatively scarce since the second half of last year, there is a view that SK hynix is accelerating efforts to strengthen its HBM production capacity.
HBM stacks DRAM to raise bandwidth and send large amounts of data at once, making it a key component for artificial intelligence (AI) chips. A TC bonder is used in the process of fixing DRAM with heat and pressure. Given that the typical price per TC bonder is around 3 billion won, the size of this supply is estimated at around three units.
In the industry, there is an expectation that the equipment supplied by HANMI Semiconductor this time is the "TC bonder 4," used to produce sixth-generation HBM (HBM4). SK hynix is said to be installing the tool at its Cheongju plant and plans to begin HBM4 mass production this year. In September last year, SK hynix established a mass production system for HBM4 and has been supplying a large volume of paid prototypes to Nvidia. Optimization work with Nvidia on HBM4 is also in its final stages, and the company is expected to begin mass production of final products early this year.
Previously, SK hynix used HANMI Semiconductor equipment exclusively for the 12-stack HBM3E (fifth generation) manufacturing process, then began diversifying its supply chain by adding Hanwha Semitek as a new partner early last year. Last year, SK hynix received equipment from HANMI Semiconductor totaling 55.2 billion won on a cumulative basis and signed cumulative equipment supply contracts worth 80.5 billion won with Hanwha Semitek.