Samsung Expected to More Than Double HBM4 Output Next Year

Summary

Samsung Electronics is expected to more than double production of its HBM4 family next year, including sixth-generation HBM4 and seventh-generation HBM4E, according to semiconductor industry sources cited by Seoul Economic Daily. The company plans to increase outsourced glass-carrier cleaning from 20,000 sheets per month this year to 50,000 next year. Glass carriers temporarily support wafers during thinning and drilling, helping prevent bending or cracking as more DRAM dies are stacked within a limited thickness. Samsung’s planned HBM4 and HBM4E products center on 12-layer and higher stacks, making wafer-thinning and warpage control increasingly important. Samsung began mass-production shipments of HBM4 in February, using 10-nanometer-class sixth-generation, or 1c, DRAM and a 4-nanometer base die, and supplied 12-layer HBM4E samples to customers including Nvidia in May. Industry estimates put total HBM wafer input at about 250,000 wafers per month next year, up from roughly 180,000 this year, or nearly 40%. The HBM4 family is also projected to rise from around 40% to about 80% of Samsung’s shipment mix as HBM4E mass production expands. The output estimate is based partly on carrier demand and remains subject to reuse rates, process loading methods and yields.