Samsung Electronics is working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to use its 3nm process for producing base dies in Nvidia’s next generation of custom high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, reported the Seoul Economic Daily newspaper.
According to the report, this marks the first time Samsung has collaborated with TSMC specifically at the HBM manufacturing stage.
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The reported partnership comes as AI chips face a bottleneck in both HBM performance and supply.
Data transfer speeds from existing memory are not keeping pace with the processing capabilities of graphics processing units (GPUs), prompting Nvidia to pursue higher performance by tapping into TSMC’s advanced manufacturing technology and capacity.
Sources cited by the newspaper said Nvidia is co-designing the base die for its proprietary NVHBM memory with both Samsung Electronics and TSMC.
The base die, located at the bottom of the HBM stack, contains logic circuits critical for setting the memory’s data transfer speed and, therefore, impacts the overall competitiveness of the product.
A distinguishing feature of the new NVHBM base die is the integration of the memory controller, which was previously housed on the GPU itself.
By relocating certain functions to the base die, Nvidia is able to free up GPU space for added computing circuits.
This design, combined with shrinking the physical layer by 60% compared to standard HBM, enables up to 30% greater memory bandwidth and a 15% reduction in power consumption versus the standard HBM4E.
Nvidia’s requirements necessitate TSMC’s 3nm process to accommodate the shift in design, which demands denser integration of circuits and high manufacturing yield.
Industry sources cited TSMC’s yield for this process at over 90%, compared to approximately 60% for Samsung’s comparable 2nm process, supporting consolidation of production at TSMC.
Rising demand for HBM is also a factor, with UBS projecting an increase to approximately 61.5 billion gigabits needed next year, which is a 91% rise from this year. Supply is expected to fall short by about 10%.
While Samsung plans to increase output of memory core dies and expand base die production at its facilities, current capacity remains limited.
TSMC is expanding its own 3nm capacity with new production lines in Taiwan, as well as future lines in Arizona and Japan.
Despite this collaboration, Samsung Electronics is also preparing to manufacture the base die using its own foundry processes for future demand.
