Samsung is expected to more than double output of its HBM4 and HBM4E DRAM

三星电子预计将 HBM4 和 HBM4E DRAM 的产量提高一倍以上

Samsung Electronics (005930) is expected to more than double output of its HBM4 family of high-bandwidth memory chips next year, including sixth-generation HBM4 and seventh-generation HBM4E, as the company plans to raise demand for glass carriers by 2.5 times from this year. Glass carriers are glass supports that hold wafers in place while HBM DRAM is thinned.

三星电子（005930）预计明年将其 HBM4 系列高带宽内存芯片的产量提高一倍以上，其中包括第六代 HBM4 和第七代 HBM4E。该公司计划将玻璃载板（glass carriers）的需求量在今年的基础上提升 2.5 倍。玻璃载板是用于在 HBM DRAM 减薄过程中固定晶圆的玻璃支撑物。

Samsung will increase outsourced cleaning volume for glass carriers, an essential material in HBM production, to 50,000 sheets a month next year from 20,000 sheets a month this year, according to semiconductor industry sources on the 20th. Glass carrier requirements stood at 10,000 sheets a month as recently as last year, doubling this year and set to rise 2.5-fold next year.

据半导体行业消息人士 20 日透露，三星明年将把 HBM 生产中必不可少的材料——玻璃载板的委外清洗量从今年的每月 2 万片增加到每月 5 万片。去年玻璃载板的需求量仅为每月 1 万片，今年翻了一番，明年预计将增长 2.5 倍。

A glass carrier is a support temporarily attached to the underside of an HBM DRAM wafer to prevent bending or cracking while the wafer is ground thin and drilled. Because HBM requires stacking multiple DRAM dies within a limited thickness, the technology for thinning wafers and the processes for controlling warpage become more important as stack counts rise.

玻璃载板是一种临时附着在 HBM DRAM 晶圆底部的支撑物，用于防止晶圆在减薄和钻孔过程中发生弯曲或破裂。由于 HBM 需要在有限的厚度内堆叠多个 DRAM 裸片，随着堆叠层数的增加，晶圆减薄技术和翘曲控制工艺变得愈发重要。

The HBM4 and HBM4E products Samsung is preparing to scale up center on 12-layer and higher stacks. Industry analysts say that even accounting for the fact that glass carriers are reused after cleaning and that consumption varies by process loading method and yield, a 2.5-fold increase in related volume makes it highly likely that HBM4 and HBM4E output will grow at least twofold from this year.

三星准备扩大规模的 HBM4 和 HBM4E 产品主要集中在 12 层及以上的堆叠结构。行业分析师表示，即使考虑到玻璃载板在清洗后可重复使用，且消耗量会因工艺负载方式和良率而异，相关业务量的 2.5 倍增长也使得 HBM4 和 HBM4E 的产量极有可能比今年至少翻一番。

In February, Samsung began mass-production shipments of HBM4 using 10-nanometer-class sixth-generation (1c) DRAM and a base die built on a 4-nanometer process. In May, it also provided 12-layer HBM4E samples to customers including Nvidia.

今年 2 月，三星开始量产出货 HBM4，该产品采用 10 纳米级第六代 (1c) DRAM 和基于 4 纳米工艺构建的基底裸片（base die）。5 月，三星还向包括英伟达在内的客户提供了 12 层 HBM4E 样品。

The industry expects Samsung’s HBM production scale to grow nearly 40% to about 250,000 wafers next year from roughly 180,000 wafers this year, measured by average monthly wafer input. By product shipment mix, the HBM4 family is projected to rise from around 40% this year to about 80% next year as HBM4E mass production ramps up. “As Samsung expands HBM production, it appears to be placing HBM4, a high-value product, at the center,” an industry official said.

业内预计，按月均晶圆投入量计算，三星的 HBM 生产规模明年将增长近 40%，从今年的约 18 万片增加到约 25 万片。从产品出货结构来看，随着 HBM4E 量产的推进，HBM4 系列的占比预计将从今年的约 40% 上升到明年的约 80%。一位行业官员表示：“随着三星扩大 HBM 生产，它似乎正将高价值产品 HBM4 置于核心地位。”