As demand for AI computing power keeps surging, High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is evolving rapidly toward higher stack counts and faster operating speeds. However, the resultant heat generation has become a major bottleneck undermining product stability.
On May 26, SK Hynix launched iHBM, an innovative thermal control and heat dissipation technology for memory. By integrating all-in-one cooling components directly inside HBM packages, the technology addresses thermal challenges fundamentally at the structural level.
According to official details, the core of iHBM lies in ICE, a newly developed cooling component built with insulating, high-thermal-conductivity silicon-based materials.
Conventional HBM products rely on indirect heat dissipation, where heat dissipates outward from core chips. In contrast, iHBM embeds ICE directly into the D2D PHY areas where heat concentrates the most, creating dedicated heat dissipation pathways for these zones. Compared with traditional solutions, iHBM reduces thermal resistance by more than 30%, effectively enhancing product operational stability under harsh conditions such as high temperatures and heavy workloads.
In terms of mass production readiness, this technology adopts the advanced MR-MUF wafer-level packaging process which has been widely proven in commercial applications, enabling stable large-volume manufacturing.
Furthermore, iHBM features strong design compatibility with customers’ existing system-level packaging environments. It can be deployed directly without extensive design modifications, substantially lowering the technical barriers for real-world adoption.
SK Hynix plans to apply iHBM to next-generation products including HBM5, to meet thermal management requirements for highly integrated, high-bandwidth scenarios such as high-performance computing and AI data centers.
(Reprinted from https://news.eccn.com/）