SemiVoice

SIA reports 2024 semi sales of $627bn

➀ The SIA reports that the semiconductor sales in 2024 reached $627 billion, a 19.1% increase from the $526.8 billion in 2023.

➁ The market topped $600 billion for the first time last year and is expected to see double-digit revenue growth this year.

➂ Logic led the market in 2024 with $212.6 billion in sales, followed by memories, which grew 78.9% year-on-year to reach $165.1 billion.

DRAM SIA market growth memory sales semiconductor

Yangtse shipping 294-layer NAND (but 62 are dummies)

➀ Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) is shipping a TLC NAND with 294 layers, 232 of which are active;

➁ The new device has the same number of active layers as the company's previous generation NAND;

➂ The reason for the increase in dummy layers is unclear.

DRAM Memory Chips NAND YMTC

Sourcengine reports stabilising Q4 market, low prices and declining lead-times

➀ Sourcengine reports that the Q4 market stabilized due to memory production;

➁ However, low consumer demand kept prices low and lead times declining;

➂ The exception was for AI components, where demand spikes caused shortages for HBM and SSDs;

➃ Prices are expected to stay low throughout H1.

DRAM SSD semiconductor

tomshardware

SK hynix posts record revenues and profits as AI industry drives surge in HBM3 and HBM3E demand

➀ SK hynix reported record earnings, operating profits, and net income for 2024.

➁ The company attributes its success to increased sales of AI memory products, including HBM3 and HBM3E for the latest accelerators.

➂ SK hynix plans to increase HBM3E supply, develop HBM4, and transition to advanced processes for DDR5 and LPDDR5 production.

AI DRAM HBM3 SK Hynix

Samsung re-engineering its HBM design

➀ Samsung is re-engineering its HBM chips as revealed at CES; ➁ Hynix has been leading the HBM market with about 50% of the revenues; ➂ The HBM market is expected to be worth about $14 billion last year and grow at a CAGR of ~38% to reach $37.7 billion by 2029.

DRAM Growth HBM Jensen Huang Market NVIDIA Revenue Samsung semiconductor

tomshardware

Chipmaking DRAM Samsung memory semiconductor technology

China-made DDR5 memory chips use less advanced chipmaking technology — chips are nearly 40% larger than Samsung's DDR5

➀ China-made DDR5 memory chips are nearly 40% larger than Samsung's; ➁ CXMT's 16 Gb DDR5 memory IC has a larger die size due to less advanced chipmaking technology; ➂ The cost of CXMT's DDR5 chips is likely higher than Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix due to the larger die size.

tomshardware

DRAM Market Trends PC Components memory semiconductor

DRAM prices expected to decline in early 2025 impacting PC, server, and GPU VRAM markets

➀ DRAM prices are expected to decline by 8-13% in the first quarter of 2025, impacting PC, server, and GPU VRAM markets; ➁ The decline is driven by weak consumer demand and oversupply of DDR4 memory modules; ➂ Server DRAM prices are expected to drop by 5-10%, while GPU VRAM prices may fall by 5-10%.

electronicsforu

Low-Power DRAM Technology For Ultra-Low Leakage

➀ Kioxia Corporation and Nanya Technology have developed a low-power DRAM technology called OCTRAM, which uses oxide-semiconductor transistors for ultra-low leakage and high efficiency. The technology aims to significantly reduce power consumption in AI, post-5G communication, and IoT devices. ➁ The OCTRAM features a cylindrical-shaped InGaZnO vertical transistor as its cell transistor, offering enhanced memory density. ➂ The technology achieves a high 'on' current exceeding 15μA per cell and an 'off' current as low as 1aA per cell, reducing energy leakage to negligible levels.

DRAM energy efficiency

servethehome

CXL is Finally Coming in 2025

➀ Compute Express Link (CXL) technology is expected to move from a niche to mainstream use in 2025; ➁ CXL's support for memory expansion is a significant driver, with various server and memory solutions now available; ➂ CXL 2.0 and future generations of PCIe/CXL will enable more advanced use cases like switching and dynamic memory allocation.

2nm 3D IC 3nm AI AI Chip AI PC AMD Arm Asus CXL Chiplet Cooling DDR4 DRAM Dell EDA EMIB EUV GDDR GPU GaN HBM HPC Infineon Intel Laptop Linux Microchip NPU NVIDIA PCIe Privacy Raspberry Pi SSD Software Switch TI Xeon automotive cpu cybersecurity ddr5 ios memory monitor semiconductor server

Bad year for China chip investment

➀ China experienced a decline in chip investment, with new investment deals dropping by 35.9% year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2024; ➁ The total funding decreased by 32.4%; ➂ ChangXin Memory and Unisoc were the largest and second-largest investors, respectively. JW Insights notes that the US semiconductor market surpassed China's in Q3, driven by massive AI infrastructure investments in the US.

AI China DRAM UNISOC investment semiconductor

Imec proposes 3D CCD with IGZO channel for CXL buffer memory

➀ Imec proposes a 3D integrated CCD with IGZO channel for CXL buffer memory; ➁ The memory operates on a planar proof-of-concept structure with a storage capacity of 142 bits; ➂ Imec expects the 3D CCD memory density to scale beyond DRAM limits, with potential for five times more bit density than 2D DRAM by 2030.

3D IC DRAM Imec NAND flash memory semiconductor

Equipment sales hit record $113bn, says SEMI

➀ SEMI forecasts semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales to grow 6.5% year-on-year to $113 billion in 2024, with projections of $121 billion for 2025 and $139 billion for 2026. ➁ The wafer fab equipment (WFE) segment is expected to grow 5.4% to $101 billion in 2024, driven by DRAM, HBM, and China. ➂ Back-end equipment sales are projected to surge, with test equipment sales increasing 14.7% in 2025 and 18.6% in 2026.

China DRAM Equipment Sales Growth HBM Korea NAND SEMI Taiwan foundry investment memory semiconductor

Hynix launches 321-layer NAND

➀ Hynix has started mass production of the world's first 321-layer NAND with 1Tb capacity; ➁ The 321-layer device offers a 12% improvement in write time and a 13% improvement in read time compared to the 238-layer device; ➂ Hynix has adopted the '3 plugs' process technology and a low-stress material for stacking more than 300 layers.

3D IC DRAM NAND memory

servethehome

This is the New NVIDIA GB200 NVL4

➀ NVIDIA has announced a new Grace Blackwell platform with the NVIDIA GB200 NVL4, which combines two Arm-based Grace CPUs and four Blackwell GPUs. The platform is designed for lower power deployments with a power consumption of just over 6kW. The NVL4 module is targeted to be a large node with up to 1.3TB of combined coherent memory. ➁ The GB200 NVL4 is set to ship in the second half of 2025. ➂ The NVL4 is designed as an alternative to the higher power and higher GPU count platforms offered by NVIDIA, targeting specific deployment needs.

AI AI PC Arm Chiplet DRAM EDA EMIB EUV GPU HBM HPC NPU NVIDIA SSD cpu

Hynix to sample HBM3e 16hi in H1 2025

➀ Hynix plans to start sampling HBM3e 16hi memory with 48 GB capacity per cube in H1 2025; ➁ HBM3e 16hi offers a high-capacity alternative before the production of HBM4 16hi; ➂ HBM3e 16hi can deliver a maximum capacity of 384 GB per system, surpassing NVIDIA’s Rubin at 288 GB; ➃ Transitioning from HBM3e to HBM4 will double the I/O count and increase die size, but the per-die capacity remains at 24 GB; ➄ HBM3e 16hi will adopt the Advanced MR-MUF stacking process for higher stack counts and computational bandwidth.

Hynix Chiplet DRAM HBM Microchip TSMC

m.dcinside

DRAM Samsung Electronics technology

Samsung Electronics D1b DRAM Analysis: Cutting-Edge Technology and Cell Size

➀ TechInsights has obtained and analyzed Samsung Electronics' D1b DRAM, revealing its cell size and bit density.

➁ Samsung's D1b DRAM has a cell size significantly smaller than SK Hynix and Micron's D1b versions, with a wordline and bitline pitch of 32.6nm and 37.6nm respectively.

➂ The cell design rule or feature size for the 7.8F^2 DRAM cell is 12.54nm, indicating that Samsung's D1b DRAM is in the 12nm mid-range class.

azonano

3D IC DRAM Data Storage NVIDIA Quantum Computing

New 3D Imaging Reveals Key Details of Difficult-to-Describe Nanoscale Objects

➀ A new 3D imaging technique reveals key details of the magnetic skyrmion, a nanoscale object with potential for new microelectronic devices with high data storage capacity and low power consumption. ➁ Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created 3D X-ray images to characterize the spin orientations within skyrmions, which could lead to more efficient quantum computing and data storage devices. ➂ The study demonstrates the importance of understanding the 3D spin texture of skyrmions for the development of advanced spintronic devices.

DRAM capacity to expand 25% next year

➀ TrendForce predicts a 25% year-on-year increase in DRAM bit output for 2025.➁ Excluding HBM and Chinese capacity, the output would rise by only 15%.➂ HBM3e supply is expected to remain tight.

DRAM HBM TrendForce

azonano