Samsung to Use TSMC's 3nm Process for Nvidia's HBM Base Dies

Samsung Electronics plans to employ Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) 3 nanometer manufacturing process for the base dies of Nvidia's upcoming custom High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips. This strategic adjustment deviates from Samsung's prior approach of producing both the core dies and base dies for its HBM products in-house.

Industry sources indicate that Nvidia has requested its HBM suppliers, including Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, to manufacture the base dies using TSMC's 3nm process. For the core dies, Nvidia specifically requires the use of its sixth-generation DRAM process, codenamed 1c. This standardization aims to ensure consistent performance across different suppliers and streamline the product verification process.

Samsung's Device Solutions division has evaluated Nvidia's requirements and agreed to proceed with TSMC for the base die production. While this change applies to Nvidia's custom HBM, Samsung will continue its internal production of standard HBM products, such as HBM4 and the forthcoming HBM4E, using its own 4nm foundry process.

Samsung is also exploring the feasibility of manufacturing these NVHBM base dies on its own production lines. This serves as a contingency plan to address potential capacity constraints at TSMC or to maintain flexibility in its own manufacturing capabilities for future demand.