Samsung may use rival TSMC for Nvidia's custom HBM4E base dies

It will continue to use in-house fab for NVHBM's core die. As a backup plan, it is testing in-house production of base dies for custom HBM4E memory chips for Nvidia.

TL;DR

Samsung reportedly agreed to use TSMC's 3nm process for the base dies in Nvidia's custom NVHBM HBM4E chips.

The memory core die will still be made in-house on Samsung's sixth-generation 1c process, while standard HBM4E for other customers stays in-house.

Samsung is also testing its own foundry as a backup in case TSMC runs into capacity constraints.

Samsung typically manufactures the base dies for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips in-house. However, the company has reportedly agreed to Nvidia's request to use TSMC's 3nm process for the base dies in NVHBM, a custom HBM4E chip for Nvidia's AI infrastructure.

The South Korean firm usually relies on a turnkey approach for its memory chips, meaning both the memory component (core die) and the system semiconductor (base die) are manufactured by its in-house fab, Samsung Foundry. However, Nvidia has reportedly asked Micron, Samsung, and SK hynix to use TSMC's 3nm process for the base dies in NVHBM. This ensures the chips deliver consistent performance and simplifies the validation process.

While Samsung has used TSMC earlier for packaging some of its chips, this is the first time the company is using its rival for fabrication. The core die for NVHBM will still be made using Samsung's in-house sixth-generation 1c process.

For standard HBM4E chips supplied to AMD and other clients, Samsung will continue to use in-house production. The company is also apparently testing whether Samsung Foundry can make NVHBM base dies as a backup plan in case TSMC faces production capacity issues.

Asif Iqbal Shaik - Senior Editor

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First Samsung device: T100

Asif is a computer engineer turned technology journalist. He has been using Samsung phones since 2004, and his current smartphone is the Galaxy S23 Ultra. He loves headphones, mechanical keyboards, and PC hardware. When not writing about technology, he likes watching crime and science fiction movies and TV shows.

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