Samsung Begins Shipment of Industry-First HBM4E Samples

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. a global leader in advanced memory technology, announced that it has begun shipping the industry’s first 12-layer HBM4E samples to major global customers, further strengthening its leadership in the next-generation HBM market.

Following the industry’s first mass production and commercial shipment of its industry-leading HBM4 earlier this year, Samsung now extends its HBM roadmap with the introduction of HBM4E samples, addressing the rapidly evolving demands of AI computing and hyperscale infrastructure.

“Following the successful mass production of HBM4, Samsung has once again demonstrated its distinct technological edge with HBM4E,” said Sang Joon Hwang, Executive Vice President and Head of Memory Development at Samsung Electronics. “Through our advanced manufacturing capabilities and preemptive infrastructure investments, we will continue to drive the growth of the global AI memory market.”

Samsung’s HBM4E delivers a stable pin speed of 14 gigabits-per-second (Gbps), with performance scalable up to 16Gbps to support increasingly intensive data processing requirements. This represents more than a 20% increase over its HBM4, while delivering memory bandwidth of up to 3.6 terabytes-per-second (TB/s) per stack, helping maximise computing performance for large language models (LLMs) and next-generation AI systems.

Samsung’s 12-layer HBM4E is offered in a 48-gigabyte (GB) capacity, representing more than a 30% increase over the previous generation, with plans to expand the lineup to include 32GB (8-layer) and 64GB (16-layer) configurations in accordance with customer requirements.

The HBM4E sets itself apart by taking full advantage of Samsung’s comprehensive semiconductor capabilities and leveraging the same leading-edge technologies refined through the company’s HBM4 production experience. This includes the industry’s most advanced 6th-generation 10-nanometer (nm)-class DRAM process (1c) and Samsung Foundry’s 4nm logic base die, allowing the HBM4E to secure enhanced process stability and manufacturability.

Design and process optimisation across both memory and logic architectures of Samsung’s HBM4E also improves performance, power efficiency and yield.

In particular, advanced low-power design technologies and optimised packaging structures improved energy efficiency by 16% and thermal resistance characteristics by more than 14% compared to the previous generation. These enhancements also enable more effective heat dissipation, allowing prolonged reliability and lower energy consumption in next-generation data centers with intensive workloads.

Samsung plans to begin mass production for HBM4E aligned with customer schedules, following initial sample shipments and optimisation.

Feedback from global customers on Samsung’s HBM4, introduced in February, have been highly positive, especially for its performance and energy efficiency. The HBM4 was the first in the industry to enter mass production and has successfully set the bar for the industry with speeds of 11.7Gbps in its system in package (SiP) tests.

As stable supply of Samsung’s HBM4 continues to grow, the company’s latest HBM4E using the same combination of core and base die is anticipated to enter mass production to further accelerate innovation in next-generation AI systems. With its comprehensive portfolio spanning memory, foundry, logic design and advanced packaging, Samsung will continue to ensure a stable semiconductor supply for the booming AI market.