SK Hynix and Amkor, the world's leading semiconductor assembly and test outsourcing (OSAT) giant, announced that they will collaborate to jointly develop and supply silicon interposer solutions for 2.5D packaging. This collaboration not only marks another important step for SK Hynix in the field of advanced packaging technology, but also indicates that the two companies will jointly enhance the overall competitiveness of HBM (High Bandwidth Memory).
According to Korean media Money Today and a number of industry media reports, SK Hynix and Amkor have started in-depth discussions on silicon interposer cooperation, and plan to supply HBM memory and silicon interposer for 2.5D packaging to Amkor. Amkor will use these interposers to enable precise integration of customer logic chips with SK Hynix HBM memory. Both parties said that the cooperation aims to provide customers with more efficient and reliable solutions through complementary technologies and market synergies.
As the core material of 2.5D packaging technology, silicon interposer has excellent performance and is an important bridge to achieve high-performance chip integration. At present, there are only a few companies in the world that have the ability to prepare silicon interposers, including TSMC, Samsung Electronics, Intel and UMC. SK Hynix's partnership with Amkor will undoubtedly further enhance its competitiveness in this field and is expected to break the existing market pattern.
Figure:SK Hynix Partners with Amkor in Supply Interposers
An official from SK Hynix said in an interview that although the partnership is still in its early stages, the two parties are already conducting various reviews and consultations to ensure that they can meet the diverse needs of customers. If SK Hynix can successfully achieve mass production of silicon interposers, then it will be able to provide a complete supply package of "HBM + silicon interposers", which will greatly improve its ability to deliver HBM to high-end customers such as NVIDIA and reduce its dependence on TSMC's CoWoS production capacity.
In addition, industry analysts pointed out that SK Hynix's expansion of the product chain will also help it cope with challenges from competitors such as Samsung Electronics. Samsung Electronics is planning to further compete for HBM orders through a turnkey solution for logic foundry, HBM memory, and advanced packaging. However, through the cooperation with Amkor, SK Hynix has not only strengthened its market position in the HBM field, but also won more initiative for it in the future competition.
In summary, this collaboration between SK Hynix and Amkor will undoubtedly bring new changes and opportunities to the semiconductor industry. The two parties will jointly promote the development and application of 2.5D packaging technology to provide customers with more high-quality and efficient solutions. At the same time, this cooperation will also lay a solid foundation for SK Hynix to continue to lead in the HBM field.
