Samsung Says Memory Advances Will Double HBM5 Performance

Samsung Electronics on September 1 unveiled its "CUBE" strategy to sharply increase the capacity and bandwidth of next-generation memory while improving heat management. The company plans to use eighth-generation high-bandwidth memory, or HBM5, and next-generation "zHBM" products to strengthen its position in the AI memory market.

Choi Jang-seok, head of new business planning at Samsung's memory division, presented the strategy at "Taiwan 2026," a semiconductor materials, parts and equipment exhibition held in Taipei on September 1. CUBE stands for capacity, utilization, bandwidth and efficiency, with efficiency referring to power and thermal performance. The strategy focuses on using a three-dimensional structure, rather than simply stacking memory vertically, to raise capacity, bandwidth, and power and thermal efficiency at the same time.

Samsung said the approach will double HBM5 performance compared with seventh-generation HBM4E. It also aims to reduce thermal resistance to 75% to 90% of existing HBM levels. The company's target for zHBM is performance eight times higher than HBM5. zHBM stacks HBM vertically on top of computing chips such as graphics processing units, or GPUs, and neural processing units, or NPUs. Samsung also said it plans to conduct the first prototype test of its next-generation zNAND-O flash memory in 2028.

Won Jong-hwan, Hankyung.com reporter won0403@hankyung.com