FMS 2024 features a broader focus on different memory types compared to previous years

SK hynix has returned to Santa Clara, California to present its full array of groundbreaking AI memory technologies at FMS: the Future of Memory and Storage (FMS) 2024 from August 6–8. Previously known as Flash Memory Summit, the conference changed its name to reflect its broader focus on all types of memory and storage products amid growing interest in AI. Bringing together industry leaders, customers, and IT professionals, FMS 2024 covers the latest trends and innovations shaping the memory industry.

Participating in the event under the slogan “Memory, The Power of AI,” SK hynix is showcasing its outstanding memory capabilities through a keynote presentation, multiple technology sessions, and product exhibits.

Keynote Presentation: Envisioning the Future of AI With Leading Memory & Storage Solutions

Keynote presentations have always been a highlight at FMS. The talks act as an important forum for attendees to learn about emerging memory and storage technologies from industry leaders. Due to its leadership in the AI memory field, SK hynix was selected to give a keynote presentation titled “AI Memory and Storage Solution Leadership and Vision for the AI Era” at the newly expanded event.

Held on the first day of FMS 2024, the keynote was delivered by Vice President Unoh Kwon, head of HBM Process Integration (PI) and Vice President Chunsung Kim, head of SSD Program Management Office (PMO). The pair provided insights into the company’s DRAM and NAND flash solutions which aim to solve the pain points of generative AI and promote continued development of AI. These pain points include maximizing the efficiency of AI training and inference¹ while minimizing floor space and power utilization for storing data.

¹AI inference: The process of running live data through a trained AI model to make a prediction or solve a task.

Kwon and Kim delivering their keynote on SK hynix’s leading AI memory products

Each speaker covered a particular type of memory. Kwon touched on the company’s DRAM memory products that are optimized for AI systems such as HBM², CXL®³, and LPDDR5T⁴. Meanwhile, Kim introduced the company’s best-in-class NAND flash storage devices including its SSD and UFS⁵ solutions, which will continue to be crucial for AI applications in the future.

²High Bandwidth Memory (HBM): A high-value, high-performance product that revolutionizes data processing speeds by connecting multiple DRAM chips with through-silicon via (TSV).
³Compute Express Link^® (CXL^®): A PCIe-based next-generation interconnect protocol on which high-performance computing systems are based.
⁴Low Power Double Data Rate 5 Turbo (LPDDR5T): Low-power DRAM for mobile devices aimed at minimizing power consumption and featuring low voltage operation. LPDDR5T is an upgraded product of the LPDDR5X and will be succeeded by LPDDR6.
⁵Universal Flash Storage (UFS): A high-performance interface for computing and mobile systems which require low power consumption.

In addition to its keynote, SK hynix also held five sessions that took a deeper look into its next-generation products set to solidify the company’s AI technology leadership. These sessions covered a variety of topics, including the company’s DRAM, SSD, and CXL solutions.

Product Booth: Presenting the Industry’s Best AI Memory

SK hynix’s booth at FMS 2024 consists of four sections showcasing many of the products which featured in the company’s keynote and session talks. One of the booth’s highlights is the samples of the 12-layer HBM3E, the next-generation AI memory solution which is expected to be mass-produced in the third quarter of 2024. The company is also holding demonstrations of select products with its partners’ systems, highlighting its strong collaboration with various major tech companies.

The AI Memory and Storage section includes industry-leading solutions such as SK hynix’s HBM3E and eSSD portfolio

• AI Memory and Storage: Features SK hynix’s flagship AI memory products such as samples of its 12-layer HBM3E, which is set to be the same height as the previous 8-layer version under JEDEC⁶ standards. The section also includes GDDR6-AiM⁷, a product suitable for machine learning due to its computational capabilities and rapid processing speeds, and the ultra-low power LPDDR5T optimized for on-device AI. Storage solutions on display include the PCIe Gen5-based eSSD PS1010, which is ideal for AI, big data, and machine learning due to its rapid sequential read speed.

⁶Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC): A U.S.-based standardization body that is the global leader in developing open standards and publications for the microelectronics industry.
⁷Accelerator in Memory (AiM): A special-purpose hardware made using processing and computation chips.

At the NAND Tech, Mobile, and Automotive section, attendees can see products such as the company’s 321-layer NAND and ZUFS 4.0

• NAND Tech, Mobile, and Automotive: This section includes solutions such as the world’s highest 321-layer wafer technology as well as triple-level cell (TLC) and QLC NAND. Mobile technologies are also showcased including ZUFS⁸ 4.0, an industry-best NAND product optimized for on-device AI⁹ which boosts a smartphone’s operating system speed compared to standard UFS.

⁸Zoned Universal Flash Storage (ZUFS): A NAND flash product that improves efficiency of data management. It optimizes data transfer between an operating system and storage devices by storing data with similar characteristics in the same zone of the UFS.
⁸On-device AI: A technology that implements AI functions on the device itself, instead of going through computation by a physically separated server.

The AI PC and CMS 2.0 section features a demonstration of the company’s industry-leading SSD, PCB01

• AI PC and CMS 2.0: Attendees can see a system demonstration of the industry-best SSD PCB01, which is able to efficiently process large AI computing tasks when applied to on-device AI PCs. In addition, CMS¹⁰ 2.0, a next-generation memory solution that boasts equivalent data processing capabilities as a CPU, is applied to a vector database¹¹.

¹⁰Computational Memory Solution (CMS): A product that integrates computational functions into CXL memory.
¹¹Vector Database: A collection of data stored as mathematical representations, or vectors. As similar vectors are grouped together, vector databases can make low-latency inquiries, making them ideal for AI.

The OCS, Niagara, CMM section displays innovative solutions such as Niagara 2.0 and HMSDK

• OCS, Niagara, and CMM: This section features a demonstration of OCS¹² technology which enhances the data analysis and pooled memory solution Niagara 2.0¹³. It also includes a demonstration of CMM¹⁴– DDR5¹⁵, which expands system bandwidth by 50% and capacity by up to 100% compared to systems only equipped with DDR5.

¹²Object-based Computational Storage (OCS): A new computational storage platform for data analytics in high-performance computing. OCS has not only high scalability but also data-aware characteristics that enable it to perform analytics independently without help from compute nodes.
¹³Niagara 2.0: A solution that connects multiple CXL memories together to allow numerous hosts such as CPUs and GPUs to optimally share their capacity. This eliminates idle memory usage while reducing power consumption.
¹⁴CXL Memory Module (CMM): A new standardized interface that has an advantage in scalability and helps increase the efficiency of CPUs, GPUs, accelerators, and memory.
¹⁵Double Data Rate 5 (DDR5): A server DRAM that effectively handles the increasing demands of larger and more complex data workloads by offering enhanced bandwidth and power efficiency compared to the previous generation, DDR4.

Super Women Conference: Cherishing Diversity in the Memory & Storage Industry

Haesoon Oh delivers the keynote at the FMS Super Women Conference

SK hynix also co-sponsored the FMS Super Women Conference, an event held on the sidelines of FMS 2024 which celebrates the achievements of female leaders and promotes diversity in the memory industry. Head of NAND Advanced PI Haesoon Oh, the company’s first female executive-level research fellow, delivered a keynote address on the company’s next-generation innovations and the importance of understanding diversity.

Paving the Way Forward in the AI Era

At FMS 2024, SK hynix underlined its commitment to lead the industry by providing integrated AI memory solutions and expanding its expertise in the sector. Collaborating with other leading partners, the company will strive to provide customers with the best possible solutions that match their rapidly changing needs.

The post SK hynix Presents Extensive AI Memory Lineup at Expanded FMS 2024 first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

• To display AI memory product portfolio, introduce vision through keynote speech
• Key female leader to speak on role of diversity for technological innovation
• To promote stronger leadership in AI with competitiveness in integrated solutions

Seoul, August 1, 2024

SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) announced today it will participate in FMS 2024, a global semiconductor memory event taking place in Santa Clara, California, from August 6th through August 8th to showcase advancements in its memory technologies and products and present its future visions in the AI space.

The Future Memory and Storage, formerly known as the Flash Memory Summit for NAND providers mainly, was rebranded this year to invite a wider range of participants including DRAM and storage providers amid growing interest in AI technology.

SK hynix said that it will expand the scope of participation this year through not only display of the products, but also delivering keynote speech to introduce its future visions.

The company plans to take full advantage of the event to promote its competitiveness leading the AI memory solution industry as it did with the announcement of the development of the industry’s highest 321-layer NAND at FMS last year.

Opening the event will be a keynote speech by Unoh Kwon, Head of HBM Process Integration and Chunsung Kim, Head of SSD PMO, at SK hynix, on “AI Memory & Storage Solution Leadership and Vision for AI Era.” The two executives will introduce the company’s DRAM and NAND product portfolios and AI memory solutions optimized for AI implementation, respectively.

At the event, SK hynix will display the samples of the next-generation AI memory products such as the 12-layer HBM3E, expected to be mass produced in the third quarter, and 321-high NAND planned to be shipped from the first half of next year.

The company will also display the systems of customers completed with its flagship products to show its strong partnership with the world’s biggest technology companies.

In a bid to show its commitment to diversity, SK hynix has also decided to sponsor the FMS Super Women Conference taking on the sidelines of the event to encourage prominent female leaders in the memory industry. Haesoon Oh, Head of NAND Advanced Process Integration and the company’s first female executive-level fellow researcher, will make a presentation on the role of diversity for SK hynix’s future technology innovation.

“With the AI era opening in full, the importance of memory solutions, a combination of multiple products to increase performance, instead of single DRAM and NAND products, is growing,” said Justin Kim, President and the Head of AI Infra at SK hynix. “At FMS, we will imprint our competitiveness and technological leadership in the global market.”

Selected products from SK hynix’s memory lineup at FMS 2024: (from top left, clockwise) 321-layer NAND flash, ZUFS 4.0, PS1010, and PCB01

Selected products from SK hynix’s memory lineup at FMS 2024: (from top left, clockwise) LPDDR5T, HBM3E, CMS 2.0, and GDDR6-AiM

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

Media Contact

SK hynix Inc.
Global Public Relations

Technical Leader
Sooyeon Lee
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

Technical Leader
Kanga Kong
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

The post SK hynix to Showcase Next-Generation Technology at FMS 2024 first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

Figure 1. SK hynix’s booth at FMS 2023 featured some of the company’s latest products and technologies

As the world’s largest memory and storage trade show, the annual Flash Memory Summit (FMS) is renowned for exhibiting revolutionary high-speed memory and SSD products. At FMS 2023 held August 8^th-10^th at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, SK hynix continued this legacy of innovation by showcasing groundbreaking memory solutions under the slogan “United Through Technology”. During the event, executives from SK hynix gave a keynote speech to share the companies’ developments in the memory sector.

Leading 4D NAND Solutions Key to the Multimodal AI Era

Figure 2. SK hynix’s EVP and Head of NAND development Jungdal Choi and EVP and Head of Solution Development Hyun Ahn during their keynote speech

On August 8^th, SK hynix’s EVP and Head of NAND development Jungdal Choi along with EVP and Head of Solution Development Hyun Ahn gave a keynote speech titled “Industry-Leading 4D NAND Technology and Solutions Enabling the Multimodal AI¹ Era”.

¹Multimodal AI: Combines various data types (image, text, speech, numerical data, etc.) with multiple intelligence processing algorithms to achieve higher performance levels.

Choi revealed that the company is currently developing the world’s first 321-layer NAND product, the fifth generation of 4D NAND. Choi said that the new product, which is the first in the industry to exceed 300 layers, is set to help the company solidify its technological leadership in NAND. Meanwhile, Ahn introduced the company’s ultra-high performance UFS 4.0 and PCIe 5^th generation (Gen5) SSD products for use in data centers and PCs. The continuous development of SSD products is essential as they are set to become an essential storage solution for application with multimodal AI, which analyzes and calculates vast amounts of data on various platforms. The pair concluded by stating that SK hynix is committed to supporting multimodal AI and other advanced technologies by developing next-generation PCIe Gen6 SSDs and UFS 5.0 memory-based products.

Breaking Barriers: Unveiling Pioneering 4D NAND & SSD Solutions

Figure 3. SK hynix’s product line-up, including its 4D NAND solutions, were on display

SK hynix is continually looking to advance its 4D NAND technology in terms of performance and reliability. The company’s development of the industry’s first 96-layer 4D NAND based on charge trap flash² (CTF) in 2018 became a launchpad for further innovations, leading to the development of its 238-layer 4D NAND four years later in another industry first. Continuing this line of industry firsts, SK hynix showcased samples of its 321-layer 1 Tb 4D NAND, which offers a 59% improvement in productivity compared with the previous generation 238-layer, 512 Gb NAND chips. This improvement was realized by technological developments that enabled the stacking of more cells and a larger storage capacity on a single chip, thereby increasing the total capacity of a single wafer.

The groundbreaking 321-layer NAND product was later presented at SK hynix’s booth along with other NAND solutions, including the company’s PCle³ Gen5 enterprise SSD (eSSD) called PS1030 which utilizes V7 NAND. The PS1030, which was applied to a supermicro server for the demonstration, delivers the fastest sequential read speed in the industry—14,800 MB/s. It also offers a random read performance of 3,300 kIOPS⁴, highlighting its specifications as a high-performance eSSD.

²Charge trap flash (CTF): Unlike floating gate, which stores electric charges in conductors, CTF stores electric charges in insulators, which eliminates interference between cells, improving read and write performance while reducing cell area per unit compared to floating gate technology.

³Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCle): A serial-structured, high-speed input/output interface used on the motherboard of digital devices.

⁴Thousand Input/Output Operations Per Second (kIOPS): A measure of how many read and write operations a storage device can perform in a second.

Visitors to the SK hynix booth could also see another one of the company’s SSDs, the PCIe Gen4 PC811.  Applied to a PC for the demonstration, the PC811 is SK hynix’s first V8 NAND-based mainstream client SSD (cSSD). Other SSDs on show included its high-speed Platinum P41, ultra-low power Gold P31, and the company’s first portable SSD for consumers, SK hynix Beetle X31.

Unleashing the Power of HPC With KV-CSD

Figure 4. SK hynix’s Woosuk Chung, team leader for the Computational Storage department, held a session on KV-CSD, which was also displayed at the company’s booth

SK hynix also held the second demonstrations of its pioneering Key Value Store Computational Storage Device (KV-CSD) following on from its debut at last year’s FMS. Co-developed with U.S.-based Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the KV-CSD is a next-generation intelligent storage product which improves write and read capabilities for high performance computing (HPC).

The impact of the KV-CSD was discussed in a session on August 10^th by SK hynix’s Woosuk Chung, team leader for the Computational Storage department. Titled “Architecture of a Query Accelerating KV-CSD in a HPC System”, the talk revealed how the new KV-CSD overcomes the limitations of software key-value stores.

High-Performance Mobile and Automotive Solutions

Figure 5. SK hynix’s mobile and automotive solutions

SK hynix also exhibited its technologies for the mobile and automotive sectors at FMS 2023. The company’s line-up of V7 512 Gb universal flash storage⁵ (UFS) products was on display, including those based on UFS 2.2, UFS 3.1, and UFS 4.0—the latest specification which offers enhanced bandwidth speed and efficiency. Additionally, the company’s universal multichip package⁶ (uMCP), which combines its mobile DRAM LPDDR and UFS, was also presented at the booth.

Moving to solutions for the automotive market, SK hynix’s LPDDR5X mobile DRAM and HBM2E DRAM were among the products displayed as they are essential components of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)⁷. The HBM2E highlights SK hynix’s strength in the automotive sector as it is the only company to develop HBM products specifically for the industry. As well as ADAS, SK hynix’s automotive solutions support other functions. For example, its eMMC 5.1 embedded multimedia card is utilized for in-car connectivity, while its UFS 3.1-based and SSD products are applied for in-vehicle infotainment and storage, respectively.

⁵Universal Flash Storage (UFS): A breakthrough type of flash memory that can simultaneously read and write data. Due to its low-power consumption, high-performance and reliability, UFS is widely applied in mobile devices.

⁶Universal multichip package (uMCP): A multi-chip package that combines DRAM and NAND flash into one product.

⁷Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS): A system that utilizes various technologies to help drivers in routine navigation and parking without fully automating the process.

Never Standing Still

SK hynix always has one eye on the future, and this was exemplified during its successful time at FMS 2023. Despite already offering a range of industry-leading solutions, the company will not rest on its laurels as it aims to further improve it line-up of NAND and other high-performance memories in the future.

The post FMS 2023: SK hynix Showcases World’s First 321-Layer NAND Samples & Storage Solutions first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

• SK hynix unveils development progress of world’s first NAND with more than 300 layers at FMS 2023
• Next-generation NAND solutions such as PCIe 5th Gen, UFS 4.0 also unveiled
• “Innovation to continue for development of high-performance NAND for AI era”

Seoul, August 9, 2023

SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) showcased today the sample of the 321-layer 4D NAND, making public the progress on its development of the industry’s first NAND with more than 300 layers.

The company gave a presentation on the progress on the development of its 321-layer 1Tb TLC¹ 4D NAND Flash and displayed the samples at the Flash Memory Summit (FMS) 2023² taking place Aug. 8-10 in Santa Clara.

¹Triple Level Cell (TLC): NAND Flash products are categorized into single, multi, triple, quadruple and penta level cells depending on the number of information (in bit unit) contained in a single cell. That a cell contains more information means more data can be stored within the same extent of area.

²Flash Memory Summit (FMS): the biggest annual conference for NAND Flash industry

SK hynix is the first in the industry to unveil the progress on the development of a NAND with more than 300 layers in detail. The company plans to raise the level of completion of the 321-layer product and start mass production from the first half of 2025.

The company said its technological competitiveness accumulated from the success of the world’s highest 238-layer NAND, already in mass production, paved the way for a smooth progress for the development of the 321-layer product. “With another breakthrough to address stacking limitations, SK hynix will open the era of NAND with more than 300 layers and lead the market.”

The 321-layer 1Tb TLC NAND comes with a 59% improvement in productivity, compared with the earlier generation of 238-layer 512Gb, thanks to the technology development that enabled stacking of more cells and larger storage capacity on a single chip, meaning the total capacity that can be produced on a single wafer increased.

Since the introduction of ChatGPT that accelerated the growth of the generative AI market, demand for high-performance and high-capacity memory products that can process more data at a faster pace is growing rapidly.

Accordingly, at the FMS, SK hynix also introduced next-generation NAND solutions optimized for such AI demand, including the enterprise SSD adopting the PCIe Gen5 interface and UFS 4.0.

The company expects these products to achieve industry-leading performance to fully meet the needs of the customers with a focus on high performance.

SK hynix also announced that it has started development of the next-generation PCIe Gen6 and UFS 5.0 with the improved technology for solution development that it acquired through these products and expressed its commitment to leading the industry trend.

Jungdal Choi, Head of NAND Development, said during a keynote speech that the company expects the ongoing development of the 321-layer product, the fifth generation of the 4D NAND, to help the company solidify its technological leadership in the NAND space. “With timely introduction of the high-performance and high-capacity NAND, we will strive to meet the requirements of the AI era and continue to lead innovation.”

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

Media Contact

SK hynix Inc.
Global Public Relations

Technical Leader
Kanga Kong
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

Technical Leader
Joori Roh
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

The post SK hynix Showcases Samples of World’s First 321-Layer NAND first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

SK hynix joined the August 2-4 event at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, the first in-person FMS since 2019. In the event’s keynote and other sessions, company executives and project leaders discussed new products and the challenges that went into their development. Among the keynote speakers were SK hynix Executive Vice President and Head of NAND Development Jungdal Choi and Sanjay S. Talreja, senior vice president and general manager at US subsidiary Solidigm.

Image 1. SK hynix’s booth at FMS 2022, where attendees could experience the company’s latest products

In their keynote titled “Unlocking the Potential of Data – the New Paradigm of Storage”, the executives explained how innovative NAND technology is addressing the ever-growing need for “DataCosm”, the unique confluence of data, storage, and computing.

Transferring More Data, Faster: The World’s Most Advanced NAND

During the August 2 presentation, Choi unveiled the world’s first 238-layer 512Gb Triple-Level Cell (TLC) 4D NAND with plans to start mass production in the first half of 2023. What makes this latest product stand out is that it is simultaneously the most layered and smallest in area, in turn dramatically improving productivity, data transfer speed, and power efficiency.

Talreja also unveiled the world’s first working Penta-Level Cell (PLC) SSD with the ability to store five bits of data per memory cell, 25% more data in the same footprint compared to quad-level cell (QLC) SSDs. The company is now well-placed to grow in areas including modern workloads such as AI, machine learning and big data analytics; building out of 5G infrastructure and displacing hard disk drives, which still store more than 85% of all data center data.

Image 2. Jungdal Choi and Sanjay S. Talreja share the stage as they deliver their keynote speech

Collaboration for Memory for CXL & Next-Generation Storage

SK hynix’s Head of DRAM Product Planning Uksong Kang and Woosuk Chung, director of Storage SA, also introduced their achievements during technical seminars. During the MemVerge session on August 2, Kang announced development of the company’s first DDR5 DRAM-based Compute Express Link (CXL) samples. The new product redefines memory-as-a-service thanks to CXL memory’s bandwidth/capacity expansion, media differentiation, controller differentiation, and pooling. Kang also stressed the importance of industry collaboration to build CXL memory ecosystem.

Image 3. CXL sample in hand, Uksong Kang introduces the product during his sponsored session

Meanwhile, during his Thursday (August 4) session, Chung demonstrated a next-generation intelligent storage product and the world’s first ordered Key Value Store Computational Storage Device (KV-CSD) that improves write and read capabilities for high performance computing. Developed in partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the now two-year partnership played an important role in the development of the product, with performance testing performed on LANL’s supercomputer.

Santosh Kumar, director of NAND technical marketing at SK hynix, joined moderator Paul Saffo from Stanford University and executives from other NAND companies in a roundtable discussion “NAND Flash and its Impact on the World” on August 4. The speakers discussed the impact NAND Flash has had on the world over the past 35 years, future applications of NAND Flash and the challenges that memory technologies continue to face.

Image 4. Santosh Kumar (second from the left) participates in the “NAND Flash and its Impact on the World” roundtable discussion

After a successful FMS 2022, SK hynix’s Choi hopes to leverage the momentum to develop more products that push the technology barrier. “We will continue innovations to find breakthroughs in technological challenges,” he said.

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