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New Leadership Spotlight: SK hynix’s Youngest Exec, Lee Donghun, Discusses Spearheading NAND Flash Development

user — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:47 +0000

SK hynix’s executive team just got younger. As part of efforts to foster young leadership, Lee Donghun was appointed to the N-S Committee¹ at the end of 2023 to become SK hynix’s youngest-ever executive.

¹N-S Committee: SK hynix’s strategic unit formed at the beginning of 2024 that fortifies its NAND flash and solution businesses.

Born in 1983, Lee is a young talent who finished his master’s and doctoral studies after participating in SK hynix’s scholarship program in 2006. He joined the company in 2011 and played a key role in the development and evolution of 4D NAND. Lee led the Technological Strategy team for the 128- and 176-layer NAND flash before working as the head of the Performance and Reliability (PnR) team for the 238-layer NAND flash, contributing significantly to establishing SK hynix’s 4D NAND as the industry standard.

As part of the newsroom’s interview series with newly appointed executives, Lee spoke about the future of NAND flash development and his aspirations as a leader.

Flexibility is Crucial in Times of Change

Lee anticipates reaching new heights in NAND flash technology by adopting a flexible approach

Lee emphasized the importance of rapid and flexible responses to the rapidly changing technological landscape following the advent of the AI era.

“Advances in technology are rapidly changing people’s lives, so responding to these changes will be critical for companies’ future,” he said. “A good comparison is the emergence and subsequent impact of the internet and smartphones.”

The N-S Committee is an example of SK hynix’s response to lead this changed business environment. As generative AI and other applications need to store ever-growing amounts of data, NAND flash requires assistance from NAND solutions. Accordingly, the N-S Committee will act as a control tower to optimize the NAND flash and NAND solution businesses simultaneously and strengthen the company’s competitiveness by increasing development efficiency and customer satisfaction.

“In order to respond flexibly when new technologies emerge, all related divisions need to constantly share information and collaborate,” Lee said. “Consequently, collaboration between the NAND flash and NAND solutions developments is not optional but necessary if we want to speed up the process of developing products desired by our customers. As a new executive, I plan to make such collaborations even more efficient.”

Beyond 4D NAND: The NAND Flash Revolution in the AI Era

Lee believes that further development in NAND flash technology holds the key to leading the AI era

Lee expressed his excitement about working on the world’s highest 321-layer 4D NAND to ensure the product’s performance, reliability, and quality.

“The 321-layer 4D NAND we’re developing is set to be a new milestone in the industry with its superior performance, and that’s why our role is so important,” Lee said. “For this product, it’s not just about performance, it’s also about ensuring reliability. If we focus only on rapidly increasing demand, there are potential risks to quality and reliability. Our short-term goal is to finish development and deliver products as quickly as possible while minimizing risks.”

Lee stressed that, in the long run, the company needs to continue innovating by taking on new challenges.

“Until now, the key to NAND flash development has been to improve cost-effectiveness,” he said. “That’s why we’ve seen 2D and 3D NAND in the past, followed by 4D NAND. Now that we’re in the midst of a transformation, NAND needs to innovate in multiple directions.”

Lee also emphasized the need to focus on the data explosion expected across various fields.

“As the number of sectors utilizing AI technology expands, there will also be an increase in data generation,” Lee explained. “In the automotive space alone, data related to roads and traffic for autonomous driving is rapidly growing. Depending on the type of device or environment which generates data, the standards and conditions required from NAND flash products may evolve drastically. It will be my job to anticipate these changes in the industry and lead proactive innovations, ensuring SK hynix continues its technological leadership.”

Building Empathy With Employees Pivotal in Overcoming Challenges

Lee sees team effort as the answer to overcoming unexpected challenges

Lee also sees tailwinds blowing in the semiconductor industry today as he predicts that NAND flash, like DRAM, will go on an upward direction in 2024. However, he predicted that there will be vast innovations in various technological fields that will create more challenges for SK hynix employees.

“In the midst of so many challenges, it is important that our members understand why we need to overcome these obstacles while finding the right motivation to continue progressing,” he said. “At the end of the day, the company and its people need to be on the same page to achieve a common goal.”

Even in his New Year’s greeting to his team members, Lee emphasized the need to pay attention to pivotal changes in the technological space and flexibly respond to situations.

“The semiconductor memory market is on the upswing in 2024, and I think we can greet this upturn with a smile as we faced a lot of adversity. However, there are still challenges ahead,” Lee explained. “Especially as we are expecting the launch of next-generation NAND flash products this year, I will do my best to help the company navigate this period of drastic transformation. We hope to accomplish various goals in 2024.”

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The post New Leadership Spotlight: SK hynix’s Youngest Exec, Lee Donghun, Discusses Spearheading NAND Flash Development first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

New Leadership Spotlight: SK hynix’s First Female Research Fellow, Vice President Oh Haesoon, on Advancing NAND Flash

user — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 00:00:09 +0000

Oh Haesoon broke new ground at the end of 2023 when she was appointed SK hynix’s first female research fellow¹. In her new role, Oh leads the newly formed N-S Committee, a strategic unit which aims to strengthen SK hynix’s NAND flash and solutions businesses.

¹Research fellow: SK hynix executives with outstanding technical capabilities who focus on researching innovative technologies.

Her appointment follows her lengthy tenure in the company’s NAND business. After working at the R&D center and DRAM development division, Oh has dedicated her career to developing next-generation NAND flash platforms since 2007. During this time, she made significant technological contributions including the successful development of the company’s first 3D NAND technology and QLC² products, and the mass production of 4D NAND.

²Quad-level cell (QLC): A form of NAND flash memory that can store up to 4 bits of data per memory cell.

In an interview which kicks off a series of talks with newly appointed executives, we spoke with Oh about her ambitions as the first female research fellow and her vision for developing the NAND flash business.

Driving Innovation Through Diversity

Oh claims diversity among researchers leads to technological breakthroughs

Oh believes that embracing diversity is key to fostering technological innovation. She claims that diverse perspectives enable researchers to transcend biases and challenge existing paradigms, paving the way for groundbreaking solutions.

“In the high-tech world of semiconductor research, technological capability is above everything else,” she said. “As a research fellow, I do feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to demonstrate my technical leadership. To that end, I will strive to foster innovation by promoting diversity in our research culture.”

Oh also expressed her excitement at becoming a role model for her female team members, helping them to grow and redefining what it means to be a research fellow.

“I don’t think men and women have different research capabilities,” she said. “But, as a female leader, I am sure that I will play a distinct role in this field, where the integration of diverse perspectives is essential for progress. Despite the pressures associated with being the first female research fellow, I am committed to fulfilling my responsibilities and blazing this path for many more women in the future.”

Propelling the NAND Flash Upturn Through Research Leadership Covering Mass Production

Oh cites high-quality research as a crucial factor in semiconductor development

Oh currently leads the Advanced Process Integration³ (PI) group, which focuses on the development of next-generation, high-value NAND flash products. Her research emphasizes achieving successful mass production by minimizing trial and error in the entire process from product development to mass production itself. These points are especially crucial in the NAND flash sector as product competitiveness is closely tied to the competitiveness in mass production.

³Process integration (PI): A holistic approach to semiconductor development which considers the entire manufacturing process from core development to increasing yield after mass production. It involves performing tasks such as determining cell schemes and deriving optimal design rules for early-phase and next-generation product development.

“Working across different phases of NAND flash development has provided me with a deeper understanding of the needs and objectives of each stage and a more comprehensive perspective of the overall process,” she said.

In 2022, leveraging her expertise in both product development and mass production, Oh pioneered the adoption of the On-Die Electrical Parameter Monitoring⁴ (ODE) system for NAND flash. This system manages production defects from the development stage and is actively being used for quality specification management and product defect control.

¹On-Die Electrical Parameter Monitoring (ODE): A series of die tests which measure transistor characteristics such as resistance and capacitance to predict the electrical characteristics and overall performance of a chip.

When asked about the outlook for NAND flash, Oh predicts a full-scale rebound in 2024 based on the company’s long-standing technological strengths.

“After DRAM’s successful upturn in 2023, NAND flash is poised for a similar shift this year. Our key mission for 2024 is to secure the underlying technology to overcome stacking limitations and at the same time, develop the next generation of high-value products in a timely manner,” she said. “We will continue research aimed at reducing trial and error from the development stage to improve profitability.”

Forging Synergies Between the NAND Flash and Solutions Businesses

Oh believes cross-department collaboration plays a key role in strengthening NAND flash development

Oh counts the successful development of SK hynix’s first 3D NAND platform in 2014 as her most memorable achievement. Building a thriving platform from the ground up during a transformative period, where both structure and characteristics underwent complete changes, is a source of great pride and confidence for her. Since then, Oh has also spearheaded several other high-profile projects, such as the development of the company’s first QLC product and the mass production of 4D NAND. Her experience has underscored the importance of synergy and collaboration as essential elements for success.

“Technology will continue to advance and so will the barriers that need to be overcome,” she said. “However, there’s no need to be discouraged by the technical difficulty. By harnessing the ideas of the team and working collaboratively to create solutions, we can accomplish our goals.”

Oh believes that the collaboration with the solutions division is vital for boosting the competitiveness of the NAND flash business. The company’s NAND flash, which needs to efficiently store a large amount of data at low cost, is more effective when equipped with tailored storage products from the solutions division. Oh emphasized the importance of the synergy between the two divisions, especially as the N-S Committee took its first steps in 2024 as the control tower for both businesses.

While acknowledging the challenges ahead, Oh shared her vision for the NAND flash business in 2024.

“This year, the NAND flash and solutions divisions will actively communicate and collaborate with one another to create synergies within the N-S Committee, and take the initiative to propel the NAND flash business forward in 2024,” she said.

Rising Up to Meet New Challenges in 2024

Wrapping up the interview, Oh turned her attention to her own goals for 2024 as she looks to continue her professional development at SK hynix.

“2024 will be a year of great challenge and innovation for me,” she said. “Above all, I will strive to be a leader who grows alongside our team and makes a real contribution to the company.”