Samsung's HBM Base Die: From Memory to Compute
Hot Chips 2026: Samsung and HBM Base Die Opportunities
At Hot Chips 2026, Samsung detailed plans to transform the HBM base die from a simple interface into a hub of activity. By moving to a 4nm logic process, Samsung freed up die area previously used for power-hungry PHYs. They propose using this space to integrate memory controllers, SRAM-based remapping tables for defect tolerance, sensors, test blocks, and even external memory interfaces. More ambitious phases explore in-memory compute and stacking HBM directly on compute dies, though thermals and multi-vendor adoption remain challenges.
After moving to a logic node, Samsung found they had a lot of unused base die area. They can’t make the base die smaller because its area is dictated by the DRAM die stacked on top, so they’re looking at opportunities to use that area to do fun things.