The JEDEC Solid State Technology Association has announced the highly anticipated High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) standard – HBM4. Evolving from the HBM3 standard, HBM4 aims to further enhance data processing speeds while maintaining higher bandwidth, energy efficiency, and larger capacities per chip or stack, meeting the demands of efficient processing for large datasets and complex computations.
HBM4 introduces several key technological improvements, suitable for applications such as generative AI, high-performance computing, high-end graphics cards, and servers. Firstly, HBM4 significantly boosts bandwidth, supporting data transfer rates up to 8 Gb/s, achieving a total bandwidth of up to 2 TB/s via a 2048-bit interface. Secondly, HBM4 increases the number of independent channels per stack from 16 to 32, allowing designers more flexible and independent memory access.
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In terms of energy efficiency, HBM4 supports multiple specific voltages (VDDQ 0.7V to 0.9V, VDDC 1.0V or 1.05V), reducing power consumption and improving energy efficiency. Its interface design ensures backward compatibility with existing HBM3 controllers, facilitating seamless integration across various applications.
HBM4 also introduces Directed Refresh Management (DRFM), effectively improving row disturbance mitigation and reliability. The standard supports 4-high, 8-high, 12-high, and 16-high DRAM stack configurations, achieving a maximum of 64GB for higher cube density. Major industry players such as NVIDIA, AMD, Google, and Micron actively participated in the development of HBM4, expressing their belief that this standard will significantly advance next-generation computing capabilities.
With the dramatic growth in the size of AI models, the release of HBM4 is particularly significant. It not only meets the demand for higher bandwidth but also drives the efficient operation of AI hardware systems, providing strong support for large-scale data processing. JEDEC's efforts demonstrate its commitment to future technology standard setting, and the launch of HBM4 marks a significant milestone in high-bandwidth memory innovation.
