Rambus HBM2E memory interface solution achieves record performance

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Rambus has announced it has achieved a record 4 Gbps performance with the Rambus HBM2E memory interface solution consisting of a fully-integrated PHY and controller.

Paired with the iHBM2E DRAM from SK hynix operating at 3.6 Gbps, the solution was able to deliver 460 GB/s of bandwidth from a single HBM2E device. This performance meets the terabyte-scale bandwidth needs of accelerators who are targeting more demanding AI/ML training and high-performance computing (HPC) applications.

“With this achievement by Rambus, designers of AI and HPC systems can now implement systems using the world’s fastest HBM2E DRAM running at 3.6 Gbps from SK hynix,” said Uksong Kang, vice president of product planning at SK hynix. “In July, we announced full-scale mass-production of HBM2E for state-of-the-art computing applications demanding the highest bandwidth available.”

The fully-integrated, production-ready Rambus HBM2E memory subsystem runs at 4 Gbps without PHY voltage overdrive. Rambus teamed with SK hynix and Alchip to implement the HBM2E 2.5D system to validate in silicon the Rambus HBM2E PHY and Memory Controller IP using TSMC’s N7 process and CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) advanced packaging technologies. Co-designing with the engineering team from Rambus, Alchip led the interposer and package substrate design.

“This advancement of Rambus and its partners, using TSMC’s advanced process and packaging technologies, is another important achievement of our ongoing collaboration with Rambus,” said Suk Lee, senior director of the Design Infrastructure Management Division at TSMC. “We look forward to a continued partnership with Rambus to enable the highest performance in AI/ML and HPC applications.”

“With silicon operation up to 4 Gbps, designers can future-proof their HBM2E implementations and can be confident of ample margin for 3.6 Gbps designs,” said Matthew Jones, senior director and general manager of IP cores at Rambus.