ChainCatcher reports, citing Chosun Biz on October 12, that as AI packaging accommodates more compute and memory chips, the interposer connecting compute chips to HBM is expected to grow significantly, making thermal management for the next-generation HBM even more critical. Samsung Electronics is preparing multiple technologies to address the thermal challenges of HBM4E, scheduled to enter mass production next year. Currently, the area of AI interposers is already about 5.5 times the maximum single-exposure area of EUV lithography machines—858 square millimeters. Semiconductor equipment industry insiders anticipate that HBM-bearing interposers could expand to 9, 12, or even up to 40 times this area. This growth is driven by limitations in process scaling and the widespread adoption of chiplet-based 2.5D packaging, as single advanced-process chips can no longer meet AI computing demands; multiple compute chiplets and HBM stacks are now placed on the same interposer. Samsung is considering a hybrid approach combining copper bonding and thermal path blocks. Copper bonding replaces microbumps between stacked DRAM dies with direct copper-to-copper connections, reducing inter-layer gaps, enabling thinner stacks, and improving heat dissipation—a technique Samsung demonstrated at NVIDIA’s GTC in March 2026. Thermal path blocks create dedicated thermal pathways in the HBM substrate die’s D2D PHY region, responsible for high-speed communication with the GPU; Samsung is currently validating this with HBM4E and plans to implement it in HBM5. According to ETNews, SK Hynix’s iHBM places high-thermal-conductivity but electrically insulating cooling materials around the heat-intensive D2D PHY region, expected to reduce thermal resistance by approximately 30%.
Samsung and SK Hynix Address HBM4E Cooling as AI Interposer Expands to 40x EUV Exposure Size
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Summary
Samsung and SK Hynix are advancing HBM4E cooling solutions as AI interposers grow to 40 times the EUV exposure size. Samsung is testing hybrid copper bonding and thermal path blocks for heat management. SK Hynix’s iHBM uses high-thermal-conductivity materials to reduce thermal resistance by 30%. With altcoins to watch gaining traction, the Fear & Greed Index remains volatile. Interposer sizes may expand due to 2.5D packaging and process limitations. The current interposer area is 5.5 times the 858 mm² EUV limit. Mass production of HBM4E is expected next year.
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