SK hynix Starts Supplying Mobile DRAM With Highly Efficient Heat Dissipation

SK hynix Inc. announced that it has started supplying mobile DRAM products with highly efficient heat dissipation by adopting the High-K Epoxy Molding Compound* material for the first time in the industry.

The development comes as heat generated in the process of fast data transfer for on-device AI applications results in performance degradation of smartphones. Global smartphone companies welcome the launch of the product with the expectation that it will help address the heat issue of high-performance flagship smartphones.

The structure of package on package, or PoP*, that most flagship smartphones adopt and stacks DRAM onto the application processor*, allows efficient use of limited space, while improving data transfer speed. Such a system, however, also triggers a performance degradation of the device itself as heat generated within the mobile AP stays inside DRAM.

SK hynix found the solution in the improvement of thermal conductivity of EMC, a critical material that covers the DRAM package, and developed High-K EMC by adding Alumina to Silica, which has been adopted for EMC material so far.

With thermal conductivity improved by 3.5 times and thermal resistance in the vertical course of the heat improved by 47%, the new technology is expected to contribute to a longer battery runtime and product lifespan by improving the performance of a smartphone and reducing power consumption.




“It’s a meaningful achievement that goes beyond a simple performance improvement as it addresses the inconvenience that many high-performance smartphone users may have had,” Lee Gyujei, Head of Package Product Development, said. “We are committed to firmly establishing our technological leadership in the next-generation mobile DRAM market with our technological innovation in materials.”

*Epoxy Molding Compound (EMC): a critical material for semiconductor packaging that protects chips from various external conditions, such as water, heat, impact, and electronic charge, and provides a channel where heat can be dissipated. High-K EMC raises thermal conductivity with the adoption of a material with a high heat-transfer coefficient in EMC

*Package on Package (PoP): a packaging method commonly used for mobile products. Different types of chips are stacked vertically to improve space efficiency, performance, and flexibility of combinations

*Mobile Application Processor (AP): a chip referred to as the brain of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets

www.skhynix.com