SK Hynix Orders Key Equipment to Boost M16 Wafer Fab's DRAM Capacity

TapTechNews August 14th news, comprehensively reported by Korean media such as the 'Seoul Economic Daily' (last month 29th) and the 'Chosun Ilbo' (this month 13th), SK Hynix has ordered key equipment from upstream equipment enterprises, aiming to increase the HBM and general DRAM memory capacity of the M16 wafer fab.

TapTechNews note: The SK Hynix M16 wafer fab is located in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, and currently has a DRAM capacity of about 100,000 12-inch wafers per month.

The two Korean media have slightly different reports on the specific expansion magnitude: The 'Seoul Economic Daily' believes it is at least 70,000 wafers per month, and also mentioned 80,000 wafers per month; the 'Chosun Ilbo' believes it is 80,000 to 100,000 wafers per month.

Analysis agency Omdia previously estimated that SK Hynix's DRAM memory capacity will reach 440,000 wafers per month in this quarter, calculated with an expansion magnitude of 80,000 wafers per month, which is equivalent to 18.2% of the overall capacity.

Different from Samsung which has a large amount of vacant area in the Pyeongtaek factory, SK Hynix's only two means to increase the DRAM capacity before the completion and mass production of the M15X wafer fab in Cheongju in November 2025 are to fully utilize the remaining space in the M16 and M14 factories in Icheon and upgrade the process.

The 'Seoul Economic Daily' said that SK Hynix aims to complete the laboratory test of the next-generation 1cnm DRAM memory as early as this month, start the 1cnm DRAM trial production in the second quarter of 2025, and start the installation of corresponding equipment in the M16 factory in Cheongju at the end of next year.

Related reading:

'To increase the 1bnm DRAM capacity to meet the HBM3E memory demand, it is reported that SK Hynix is upgrading the M16 wafer fab'