{"id":854,"date":"2026-02-12T02:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T02:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/sk-hynix-presents-ai-driven-rd-innovation-vision-at-semicon-korea-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T14:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T05:51:10","slug":"sk-hynix-presents-ai-driven-rd-innovation-vision-at-semicon-korea-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.skhynix.com\/en\/sk-hynix-presents-ai-driven-rd-innovation-vision-at-semicon-korea-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"SK hynix Presents AI-Driven R&D Innovation Vision at SEMICON Korea 2026, Reaffirming Role as Global Technology Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"

SK hynix is showcasing its R&D capabilities and technology innovation roadmap at SEMICON Korea 2026, Feb. 11-13, underscoring the company\u2019s leadership in the global memory market.<\/p>\n

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Hosted by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), SEMICON Korea is the country\u2019s leading exhibition for the semiconductor industry, convening a range of global companies under one roof. This year\u2019s event is the largest to date, with exhibition space expanded beyond the main venue. A total of 550 companies are operating 2,411 booths, showcasing advanced semiconductor technologies and solutions, and numerous semiconductor industry professionals are attending the exhibition, sharing their insights on the latest global trends.<\/p>\n

Industry executives and technology leaders from major global semiconductor companies are delivering keynote speeches, introducing a range of technological innovations and process optimization approaches required in the AI era while bringing attention to key topics on the industry\u2019s mid- to long-term direction, supply chain development, and collaboration strategies.<\/p>\n

Alongside the exhibition, the SEMI Technology Symposium (STS) is gathering engineers to share the newest technology trends across process areas and to explore solutions to key challenges currently in research and development. In addition, tutorial sessions, which provide early-career engineers and students with fundamental process knowledge and cutting-edge insights, are also being successfully held concurrently with SEMICON Korea.<\/p>\n

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Rethinking R&D Through AI-Driven Innovation and New Collaboration Models<\/h3>\n
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SK hynix delivered a keynote address, presented STS sessions across six themes, and offered tutorial sessions in three subjects, reaffirming its position as a technology leader in the memory semiconductor field.<\/p>\n

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Lee Sunghoon, Senior Vice President of R&D Process at SK hynix, delivered a keynote address titled \u201cThe Inflection Point Has Arrived: Driving Innovation Towards the Future of Memory Technology,\u201d in which he introduced the company\u2019s ongoing AI-powered innovations in research and development.<\/p>\n

As semiconductor processes become more complex, the technology applied to those processes are likewise becoming increasingly sophisticated. DRAM has already entered sub-10nm nodes, while NAND has transitioned from 2D to 3D architectures \u2014 in other words, technical difficulty is rising sharply, exceeding the previous rate of increase. As a result, both the time and amount of resources needed to secure next-generation technologies are also rising.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite these challenges, SK hynix has secured key technologies in a timely manner by systematically forecasting technological difficulty levels and collaborating with partners,\u201d Lee explained. \u201cBy moving beyond the existing product-by-product development method and introducing a platform concept that can be commonly applied across multiple generations, we have streamlined the development process and effectively suppressed increases in the development cadence.\u201d* <\/sup><\/p>\n

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* <\/sup>Development cadence: the interval between the completion of one technology and the next<\/p>\n

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However, the limits of DRAM scaling are becoming apparent, while NAND is moving toward ultra-high stacking levels. As a result, another technological inflection point is expected to emerge beyond 2027. \u201cIn order to effectively respond to the upcoming inflection point, we require structural advances to overcome technical challenges and material innovation to respond to growing technological complexity,\u201d Lee explained. \u201cWe must actively pursue the convergence of technologies while exploring new AI-based collaboration models.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u25b2 Strategic directions for AI-powered R&D collaboration<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

In particular, Lee highlighted the potential of AI technologies to significantly reduce the time and effort required to explore new structures or evaluate whether new materials are suitable for a process. As one example of AI utilization, he presented a case study that optimized process simulations developed in collaboration with NVIDIA.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI models enable a far broader range of materials to be evaluated within a shorter period compared with conventional methods, while also making it easier to identify optimal process conditions with fewer experiments,\u201d Lee remarked. He added, \u201cThe industry must move beyond traditional \u2018man-month\u2019-based R&D, which relies on increasing manpower, toward AI-based R&D, which amplifies time efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee highlighted data management and AI models as key factors in advancing AI-based R&D innovation. \u201cAs the industry approaches another technological inflection point, AI-based R&D is not a challenge unique to SK hynix but a shared task that the entire semiconductor industry must solve together,\u201d he stated. \u201cAt this juncture, the industry needs to consider how to address long-standing challenges related to data sharing among collaboration partners \u2014 an area traditionally constrained by IP protection \u2014 and how to build collaborative systems that leverage common AI models,\u201d he continued, raising new points for industry-wide discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can build an AI ecosystem that can be shared with partners and effectively integrate it with existing collaboration frameworks, we will be able to maintain the current development cadence even in the near future, when technological complexity is expected to increase dramatically,\u201d Lee shared, while reaffirming the company\u2019s intention to maintain its current edge amid future technology competition.<\/p>\n

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SK hynix Shares Advanced Process Technologies and Manufacturing Expertise at STS Sessions<\/h3>\n
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At the STS sessions held Feb. 11-12, SK hynix employees presented in six technology sessions, sharing the company\u2019s latest process technologies and manufacturing expertise.<\/p>\n

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\u25b2 SK hynix employees presenting during STS sessions<\/p>\n

Kim Hongik of DRAM Track Photo presented approaches to effectively utilize a high-numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet (high-NA EUV)* <\/sup>\u00a0lithography system in the Advanced Lithography session, while Oh Jinho of the Future Technology Research Institute discussed the technical challenges associated with ultra-high NAND stacking and the efforts to address such challenges in the Advanced Materials & Process Technology session.<\/p>\n

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* <\/sup>High-numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet (high-NA EUV) lithography: A next-generation lithography technology that adopts a higher numerical aperture (NA) than conventional EUV, significantly enhancing the resolution used in equipment to pattern circuit features onto semiconductor wafers<\/p>\n

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Noh Yoohyun of NAND TD shared device and process technologies being secured for next-generation NAND implementation during the Device Technology session, while Park Sangwook of Plug Etch reviewed the latest trends in high aspect ratio contact (HARC)* <\/sup>\u00a0technologies in the Plasma Science and Etching Technology session.<\/p>\n

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* <\/sup>High aspect ratio contact (HARC): an etching technology used to create fine contact holes with a high aspect ratio<\/p>\n

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In addition, Lee Hyeokjung of DRAM C&C addressed optimal overlay (O\/L) control conditions for effective chemical mechanical polishing (CMP)* <\/sup>\u00a0processes in the CMP & Cleaning Technology session. Finally, Sung Kijun of PKG Innovation provided a detailed explanation of vertical wire fan-out (VFO)* <\/sup>\u00a0technologies for on-device AI in the Advanced Packaging session.<\/p>\n

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* <\/sup>Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP): a process that planarizes thin films on wafers by polishing surface irregularities using chemical and mechanical methods* <\/sup>Vertical wire fan-out (VFO): a technology that vertically connects wire bonding to minimize space and reduce power consumption<\/p>\n

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\u25b2 STS sessions at SEMICON Korea 2026<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cThrough SEMICON Korea, we were able to demonstrate SK hynix\u2019s outstanding technological capabilities and highlight the various efforts underway across the organization to drive innovation,\u201d a company representative stated. \u201cAs a full-stack AI memory creator, we will continue to strengthen our technology leadership to meet customer needs and sustain our competitive edge in the AI memory market.\u201d<\/p>\n

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