In the tech world, the honorable title of “no. 1” is not something that companies bestow upon themselves. Instead, it is earned through rigorous verification and evaluation by customers and the market. For SK hynix, it became the global no. 1 HBM1 provider by not only securing top-tier technology, but also due to its relentless drive for industry recognition.
The company is recognized for solidifying its leadership status by successfully passing HBM quality verification and reducing TTM2 to the shortest possible period. These achievements were made possible thanks to the contribution of the HBM Product Engineering (PE) department. In particular, the department’s efforts for back-end tasks, including HBM product testing, customer certification, and providing solutions at the full system level, were crucial alongside its support for product development and commercialization.
To find out more, the SK hynix Newsroom caught up with Vice President Munphil Park, head of HBM PE, to discuss the department’s role and vision.
1High Bandwidth Memory (HBM): A high-value, high-performance product that revolutionizes data processing speeds by connecting multiple DRAM chips with through-silicon via (TSV).
2Time to market (TTM): The length of time required to develop a product from initial conception to when it is released to the market and available for sale.
HBM Leadership Through Consolidated Back-End Capabilities & Close Customer Communication
Key roles of the HBM PE department
“HBM PE brings together teams responsible for back-end tasks such as product testing and customer certification,” he said. “By concentrating all resources in a single direction, we have increased operational efficiency and created a structure that enables immediate collaboration. This has enhanced our developmental competitiveness.”
SK hynix established the HBM Business division in 2024, consolidating its related capabilities and functions across the company to strengthen its HBM competitiveness. HBM PE, a department within HBM Business, has also enhanced its expertise by incorporating multiple teams. These include the Product Engineering team, which is responsible for quality control through testing and verification of HBM products; the Application Engineering team, which evaluates products at the system level; and the Project Management team, which leads collaboration between customers and the company for timely product development and commercialization.
Park emphasizes the importance of “timeliness” as the most crucial factor in maintaining HBM leadership, “It is essential to develop products, ensure their quality, and deliver them to customers on time” he said. “The HBM PE department is committed to not only maximizing quality competitiveness but also to enhancing productivity.”
“HBM can encounter various quality issues due to the large number of stacked chips,” he stated. “Additionally, since performance needs to be comprehensively verified under various conditions, such as in an SiP3 for GPUs, the testing process inevitably takes a long time. Therefore, it is crucial to quickly validate the product and establish a high-quality testing baseline.”
“HBM PE possesses the technical expertise to swiftly identify areas for improvement and secure mass-production capabilities. For example, we successfully enhanced HBM3E through internal validation procedures and passed customer tests without any issues.”
3System-in-package (SiP): A single package integrating multiple integrated circuits and components which is able to perform all or most of the functions of an electronic system.
Park emphasizes the importance of close client communication for HBM success
Listening to customer feedback to enhance HBM quality and coordinating the schedule for new product planning and development are key responsibilities of the HBM PE department. To support these efforts, Park operates a so-called “Open Lab” for major HBM customers. This lab serves as a communication hub, enabling swift responses to the tasks at hand.
“HBM PE assigns dedicated engineers to each customer, so we can maintain close client communication,” he revealed. “We also work closely with relevant internal departments to resolve issues. While we manage the back-end aspects of tasks during the product development phase, we take pride in our role as the “front-end” team from the perspective of the customer and market. This sense of pride unites all team members, who are committed and cohesive in their efforts.”
“One-Team Culture” Boosts Organizational Growth & Drives HBM Competitiveness
Internal collaboration has been key to HBM’s development, according to Park
After working in the DRAM Design department for around 15 years, Park moved into his role in DRAM PE in 2018. Having started with just four members, the department grew to become a 70-person team in just over five years. This expansion was thanks in part to Park’s efforts in integrating his DRAM design expertise into product engineering, which brought about significant innovation.
Park, who has been recognized with four SK Management System (SKMS) Practice Awards4, identified HBM as the most challenging product he has worked on.
4SK Management System (SKMS) Practice Award: An award established to identify outstanding performance in accordance with SKMS, with the aim of promoting the spirit of SUPEX (Super Excellence) and expanding it into the company’s overall management culture.
“I remember back in 2022, when we successfully resolved the challenging HBM3 customer certification issue. It was a critical time as the customer’s product launch was imminent, and the company was also responding to the industry downturn,” he recalled. “We worked around the clock, collaborating several times a day with relevant departments to solve the problems. We didn’t stop there though, as we also secured solutions that could be applied at the customer’s system level, significantly enhancing our response capabilities.”
The achievements in HBM PE have laid the foundation for increased HBM sales and improved company performance. Park emphasized that the key to this success lies in the “one-team” culture, which values collaboration.
“Our department is based on mutual respect and trust for each team’s work, ensuring that we transparently share current issues and actively present diverse opinions based on our individual experiences and expertise,” he said. “All members work together like the planets in the universe, rotating and orbiting in their optimal paths while contributing to the harmony of the entire planetary system. I am confident that this organic system will continue to thrive for a long time.”
Park received SK Group’s 2024 SUPEX Award for his contributions to HBM’s development
In recognition of his contributions to the success of HBM, Park was awarded SK Group’s SUPEX Award5 in June 2024 along with SK hynix’s core technology team.
5SUPEX Award: As the most prestigious award within SK Group that carries the meaning “super excellent,” it recognizes members who have successfully realized innovations by not being afraid to take on new challenges.
“What makes this award so special is that it recognizes the efforts and dedication of our employees,” Park stated. “I believe that by repeating this cycle of success, ‘pride’ will eventually become part of SK hynix’s DNA and will be embodied in the company’s strength.”
Pride in Being No.1 Is Key to Next-Gen HBM Success & Future Tech Capabilities
Park discusses the roadmap for the HBM PE department
Park’s next goal is to successfully commercialize the 12-layer HBM3E followed by HBM4, the sixth-generation of HBM. “We will continue to build strong technical collaboration and trust-based relationships so that customers can clearly understand the outstanding performance and competitiveness of our products based on objective data,” he said. “In particular, we will focus on securing future back-end technologies in preparation for the new HBM era.”
“HBM is expected to evolve into a diverse range of customized products tailored to individual customers,” Park stated. “As new product design methodologies are introduced, it is expected that there will also be a shift in testing paradigms. To prepare for these changes, HBM PE will expand the relevant infrastructure by building collaborative processes with various stakeholders, and work to identify and develop talented people in this field.”
Park called for employees to embrace the company’s leadership position
In closing, Park, as head of the HBM back-end department at the world’s top HBM provider, encouraged employees to have pride in being no. 1.
“SK hynix’s recent success is by no means an accident, but the result of efforts driven by a long-term vision,” he said. “We are the ‘protagonists’ pioneering the future at the forefront of the AI era. Let’s take pride in our no. 1 ranking and continue to prepare for an even greater future.”
