Intel wants to return to the memory market. Will this solve the current crisis?
AI infrastructure boom drives unprecedented demand for DRAM. Hyperscalers and chipmakers consume huge volumes, and since the global number of memory suppliers is limited, the entire supply chain begins to choke. That’s why he wants to return to the stage Intelthis time in an unusual duet with SoftBank and his company Saimemory.
Capacity up to 512 GB and up to 50% lower energy consumption
The result of this cooperation is to be: a new standard called Z-Angle Memory, or ZAM for short. Work on this technology was to start as part of a program supported by the US Department of Energy, where Intel had already presented its products next-generation concepts for combining DRAM layers. SoftBank’s official announcements are sparse in details, but the available information shows that ZAM is expected to be significantly different from HBM.
Instead of vertical vias, signals would be routed diagonally inside the stack. This approach allows for better use of the silicon surface for the memory cells themselves, increasing the packing density and at the same time reducing thermal resistance. In practice, this means more memory in one chip and easier heat dissipation.
There are also many indications of the use of hybrid copper-copper bonding, which enables very tight bonding of subsequent layers. Instead of a typical stack, a structure closer to a monolithic block of silicon is created. What’s more, ZAM is to be a design without classic capacitors, and an EMIB interposer would be used to connect the memory with AI systems.known from other Intel projects.
While specific numbers comparing ZAM to current HBM memory have not yet been released, Industry leaks suggest even 40-50% lower energy consumptionsimpler production process and much higher capacity of a single chip, potentially reaching 512 GB.
History makes an interesting circle here. Intel was once a big player in the DRAM market, but in 1985 it withdrew from the segment after losing share to Japanese manufacturers. Today, memory is once again becoming one of the key elements of the entire puzzle. If Z-Angle Memory lives up to its promises and Intel manages to convince accelerator market leaders such as NVIDIA to implement the new technology, This may be one of the most interesting twists in the semiconductor world in recent years.
