Samsung Files zHBF Trademark, Positioning for the New NAND High Bandwidth Flash Arena
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Samsung has filed a zHBF trademark and placed it on a public technology roadmap for the first time — entering the NAND-based high-bandwidth flash race that positions HBF as a capacity complement to HBM, where SK hynix and Sandisk already lead on standardization.
What is HBF, and why is it surfacing now?
HBF — high-bandwidth flash, a high-speed, large-capacity storage layer built by stacking NAND flash chips — sits between HBM and conventional SSDs, creating an entirely new tier in the memory hierarchy.
This means → AI inference workloads are outgrowing what HBM alone can feed. HBM is fast but small and expensive; the system needs a layer with more capacity and still-adequate bandwidth to fill the gap.
In plain terms = HBM is the small, fast cup; HBF is the large, fast-enough bucket. AI inference needs both.
Where does standardization stand, and who is driving it?
SK hynix and Sandisk led the first HBF specification through the Open Compute Project (OCP). The spec was published on August 3, 2026, with Google and AI chip developer Tenstorrent contributing.
It defines 8-layer and 16-layer NAND stacking configurations, capacity up to 512 GB, bandwidth in three tiers spanning roughly 0.4 TB/s to 3.0 TB/s, and uses UCIe — Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express, a standard interface for high-speed chip-to-chip communication — as the link between HBF and the processor.
Sandisk plans to deliver first HBF samples in H2 2026. Sample AI inference devices with HBF are expected in early 2027.
What exactly is Samsung's zHBF?
Samsung recently filed the zHBF trademark, following its unveiling of zHBM and zNAND-O concept models at FMS 2026. This means → Samsung is assembling a "z-series" storage family spanning multiple tiers from memory to flash.
zHBM stacks HBM directly on top of an AI accelerator, shortening the physical distance data must travel. zNAND-O is a next-generation high-performance NAND architecture with four-layer and eight-layer versions in development.
Samsung has not disclosed whether zHBF will use the same vertical-stacking approach as zHBM, nor confirmed any technical link to zNAND-O — architectural details remain blank.
How much will the September 1 keynote reveal?
The SEMICON Taiwan 2026 agenda shows Samsung VP Jangseok Choi, head of memory product planning, delivering a keynote on September 1 titled "Empowering the AI Era with 3D Integration," explicitly listing zHBM, zHBF, and 3D packaging as the three core technologies.
This is the first time zHBF has appeared on a Samsung public technology roadmap.
Neither Samsung nor the organizer has committed to the level of technical detail that will be shared — architecture, performance specs, and commercialization timeline are all undisclosed so far.
How does the competitive landscape look?
SK hynix and Sandisk hold a first-mover advantage in HBF through their role in OCP standard-setting.
The key question for Samsung: can zHBF differentiate on specs and ecosystem, or will it end up chasing an established standard?
This reflects a broader shift — the storage industry is moving from "HBM alone" toward a multi-tier parallel architecture. Whoever turns HBF into a mass-producible solution first wins the next ticket in AI inference storage.
市场有风险，内容仅供研究参考，不构成投资建议。