--- title: "SanDisk's New Patent Revealed: Processor Directly Bonded to NAND Flash Chips, HBM Relegated to Supporting Role" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/290404011.md" description: "SanDisk's latest patent unveils a radical storage revolution: directly bonding multi-core processors with NAND flash memory to build a 3D stacked architecture, while demoting HBM from the \"core protagonist\" to a \"supporting actor.\" This design targets the capacity ceiling of HBM and the latency pain points of existing high-bandwidth flash memory. If implemented, it will fundamentally reshape the memory architecture logic of AI accelerators, suggesting that the era of deep integration between storage and computing may have arrived ahead of schedule" datetime: "2026-06-22T08:17:33.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/290404011.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290404011.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/290404011.md) --- # SanDisk's New Patent Revealed: Processor Directly Bonded to NAND Flash Chips, HBM Relegated to Supporting Role SanDisk is driving a fundamental restructuring of storage architecture—directly bonding computing units with NAND flash memory and downgrading the role of HBM from core memory to a supporting tier. According to patent documents published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, SanDisk has proposed a 3D stacked architecture that integrates multi-core processors directly onto Circuit-Below-Array (CBA) storage chips, with the entire package mounted on the same interposer. HBM is distributed around the periphery of this stacked structure. This design aims to simultaneously break through the capacity ceiling of HBM and the limitations of existing High-Bandwidth Flash (HBF) architectures in terms of latency, power consumption, and system integration. The exposure of this patent indicates that while accelerating the mass production roadmap for HBF, SanDisk has also laid out more aggressive storage-computing fusion solutions at the patent level, which could have profound potential implications for the memory architecture design paths of AI accelerators and GPUs. ## HBM Capacity Bottleneck Spurs New Architecture Exploration HBM has become the mainstream memory solution for current AI chips due to its high bandwidth advantages, but its capacity limitations are increasingly becoming a constraint. **According to tech media Wccftech, the single-stack capacity of existing HBM solutions is typically 32 to 64 GB, making it difficult to meet the continuously growing demand for memory capacity in large-scale AI models.** To address this, SanDisk previously launched the HBF architecture, drawing on the vertical stacking concept of HBM. It uses Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs) to interconnect multiple layers of NAND flash memory, forming a unified storage stack. According to SanDisk, the single-stack capacity of HBF can be expanded to 4 TB, with bandwidth approaching HBM levels, and capacity reaching 8 to 16 times that of HBM at the same cost. However, beyond its capacity advantages, NAND flash still has inherent shortcomings. Wccftech points out that NAND is located relatively far from the computing core in the system architecture, resulting in slower data access speeds compared to DRAM-based architectures. This structural disadvantage limits the applicability of HBF in latency-sensitive workloads. ## Core of the New Patent: Direct Bonding of Computing and NAND The solution proposed in SanDisk's latest patent is a direct response to the aforementioned latency issues. According to the patent document, the design places a NAND flash chip built on a CBA structure directly beneath a computing chip (such as an AI accelerator or GPU), achieving direct physical bonding between the processor and NAND. **The CBA structure itself combines large-capacity NAND flash arrays with CMOS logic layers into one unit, and the entire integrated stack is then mounted on an interposer. HBM chip stacks are attached to one or more sides of this combined stack, sharing the same interposer platform with the NAND layer.** The key to this architecture lies in redefining the division of labor among various storage media: HBM handles immediate, high-speed memory operations, while the NAND flash layer takes on read/write-intensive workloads and large-scale data storage tasks. According to Wccftech, in this configuration, HBM is still integrated into the system, but its role has shifted from a dominant position to a specific functional module within the overall storage-computing hierarchy. ## Parallel Layout Beyond HBF It is worth noting that the architectural direction presented in the above patent is not a replacement for SanDisk's currently promoted HBF route, but rather a parallel technological reserve. SanDisk is currently accelerating the development process of HBF, which represents its primary commercial bet on near-term implementable high-capacity storage solutions. **The 3D stacking solution described in the new patent, involving direct bonding of processors to NAND, points to a longer-term architectural evolution path. It aims to fundamentally shorten the physical distance between computing units and large-capacity storage, thereby optimizing bandwidth, latency, and energy efficiency at the system level.** For AI chip designers and the packaging technology supply chain, SanDisk's recent patent layout sends a clear signal: the deep integration of storage and computing is moving from concept to concrete technical paths, and ecological competition surrounding interposer packaging platforms may further intensify. ### Related Stocks - [SNDK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SNDK.US.md) - [SNDG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SNDG.US.md) - [SNDQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SNDQ.US.md) - [SNDU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SNDU.US.md) - [SNXX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SNXX.US.md) - [SOXL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXL.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [‘This Is the Change That Matters,’ Says Morgan Stanley About Sandisk Stock](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290451242.md) - [Prediction: Sandisk Stock Will Soar to $5,000 in 2 Years](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290072141.md) - [SanDisk's (SNDK) Spinoff Has Created a New Valuation Question](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290157873.md) - [This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Is Up 4,800% in the Past Year. 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