Legend of the Planet Builder-Chapter 101 - s 100 101 Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography
Chapter 101 -s 100, 101 Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Technology (Added for Nangda and Subscribers)_2
Chapter 101 -s 100, 101 Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Technology (Added for Nangda and Subscribers)_2
His team gathered the nation’s top talents in chip research and development!
At the project launch ceremony, He Xingzhou addressed the elite audience below: “Ladies and gentlemen, we come from across the nation, from various research institutes, enterprises, and organizations. Today, we converge here, casting aside prejudices, interests, and barriers, with only one goal!”
“To shatter the barricades surrounding lithography machines and high-end chip domains, develop a new generation of Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Machines, and manufacture a completely domestically produced 3-nanometer technology chip! To find a true ‘heart’ for the soaring Eastern Dragon!”
Applause rang throughout the room, “Clap, clap, clap, clap!” Chip designers and engineers showed excited expressions on their faces. They never imagined these industry bigwigs could be assembled together?
In other countries, such a thought wouldn’t even be entertained. Even the most powerful enterprises would compete with each other and never share their talents and technologies so openly!
However, the organizations behind them, upon receiving orders, dedicated their resources without reservation! All for the emergence of this 3-nanometer technology chip at the earliest date!
He Xingzhou divided the research team into four groups. The first group was led by Academician Shi Cheng from the Microelectronics Research Institute, a key figure involved in the design and production of the Deep Ultraviolet Lithography Machine. He was responsible for leading the design of the 3-nanometer technology chips and the structure of the Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Machine.
The second group was led by Academician Lu Jianye, employing Dragon Machine Tool to manufacture related lithography machine components, such as polishing ultra-high precision lenses!
The third group was managed by Academician Yan Rui, along with research staff from the Photoelectric Research Institute, responsible for the research and production of the “Extreme Ultraviolet Light Knife.”
The fourth group was led by Fu Yuquan, a materials expert from the Huaxin Group, studying and manufacturing materials needed for lithography machines and chips, such as high-purity silicon and photoresist, etc.
Researchers from various institutes and corporate groups were assigned to one of the four groups, collaborating in development.
…
Externally, nobody knew about Shen Zhou’s national endeavor to tackle the challenge of high-end chips.
As time progressed, the situation became increasingly critical.
That month, Huawei Company announced the cessation of sales for their latest Huawei phones and related smart products, with a reduced supply of other products.
Once the news broke out, Huawei Company’s business suffered greatly, prompting protests from consumers.
Yet, this was only the beginning. Da Mi Company, which initially aimed to break into the high-end smart product market, also declared that the new model launch would be postponed due to the chip shortage.
Similar situations afflicted other smart product companies. Those who just obtained technology licenses from He Xingzhou to produce smart glasses also reported that the launch plan for the Spiritual Light Series Smart Glasses would be indefinitely delayed!
But it didn’t end there! Chips are the heart of modern electronic products, not limited to smartphones and the like.
Shen Zhou’s First Automotive Group and BYD Auto Company, among others, announced the temporary halt of high-end Electromagnetic Floating Car manufacturing due to insufficient onboard chip supplies!
Intelligent home appliance companies announced a temporary halt in sales of high-end smart home products, and so on!
These disruptions affected industries visible to the general public, and invisible sectors, such as high-end equipment needed by the military, were also in a predicament due to the chip shortage.
Online, the public began to express panic, with some asking: “What on earth is happening? Will domestic high-end smart products all cease sales? Aren’t foreign companies interested in earning money from chips anymore?”
“Earn money? Haven’t you read the news? This month, Apple, Samsung, and other companies’ profits have skyrocketed, with the high-end smart product market nearly entirely dominated by foreign products!”
“Indeed, even if I support domestic products, most of them are low to mid-end. I heard that what’s selling now is all stockpiled chips. What will we do when they run out?”
“Can’t we develop it ourselves?”
“Do you know how difficult it is to develop a lithography machine? By the time we catch up with foreign technology, the market will have been wholly seized by foreign companies. One misstep leads to constant setbacks, and the gap will only widen over time.”
“Forget about chips, I can’t even buy the latest graphics card for my computer! I’m so frustrated, nowadays if I want to buy a high-end graphics card, I need to get it through overseas purchasing, and it costs a fortune!”
“The foreigners won’t keep this up for long, right? It should be on sale a few months from now. I heard that Qualcomm and Intel are protesting!”
Some people still hoped that the foreign chip restrictions would be lifted.
But what they did not know was that the world’s technological landscape had undergone an earth-shattering shift. This time, the stance of nations like Bai Ying was more resolute than ever before!
…
“Lu Mi, input the program for me!” He Xingzhou was currently at the National Industrial Software Research Institute.
He was designing a piece of industrial software specifically for chip design.
Previously, they had used foreign software for chip design, but with the new restrictions in place, they could no longer use it and had to design their own.
“Program input completed.” The sweet voice of Lu Mi echoed in He Xingzhou’s ears, and a new piece of industrial software was generated.
He Xingzhou opened it, converted the chip design blueprints from the Shanghai Microelectronics Research Institute into the proper format, input them, and then began improvements.
He was now standing on the shoulders of giants, with the technological information from the Quantum Light Computer to assist him, the development speed was advancing by leaps and bounds!
The other groups also received some technical materials provided by He Xingzhou.
Just like solving math problems, if you haven’t learned the relevant knowledge, creating an equation from scratch to solve the problem is an unknown—whether it can be done and how long it will take.
Now, He Xingzhou was essentially providing them with the equations, and all they needed to do was to understand and apply them.
For these talented individuals gathered from across the country, understanding and applying these equations was a piece of cake.
Every day, some technical problems related to lithography machines and chips were being solved.
For example, for the Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography photoresist, Fu Yuquan’s team had already obtained a laboratory product and was researching the technology for large-scale industrial production.
…
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On Sakura Island, a meeting of the photoresist industry was being convened.
Photoresist, as one of the essential materials for semiconductor manufacturing, was prominently featured on the restriction list!
And ninety percent of the world’s high-end photoresists came from Sakura Island, with the remaining part produced by the United States.
Due to a recent “comprehensive cooperation” agreement struck between Japan and the U.S. and others, sales of high-end photoresists to Shen Zhou had been completely halted.
This had a massive impact on global photoresist giants like JSR, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK), and Fuji Film, among other groups.
“Mr. Aoki, our photoresist revenue has dropped by thirty percent in just one month, and at this rate, our company will suffer greatly!” a representative from ISR protested to the eminent Mr. Aoki Daikichi who had come to attend the meeting, “The agreement you participated in has completely disregarded the damage it does to our industry!”
“That’s right, we have never leaked any related technology, so why can’t we sell even our products?” questioned the representative from Tokyo Ohka Kogyo, “Shen Zhou enterprises are our major clients!”
Aoki Daikichi knew they were filled with resentment, but this was a decision made by the higher-ups, and he was powerless to change it.
All he could do was say, “High-end semiconductor manufacturing is in our hands and the Western market. We will host a semiconductor-related international trade event; your companies can adjust business directions and still hold on to the market.”
“It’s not the same thing!” a representative from Fuji Film discontentedly said, “As I understand it, during this incident, the Dow Chemical Company from the United States took the opportunity to expand, seizing the market and has already severely affected our operations.”
Not everyone supported this so-called “comprehensive cooperation,” and they expressed their opposition.
“Mr. Aoki, we hope to lift these restrictions as soon as possible!” This was their unanimous request.
“Gentlemen, do not worry. You are the pride of Japan, and you hold the high-end photoresist technology in your hands. As long as you can withstand this period, you will still be the world’s top in photoresist!” Aoki Daikichi tried to calm them, knowing that this decision was unchangeable, so whatever they said was futile – he was just there to listen to their complaints today.
“What if Shen Zhou makes a breakthrough in Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography photoresist technology?” questioned a representative from JSR.
Aoki Daikichi laughed and said, “Technological breakthroughs do not happen overnight.”
“Gentlemen, rest assured, Shen Zhou is now facing pressure from seven industrial nations; they will inevitably make concessions, and then you will gain more! They won’t last that long!”
He was laughing when he saw another representative entering the conference room, Furukawa Taizhi from Sumitomo Chemical Group, with an anxious expression he exclaimed, “Gentlemen, there is serious trouble!”
