Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 413 We're just one card away from winning!

While other experts may not be able to understand the difficulty from a professional perspective, they can intuitively grasp just how challenging it is.

Using the adjectives and final nouns to describe a typical NP-hard problem with a near-infinite solution space, it sounds difficult.

To industrial experts whose mathematical knowledge is roughly equivalent to that of a first- or second-year mathematics student, the near-infinite number of solutions is no different from being virtually unsolvable.

The expert sitting next to Wei Zhe could also tell from his expression. Seeing Wei Zhe's stunned look, he knew that Lin Ran had produced some earth-shattering result again.

Liang Mengsong raised his hand, and Lin Ran nodded: "Engineer Liang, you go ahead."

“President Lin,” Liang Mengsong said in a heavy tone, “you provided us with a solution from an algorithmic perspective, and now we can do it theoretically.”

However, in the real world, we need templates with sufficiently high precision. Only with such templates can we use NIL lithography machines to print so-called meta-lenses, and only then can we have the lenses required by traditional lithography machines.

Let me explain. What we are going to manufacture is a meta-lens master template with a 5-nanometer-level structure.

To create this master template, we need an electron beam writer.

"This thing is like a pen," Liang Mengsong tried to explain in the simplest language. "A lithography machine is like a giant printing press that can copy the pattern on the template dozens of times per second."

The electron beam writer is the most primitive pen used to create printing masters.

The fineness of your pen determines the precision of your master copy.

Our domestically produced, most advanced electron beam writer can stably depict a minimum linewidth of 65 nanometers.

It's impossible to sculpt a 5-nanometer pattern using a 65-nanometer pen.

A multi-electron-beam writer is an advanced semiconductor manufacturing device used for high-precision pattern transfer by writing patterns on a wafer simultaneously using multiple electron beams.

The more common term Liang Mengsong used is "mask." Light shines through the mask to print patterns on a silicon wafer, and the precision of the mask determines the precision of the integrated circuits on the silicon wafer.

The machine used to make photomasks is called a multi-electron beam writer. It can only make one photomask at a time and is suitable for small-batch, highly complex pattern manufacturing needs.

In summary, without state-of-the-art electron beam printers, it is impossible to manufacture photomasks used to produce the most advanced chips.

It is the "source" of the entire semiconductor manufacturing industry chain, and its strategic importance is no less than that of the EUV lithography machine itself.

The world's most advanced multi-electron-beam mask writer for EUV-level applications was dominated by Austria's IMS Nanofabrication, which is now wholly owned by Intel.

Another Japanese company, NuFlare Technology, is also conducting research and development, but it lags behind in market share and the breadth of its technological applications. This is a subsidiary of Toshiba.

Shenhai Microelectronics, a domestic company, also has a subsidiary responsible for research and development, but the precision is between 90nm and 65nm.

Regardless of the technology used in lithography, all machines require a photomask to print on the master lithography image.

The optimism that had just been ignited in the conference room by the mathematical breakthrough was instantly extinguished.

We are all industry insiders, and we know very well that what Liang Mengsong said is true.

Without the finest pen, even the most perfect design is just a piece of waste paper.

Lin Ran said, "That's not a problem. Although we don't have the most advanced pens, we do have the next level."

Lin Ran looked at Yang Deren below the stage and said, "Academician Yang, why don't you say something?"

The stage was then handed over to Academician Yang.

Yang Deren stood up and said proudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to tell you that just three months ago, the first high-precision multi-electron beam writer in my country with commercial capability, which was developed by our Yuhang Institute of Zhejiang University in conjunction with relevant domestic units and has been the result of more than ten years of hard work, has completed its final test."

We named it after Xizhi, the greatest calligrapher in ancient China.

(my country's first 6nm electron beam lithography machine - Xizhi, from the official website of the HZ Municipal Government. I don't know why domestic media didn't report on it much, it didn't get any attention at all.)
“The Xizhi lithography machine is different from traditional lithography machines,” Academician Yang continued. “It does not require a photomask, but is controlled by a computer to write circuits directly on silicon-based materials using an extremely high-energy, focused electron beam.”

Therefore, it allows for design modifications and repeated debugging at any time, making it particularly suitable for early-stage chip development verification and for manufacturing unique, ultra-high-precision components such as meta-lens master sheets.

Finally, Academician Yang took a deep breath and announced the two numbers that made everyone hold their breath: "Its performance indicators are: minimum stable linewidth of 8 nanometers and electron beam positioning accuracy of 0.6 nanometers."

"This is impossible! Positioning accuracy of 0.6 nanometers? Isn't that accuracy a bit too exaggerated?"

"0.6 nanometers? Even more precise than the Americans?"

"Does that mean we can make lenses that are 0.6 nanometers thick? Holy crap, this time the light source can't keep up with the lens."

Academician Yang couldn't hide his pride. This was all done by Zhejiang University!

"To help everyone understand, I will continue to use the pen as a metaphor."

An 8-nanometer linewidth is the brushstroke that Xi Zhi's brush could produce on Xuan paper, resulting in a stable and clear stroke.

The 0.6-nanometer precision refers to the pen tip, which is composed of several even finer wolf hairs, almost reaching the atomic scale.

You must have a sufficiently sharp pen nib to control and write with extremely fine lines.

Lin Ran looked directly at Liang Mengsong: "Engineer Liang, I think you should have thought of that."

At this moment, Liang Mengsong's eyes were shining: "With this 8-nanometer pen, we really have no way to draw a 5-nanometer master copy."

The 8-nanometer limit means that we cannot stably and on a large scale manufacture perfect 5-nanometer structures.

A low yield rate would be a disaster.

This involves drawing more than 10 to the power of 14 antenna structures at once, which is indeed impossible.

However, we can use this pen to design a smarter penmanship technique.

We can use DUV lithography machines and multiple exposure techniques to create circuits with dimensions far smaller than their limits.

Similarly, we can learn from the mature self-aligned quadruple exposure concept in wafer manufacturing and apply it in reverse to master panel manufacturing!

Using Xi Zhi, we first delineate a basic pattern with a 16-nanometer cycle. Then, through multiple precise depositions and etchings, we can self-grow and replicate a structure with a 4-nanometer cycle on the master template!
This is extremely complex in terms of technology, but theoretically it is entirely feasible!

Lin Ran clapped and said, "That's right, I've already solved the mathematical problems for you. The creation of the master copy will require everyone's efforts. It will definitely not be easy, but it is definitely achievable."

The final burning step was done by a NIL lithography machine imported from Canon!
If successful, leveraging China's manufacturing capabilities, we will activate an unprecedented 7nm process. The mature 28nm process technology transferred to us by Japan recently, combined with this meta-lens system, will be sufficient for us to develop a stable 14nm lithography machine.

With the domestically developed and mature dual-exposure technology, a 7nm process is also within reach.

If yield rate is not taken into account, and considering quadruple exposure, the limit is 3.5nm.

We are now only one step away from achieving the most advanced 2nm process technology abroad.

Lin Ran's words drew thunderous applause from the experts in the audience. Who would have dared to imagine this in the past? Now we can actually touch the 3.5nm process.

This is not some semiconductor production line that has been pursued in the past to be de-Americanized, but a fully domestically produced 3.5nm semiconductor production line.

This also means that once the extreme ultraviolet light source required for EUV lithography machines is mastered, China will have no gap with the most advanced 2nm lithography machines abroad.

what does this mean?
The chip war has ended in utter defeat. America's efforts over the past decade, which involved all its allies and every possible means to strangle China's high-tech industry, have been completely shattered, resulting in an irreversible failure.

Navarro thought he was giving China a trap, but it was actually the last card he was playing. China was holding 2346 and was just waiting for him to pass them a 5. The American man himself treated the 5 as a useless card and threw it in the center of the table.

The American man himself treated the 5 of spades as a useless card and threw it onto the center of the table.

This also means that in the future, no allies will cooperate with America to contain China's technology; that would be handing over its own industries to China.

With the end of the technological Civil War, the world has long been divided into the Technological North (led by America) which possesses core technologies and the Technological South which is responsible for application/manufacturing.

China's possession of 3nm lithography machines means that it has completely graduated from the "South" and become a new, powerful, and independent kingdom in the "North" camp, free from the control of the old king.

From an industry perspective, once China possesses manufacturing capabilities of the same level, it will immediately become the world's third and largest high-end chip foundry center in terms of market size.

Not only will China's domestic technology industry experience explosive growth, but once it obtains an endless supply of cheap, state-of-the-art domestically produced chips, China will also experience explosive growth in all fields that rely on cutting-edge computing power, such as artificial intelligence, supercomputing, biotechnology, and autonomous driving.

The decrease in costs and the liberation of computing power will give rise to countless new applications and business models.

In such a world, all countries will have to rethink their position and future.

The experts and scholars present may not be able to fully grasp the significance of this event, but they certainly understand how difficult it was for China after going through so many hardships. The greater the difficulty, the more important it is, and the greater the final reward.

The initial frustration of not being able to go home for the Lunar New Year has vanished, and everyone is now full of ambition, just waiting to get started.

Canon Optical Technology Research Institute, Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
“Mr. Ogawa, I understand your difficulties, but a commercial contract is a contract, and we must respect the spirit of the contract.”

In the conference room, Director Liu, the head of the Huaguo import team, had a smile on his face, but his tone left no room for doubt.

Kazuto Ogawa, the Canon vice president and head of global marketing, looked troubled.

“Director Liu,” Xiao Chuan wiped the sweat from his forehead, “we really have been doing our best.”

Our FPA-1200NZ2C production line is already operating in three shifts, 24 hours a day without stopping.

But last month you placed an urgent order for twenty more units, requiring all to be delivered by the fourth quarter of next year, which is physically impossible.

“Nothing is impossible, Mr. Ogawa.” Director Liu calmly took out another document from his briefcase: “This is our latest supplementary agreement. We are willing to increase the original contract price by 30% as a ‘production acceleration fee’.”

Furthermore, all payments will be made in full in US dollars within 48 hours of the signing of the agreement.

China expects to announce its plans in the fourth quarter of 2026, and currently has a total of 5 FPA-1200NZ2C NIL lithography machines from Canon.

This is all of Canon's inventory, including one returned from Hynix, all of which were shipped to Shenhai.

NIL lithography machine manufacturing technology has been taught to China; everything that can be taught has been taught.

However, China still adheres to the principle of importing first and then gradually figuring out how to produce its own products.

China's goal is to ensure that the production capacity I obtain from Canon is sufficient to sustain me until I can produce NIL lithography machines of the same level myself.

For Canon, being forced by Washington and Tokyo to sell its soul and future was humiliating, because the deal involved not only selling products but also technology.

But US dollars from China are still very attractive.

Canon's financial report will be very impressive at least this year.

If the NIL lithography machine project, which has been unable to generate profits and has not been included in the financial statements, can bring substantial profits, the entire capital market will look at Canon in a different light. If Canon can gain even a portion of ASML's market share, its market value could at least double.

Hynix and Kioxia, two manufacturers that use NIL lithography machines to make memory chips, have received less than optimistic feedback. Hynix even returned one machine to Canon.

Only China not only refused to return the goods, but also kept urging them to ship them out as soon as they arrived, and they wanted as much as they could get.

Ogawa Kazuto's eyes widened instantly.

A 30% increase, paid in cash in one lump sum, is an irresistible temptation for any listed company.

At the same time, Ogawa Kazuto thought to himself, "The Chinese really know their stuff; the Koreans don't."

“Furthermore,” Director Liu continued, “regarding the supporting nanoimprint resin and template substrate, we know that your company’s America supplier has complicated procedures, but that’s alright. Our demand for the next six months is this amount,” he held up five fingers, “five hundred tons, and we are willing to pay a 20% premium.”

Your company only needs to place an order, and our own transportation group will handle all the logistics and warehousing by sending a private plane.

All you need to do is prepare the goods.

Kazuto Ogawa was completely speechless.

This is no longer commercial purchasing; it's a near-plundering, cost-indiscriminate buying spree.

While he was excited by China's "discerning eye," he couldn't understand why the Chinese would make such a crazy bet on NIL, a technology that hadn't even been validated in large-scale mass production.

His business instincts told him that when faced with such a "big spender," all he needed to do was nod and have the finance department prepare to receive an astronomical sum of cash.

But he still felt uneasy, as if something was wrong.

We've been working with Hynix and Kioxia for so many years, and we still can't solve the yield problem in basic memory chips. How can China solve it?
They probably haven't even done any production testing yet, so where does their confidence come from?
Kazuto Ogawa had countless questions in his mind.

　When Ya was outlining the book, he actually had many technical routes to choose from, but the appearance of Xizhi made him resolutely choose the NIL technical route.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)