I can become stronger by paying salaries. I have one billion employees!

Chapter 585 The Hope for the Rise of Domestically Produced Lithography Machines! Qualcomm? A clown!

EUV light source, or extremely deep ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers, is the core of achieving "ultra-precision circuit engraving" and directly determines the minimum linewidth, integration density, and performance limit of the chip.

With just one exposure, the circuit pattern on the photomask can be copied to the wafer surface.

Traditional DUV lithography machines require "multiple exposures" to form the fine lines needed for chips.

Specifically, it means that the photoresist in the same area needs to undergo 2 to 4 photolithography and development operations to achieve the same effect as a single exposure of an EUV lithography machine.

The NXT 1950i DUV lithography machine that Liang Jinsong purchased from GlobalFoundries and United Microelectronics Corporation can produce 14-nanometer and even 10-nanometer chips, but it requires the use of multiple exposure processes.

However, multiple exposures lead to an increase in lithography steps, longer production cycles, a sharp decrease in yield, and a rapid increase in costs, which can be at least 30% to 50% higher.

This is the main reason why ASML can maintain a firm grip on the entire semiconductor industry as long as it does not sell EUV lithography machines to fab plants in China.

Even if they master other key technologies, they will lose commercial value and market competitiveness due to high manufacturing costs.

Take the same chip product as an example. Qualcomm can still make a profit by selling it for $20, but if domestic chip manufacturers sell it for the same price of $20, they will lose 30%.

Faced with such a gap between cost and profit, the purchasing party is naturally unwilling to pay the price.

Chen Yansen's proposed magnetic confinement discharge excitation method abandons the approach of bombarding liquid tin with lasers to excite deep ultraviolet light, and instead adopts a technical path of generating stable, high-brightness plasma on the surface of a tin target through high-power pulsed discharge under strong magnetic field confinement.

The advantages are obvious: solid-state target material plus high-voltage discharge results in a simpler mechanical structure and higher stability.

This is a highly differentiated technology that can bypass a large number of existing LPP patent barriers.

"Thank you for your hard work. Continue to deepen and extend our patents based on magnetic confinement discharge excitation technology to prevent European and American semiconductor companies from using micro-innovations to restrict us in turn."

After listening to Lin Nan's report, Chen Yansen immediately gave instructions.

Why did Qualcomm fail?
It's because he set up entirely new patent barriers in technologies such as radio frequency and communication decoding, blocking Qualcomm's exit strategy.

Otherwise, would Paul Jacobs have willingly signed a cross-licensing agreement with Tiangong Technology?

Don't even think about it!

The path you've walked, of course you have to block it!

He certainly doesn't want a company to suddenly appear one day and sue Xingyuan Technology for infringement.

“Yes, boss, I know the importance of building a patent ecosystem barrier,” Lin Nan replied immediately.

He is a senior engineer at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, and is well-known in the industry.

Previously, when Xingyuan Technology and the Institute of Optoelectronics under the Huazhong University of Science and Technology jointly promoted the research project, Hu Ruihui recommended Lin Nan to Chen Yansen.

Chen Yansen gave him money and equipment whenever he asked, displaying an attitude of being extremely wealthy and powerful.

Lin Nan had wasted more than a decade at the research institute, and seeing researchers from private companies winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, how could he possibly sit still?
Upon receiving Chen Yansen's invitation, he joined the optical research laboratory of Xingyuan Technology without hesitation, working alongside academicians from the Institute of Optoelectronics to try to find a new way to excite EUV light sources commercially.

At first, there was no progress, until Chen Yansen pointed out a wildly imaginative route.

Using "electromagnetic field" instead of "laser" as the means of exciting and confining plasma, a set of superconducting magnet coils is set up around the discharge region to generate a special magnetic mirror field configuration.

First, the plasma is excited by a pulsed current, then a multi-layered mirror is used to collect the 13.5-nanometer wavelength, and finally the wavelength is focused and output.

Lin Nan initially dismissed the idea, but after studying it for a while, he discovered that his boss's plan was not just wishful thinking, but rather highly feasible.

As it turns out, this was the right path!
"Okay, that's settled for now."

Chen Yansen hung up the phone in a very calm manner.

In his view, photolithography is an incredibly complex process. Apart from the light source, modules such as the objective lens system, dual stages, and photoresist are also of paramount importance.

Mastering the excitation method for EUV light sources is just the first step in a long journey.

the other side.

Lin Nan clicked his tongue in amazement, his expression somewhat out of control. He really wanted to call back and tell his boss, "With this technology, it's not impossible to win the country's highest science and technology award next year!"

But then he thought about it again. DeepBlue Technology also has three Nobel Prize winners in Chemistry, so it's normal for the boss to have a calm reaction.

Since the 'magnetically confined discharge plasma light source' is a joint research achievement of Xingyuan Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the news spread rapidly in the domestic scientific community.

Upon learning this, Hu Ruihui stood up abruptly, unable to believe it.

"It's been less than four months, and you've already achieved results? Are you kidding me?"

Hu Ruihui paced back and forth in his office, and surprisingly, he swore.

At the same time, the Optical Laboratory of Harbin Institute of Technology and the Longzhou Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics also received the news.

My first reaction was, "It's fake!"
However, after repeated verification, they had to believe that Xingyuan Technology and Yanjing Institute of Optoelectronics had indeed developed EUV light source technology.

Furthermore, it successfully bypassed the patent defenses built by ASML, Carl Zeiss, Sinstar, TSMC, and Cymer.

Two hours later, Li Qingsong received a call from Hu Ruihui.

"First, block the news. Have the staff of the Anguo Association rush to Shanghai immediately. All personnel involved in the research and development process must sign a confidentiality agreement."

After understanding the importance of this technology, Li Qingsong's expression immediately turned serious, and he gave instructions to his secretary beside him.

He saw hope for the rise of domestically produced lithography machines in Xingyuan Technology!

"Okay, Mr. Li." The secretary didn't dare to delay and picked up the phone to contact the Anguo Association, clarifying the list of personnel who needed to sign the confidentiality agreement and the coordination process.

Li Qingsong stood in front of the office window, gazing at the gray sky over Yanjing, and fell into deep thought.

StarSource Technology's technological breakthrough in the field of EUV light source is like a thunderbolt, splitting the fog on the road to self-developed lithography machines. However, what follows is also countless undercurrents that are about to strike.

Once the news leaks, international giants like ASML and Carl Zeiss will certainly not sit idly by. They will either delay the process through patent litigation, exert pressure by uniting the supply chain, or even use off-the-books forces to intervene.

After all, the semiconductor industry has never been just a simple competition of technology; it involves too many interests and power struggles.

The development of Xingyuan Technology is beyond expectations!
at the same time.

In the optical research laboratory of Shanghai Xingyuan Technology, Lin Nan is leading his team to conduct the third stability test.

The data stream on the screen shows that the output intensity of the 13.5-nanometer wavelength ultraviolet light is consistently above 92%, with an energy conversion efficiency of 7.1%, far exceeding that of ASML's LPP light source. This data has reached commercial standards!

But many enormous challenges and uncertainties lie ahead.

For example, pulsed discharges and plasma itself generate enormous heat, and both the rotating target and the liquid film require extremely strong cooling capabilities, which current thermal management technologies are inadequate for.

While you can enjoy the benefits of blazing a new trail on your own, you'll have to figure out the necessary equipment and technology yourself.

The road ahead is long and arduous!

……

……

In the evening, after getting off work, Chen Yansen did not return to the Delta Villa District, but instead rushed to the airport and took a Gulfstream 550 to Luzhou.

Tomorrow at 2 PM, Tiangong Technology will hold a new product launch conference at the Luzhou Conference Center to officially launch the Tiangong B100 and Tiangong C100 to the market.

He certainly couldn't be absent.

Half an hour later, the plane landed at Luzhou Xinqiao Airport.

Then they transferred to a Maybach and drove towards a villa in Baohe District.

Thirty minutes later, Lao Huang finally brought the car to a slow stop.

A three-story villa stands before you, covering an area of ​​over 200 square meters, with one basement level and three floors above ground, and a total building area of ​​over 800 square meters.

Unlike the villas in the virtual city, this house has a garden of more than 200 square meters and a terrace pool in addition to a viewing pool.

Mr. Chen bought it two years ago, but he has never lived in it.

"Old Huang, come pick me up at one o'clock tomorrow afternoon."

Chen Yansen got out of the car and casually said something.

"Good boss."

Huang Boxiang nodded in agreement. He spoke less and less, becoming more and more like a professional driver.

Before Chen Yansen could speak, he took the initiative to carry the suitcase down and push it to the living room door for his boss.

After doing all that, I turned around and left.

Chen Yansen didn't have his keys, so he raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Ye Qiuping, who was outside, had already heard the commotion. The reason she didn't come to open the door was that she was busy changing clothes.

"Creak" sound!
The mahogany door, covered in copper, opened with a click.

"Boss, do you like it?"

Master Ye, dressed in a long blue gauze dress, raised her head, slightly opened her mouth, bit a strand of hair, and asked with a charming expression.

A tail was hidden behind it, swishing back and forth.

"Snapped"!
Chen Yansen slapped Master Ye hard on the butt, then walked into the living room and lazily said, "Bring my suitcase in, and then make a simple four-dish-and-one-soup meal."

"Oh." Ye Qiuping covered her bottom and obediently responded.

Although he was beaten, he felt a sweet feeling in his heart and wished Chen Yansen would slap him a couple more times.

Since Meng Jie, Song Yuncheng, and she were all in Luzhou, Chen Yansen chose to come here, which shows that the boss occasionally showed her a bit more favoritism.

Ye Qiuping rubbed the spot where she had been patted, unable to hide the smile on her lips.

She walked quickly to the door, bent down and picked up Chen Yansen's suitcase.

Chen Yansen sat on the sofa and sent a message to Meng Jie and Song Yuncheng respectively.

Ye Qiuping put her suitcase down, then quickly picked up a pair of men's slippers and walked over to Chen Yansen to help him take off and change his shoes.

Seeing her tail wagging back and forth, Chen Yansen couldn't resist reaching out to grab it.

Chef Ye's ears turned red, his body went limp, and he leaned on Boss Chen's knees, saying softly, "Boss, if you hold someone by the tail, I won't have the strength to cook for you."

"Let's eat seafood first, then have dinner."

Chen Yansen tugged at her tail, and Ye Qiuping's face became even redder, her complexion as pink as a peach, and her eyes glistening with moisture.

……

……

The next day, Lei Yijun arrived at the airport early in the morning and headed straight for Luzhou.

The same applies to Zhou Hongyi, Ding Lei, Jia Yaoting, and Wu Hongxin.

Mobile phone manufacturers such as Huawei, ZTE, Coolpad, and Lenovo also sent representatives.

The market performance of the Tiangong A100 is remarkable, and it's likely that the performance of the Tiangong B100 and Tiangong C100 will not be too bad either.

Why did Qualcomm suddenly take action to suppress Tiangong Technology?

It's all because Chen Yansen threatened some people's interests.

Since the establishment of Xingyuan Technology, Senlian Capital's ambition in the semiconductor industry has been exposed, aiming to control both chip design and chip manufacturing.

Many people think that Chen Yansen is too greedy, wanting to make money from everything from chips to restaurants, and that he will eventually crash and burn.

But in the eyes of Lei Yijun and others, Chen Yansen did indeed have the ability.

Even when facing pressure from Qualcomm, Chen Yansen handled the situation with ease. He secured 28nm chip production capacity from GlobalFoundries and UMC by ordering second-hand lithography machines in advance, and at the same time, he used Orange Technology's procurement business to win over MediaTek and Nvidia.

Qualcomm?
He instantly became a clown!

(End of this chapter)