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Chapter 640 The Wolf is Coming? No, it's a "It's Actually So Good!" Warning! The Key Restricting Xingyuan Technology's Development!
Has China's domestically produced 28-nanometer chip entered mass production?

The first reaction of netizens after seeing this news was disbelief!

Since 2012, the three major portal websites and self-media have been constantly reporting on this, such as "Huaxin International's comeback: the battle for 28nm production line layout" and "28nm chip localization".

But two or three years have passed in the blink of an eye, and we haven't seen a single thing.

Although HiSilicon and Tiangong Technology have emerged, these two companies are merely chip design companies, i.e., they operate on a fabless model.

There isn't a single fab factory equipped with 28-nanometer manufacturing technology!
Huaxin International, which was highly anticipated, had previously announced breakthroughs in 28-nanometer process technology, but each time it did, it was ultimately hampered by low yield rates.

From "near mass production" in 2012, to "yield rate exceeding 30%" in 2013, and then to "striving for the 60% passing mark" in early 2014, a series of short phrases were used, each time igniting hope among netizens, only to be disappointed time and time again.

"Come on, it's just another 'boy who cried wolf' trick! Huaxin said it would start mass production two years ago, but the chip in my phone is still made by TSMC in Taiwan."

"What's the use of designing the best chips? Without your own factory, you're still at the mercy of others."

"Xingyuan Technology? Never heard of it. Is it some small factory trying to ride the wave of popularity? 96% yield rate? That's a ridiculous claim!"

"Hey buddy upstairs, did you just get out of jail? You don't even know Xingyuan Technology?"

“I don’t believe others, but I believe Brother Sen! In fact, some of the three processors, Tiangong A100, Tiangong B100 and Tiangong C100, were produced by Xingyuan Technology as early as March this year. However, the yield rate was too low at the time, so they could not be widely used in Orange phones.”

The comment that "production started in March" immediately caused an uproar in the comment section.

"No wonder my Qingcheng D3 isn't as smooth as my friend's; it turns out they're using a new process. It seems Xingyuan Technology still has a lot to work on!"

"Really? I don't want to use StarSource Technology's products. What if they have poor power consumption and low performance? Wouldn't I be paying the same amount of money for a low-spec device?"

"Protest against Orange Technology! They deprived users of their right to know without even giving us a heads-up."

As netizens chatted, the public opinion shifted.

In the end, everyone tagged Wang Teng, Zhou Shouzhi, and Chen Yansen, demanding an official explanation.

The same processor can be manufactured by different fabs, resulting in differences in the performance of the final product.

Take Shanxing for example. It has its own chip manufacturing base, so why does it still outsource most of its Exynos processor orders to TSMC in Taiwan?

You have to understand, Zhang Zhongmou is not the ancestor of the Li family of Shanxing, so why should Shanxing give him the profits?

The reason is actually quite simple: Shanxing's high-k metal gate (HKMG) solution is indeed not as stable as TSMC's.

Considering yield rate, cost and user experience, Shanxing decided to place the order with TSMC in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Orange Technology, the marketing department's office area was brightly lit.

"They're all Tiangong chips, just from different factories. These users are really opportunistic."

Wang Teng frowned and muttered to himself.

"Mr. Wang, the query tool is now online. Users only need to enter the device number to find the processor's production code."

At that moment, an assistant rushed over and spoke in unison as he approached.

"Okay! Issue the announcement immediately!"

Wang Teng nodded.

This query tool was actually a small plugin used by the testing department to mark the source of parts. In order to deal with users' questions, it was modified slightly and temporarily made available to the public.

Ten minutes later, Orange Technology simultaneously released a statement on Toutiao, Douyin, Kuaishou, and Weibo, stating that the Tiangong chips produced by Xingyuan Technology would absolutely not have performance defects, and attached a query tool website.

Although most netizens expressed their trust in Orange Technology, the number of submissions to the query interface reached more than 400 million in just ten minutes.

"Found it! My Shiny Orange X2 Plus has a production code that starts with W1, which means it's from TSMC in Taiwan. I can finally relax."

"W2 corresponds to GlobalFoundries!"

"What bad luck, it's a W4! Can anyone who knows anything about this explain what's wrong with Xingyuan's chips? Is it that they overheat more, or that their lifespan is shorter?"

"I'm also a W4, how do I get a refund? I've only used it for a year, surely Chen Yansen won't deny it?"

"You idiot upstairs! Xingyuan Technology wasn't even established last year, so where did Tiangong chips come from?"

"You haven't even tested it, yet you're saying Xingyuan Technology's quality control is poor. Is that appropriate?"

The doubts continue to grow, with netizens eagerly discussing the issue.

Some savvy tech bloggers quickly collected four Onyx X2 Plus phones, whose processors were from TSMC, GlobalFoundries, UMC, and StarPower Technologies, respectively.

After rigorous testing, they were surprised to find that, with the same Tiangong A100T chip, Xingyuan Technology achieved the highest benchmark score, stronger performance, lowest power consumption, and least heat generation.

"Quick! Finish editing the video! This time the result was a complete reversal, it's sure to break through the traffic pool!"

A tech blogger on Douyin urged his employees impatiently.

After all, whoever posts the video first will get the first wave of traffic.

At 8:03 p.m. that evening, Genius Panda released a test video on Douyin.

Within just a few hours, the video garnered over ten million views and more than a million likes.

The video selected the Tiangong A100T chip produced by four chip manufacturing plants: TSMC, GlobalFoundries, UMC, and StarSource Technology, and conducted a series of rigorous tests.

In CPU performance testing, the Tiangong A100T processor Xingyuan Technology Edition achieved a score of 61637.

The Taiwan TSMC version scored 58193 points. The GlobalFoundries version scored 56279 points.

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) scored 55428 points.

Surprisingly, StarSource Technology achieved the highest performance score, exceeding that of TSMC by 6%.

In terms of power consumption, the advanced technology of Xingyuan Technology's HFOB structure is fully demonstrated.

After running at high intensity for one hour, the power consumption of the chip produced by StarSource Technology stabilized at around 4.4 watts, and the body temperature was 39 degrees Celsius.

TSMC's chip power consumption is around 5.2W, and the temperature reaches 43 degrees Celsius.

GlobalFoundries and UMC's chips have higher power consumption, at 5.6W and 5.8W respectively, and the corresponding body temperatures reach 45 degrees Celsius and 46 degrees Celsius.

Netizens who watched the test video were completely bewildered!
The same processor, but quite different!

They originally thought that Xingyuan Technology had only been established for a short time and its technology should not be mature.

Surprisingly, Xingyuan Technology has the highest level of craftsmanship!

This doesn't make sense!

Seeing that the time was right, Liang Jinsong posted a status update with pictures and text.

"When manufacturing the Tiangong A100T processor, Xingyuan Technology adopted a brand-new transistor structure, internally named the Hybrid FinFET on Bulk architecture, or HFOB structure for short."

Without significantly sacrificing cost and yield, we have created a hybrid process that surpasses the traditional 28nm HKMG Planar technology in performance, power consumption, and density by incorporating some of the advantages of FinFET and Soi technologies. This hybrid silicon fin field-effect transistor architecture is achieved through the introduction of some of the advantages of FinFET and Soi technologies.

Using FinFET structures for critical logic paths, such as CPU and GPU cores, as well as high-leakage units, can effectively control leakage current and allow the operating voltage to drop from 0.9V to 0.7V or even lower, thereby achieving significant power efficiency advantages.

The improved Planar HKMG technology is still used for RF devices, I/O devices, and non-critical logic. This not only avoids the huge cost of redesigning libraries and IPs for all devices, but also preserves the excellent performance of analog devices under the Planar architecture.

When Liang Jinsong saw that he had written a long and detailed article, netizens frowned.

"I recognize each word individually, but I don't know what they mean when put together."

"Where's Yuanfang? What do you think?"

"Your Excellency, I only know martial arts, not microelectronics engineering technology."

"As a researcher who has been deeply involved in the semiconductor industry for ten years, to be honest, I can only understand a part of it. Here's a brief interpretation of what Mr. Liang meant:"
这款28nm HFOB架构方案的设计很大胆，它通过将部分更先进节点工艺，可能是20纳米或16纳米的FinFET技术下移到28纳米的平台中，进而创造出一个在性能、功耗和密度上全面超越经典28nm HKMG的‘超级28nm’工艺。

To put it simply, it's like mixing a century-old vintage into this year's new wine; it looks the same, but its performance is significantly improved.

A knowledgeable netizen stepped forward to explain.

Unfortunately, although Liang Jinsong's expression was logical and well-organized, he stuffed in a bunch of professional terms and jargon, which 99% of netizens couldn't understand at all, as if they were looking at a book written in heaven.

"Holy crap! I didn't understand the beginning, but I got the last sentence!"

"So StarSource has pulled off a 'dimensional reduction attack'? Using more advanced technology to make 28-nanometer chips, no wonder it's even stronger than TSMC in Taiwan!"

"I used to think that W4 code was a 'bad omen,' but now looking at my Shiny Orange X2 Plus, I suddenly feel like I've hit the jackpot!"

"+1! I just checked and my Orange C4S is also W4. I quickly ran a game to test it out, and it's indeed smoother than my friend's W1 version, and the heat is not as noticeable!"

"Which bastard is deliberately smearing Xingyuan Technology?"

"It's highly likely that it's someone from TSMC in Taiwan, who's afraid that Star Source Technology will steal their contract manufacturing business."

The netizens' anger came quickly and went even faster.

From "skepticism" to "it's actually great!"
The sentiment in the comments section completely reversed, with netizens who had initially called for "refunds" now sharing their own testing experiences.

StarSource Technology has set a standard example for its peers with solid data – mass production is not the goal; the real strength of domestically produced chips lies in developing manufacturing processes that are superior to those of international giants.

Same product, but with superior performance!

In an instant, the hype exploded!
"Snapdragon 810 overheats and throttles? Tiangong A100T processor crushes the entire Snapdragon series."

"Imported goods are better? No, they might be worse!"

"Chen Yansen used 10 billion yuan, 6 months, and a team of 1,000 people to surpass TSMC in one fell swoop."

"China's chip industry is on the rise!"

The topic of mass production of domestically made 28-nanometer process technology continues to gain popularity.

Major media outlets have focused on Xingyuan Technology, delving into its technological foundation and development history.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Liang Jinsong announced the following day that a technology press conference would be held on June 20 to introduce the technical advantages of the HFOB architecture and the project's future plans in detail.

However, many people are aware that there is still a technological gap of two or three generations between StarSource Technology and TSMC and StarSource Technology.

It is almost common knowledge that TSMC will manufacture Apple's 20-nanometer A8 chip.

Regardless, the 28-nanometer process technology was one of the most advanced chip manufacturing processes in 2014.

More than 90% of processors, flash memory chips, and storage chips on the market use 28-nanometer or even older manufacturing processes.

Currently, the only thing limiting Xingyuan Technology's production capacity is lithography machines!

(End of this chapter)