Chapter 58 5-nanometer lithography machine
In the director's office.
After Yan Wentai came back and discussed some matters related to carbon nanotubes with Fan Ren, he walked to the desk and took out a confidentiality agreement.
"Mr. Fan, I'm really sorry. If we want to talk about this, I'd like you to sign a confidentiality agreement."
Although Fan Ren felt a little strange, he still took the pen and signed his name.
In his opinion, why did they have to sign a confidentiality agreement for no apparent reason before the cooperation was even discussed in detail?
Although the 14-nanometer lithography machine has certain confidentiality regulations, it shouldn’t be so sensitive if we are just discussing cooperation.
Yan Wentai put away the confidentiality agreement and sealed it. When he sat back opposite Fan Ren again, he said solemnly, "Mr. Fan, what do you think of the domestically produced 5nm lithography machine?"
Upon hearing this, Fan Ren thought about the news about domestic related chips in his mind, and then a look of regret appeared on his face.
“Very far from it.”
He only said four words, but I believe Yan Wentai knew what he meant.
"Yes, the first 5NM lithography machine was developed by us. Don't be afraid of being laughed at by you, Mr. Fan. The accuracy and cost are far behind those of the same level products of Aspen Company."
Fan Ren knew that it was for this reason that the White Alliance had not lifted the ban on the sale of lithography machines below 14 nanometers to China.
Although it is said that being able to break through the numerous blockades and complete the research and development of 5-nanometer lithography machines on one's own is enough to make all countries in the world drop their jaws.
After all, on this planet, apart from China, no country can independently complete the research and development of lithography machines below 14 nanometers.
However, it has to be admitted that China's current 5-nanometer lithography machines still have great shortcomings in terms of accuracy and cost.
It is for this reason that the success rate of film production is pitifully low.
The office fell into a brief silence. Fan Ren knew that this was already a very difficult achievement, but the problems he faced were still extremely serious.
Baiyue has even started trial production of chips using 3nm process.
"Let's not talk about that. At least we have never stopped chasing."
Yan Wentai sighed, and then his tone returned to normal and he continued, "Ke Fengyun proposed not long ago that using high-voltage radio to replace a large number of wire harnesses in the lithography machine can not only greatly reduce power consumption, but also reduce costs. He even inferred that replacing the wire harnesses that connect the positioning components with radio links can improve positioning accuracy to a certain extent.
Mr. Fan, what do you think of this theory?
Looking at Yan Wentai's eyes filled with expectation, Fan Ren couldn't help but become serious.
“Dr. Ke’s suggestion is really very good. It was because of his reminder that I thought of the application of high-voltage radio in this area.
But Director Yan, I will be honest with you that before the successful development of carbon nanotubes, I was not very optimistic about this inference.
High-voltage radio technology currently has problems such as the impact of high-voltage magnetic fields, and is not very suitable for equipment such as lithography machines that have extremely high compatibility with magnetic fields.
It is only temporarily applicable in car charging and other fields where the impact of magnetic fields is not too important. "
"That's right. So even though Ke Wenfeng proposed this idea, to be honest, I just wanted to give it a try. I'm not really optimistic about it. Otherwise, he wouldn't be the only one going to Linhai. I would have rushed to find you before him."
Yan Wentai smiled and joked to ease the atmosphere, then took out a pack of cigarettes, opened it, handed one to Fanren, and lit one himself.
After getting to know each other for so long, he discovered that Fan Ren's middle and index fingers were slightly yellowed, and he was obviously a heavy smoker.
Fan Ren took it with both hands and quickly lit it up. To be honest, he had been here for a while and was really feeling suffocated. "It was just a few days ago that we successfully developed a method for mass production of carbon nanotubes. Dr. Ke's arrival happened to give me inspiration. Director Yan, have you guessed it?"
As Fan Ren spoke, Yan Wentai's eyes lit up in front of him.
"Magnetic field stability! Yes! Applying carbon nanotubes to high-voltage radio receivers can stabilize the magnetic field, reduce it, or even isolate it. This way, there will be no compatibility issues."
"That's right. This is exactly why I proposed to cooperate with your institute. In fact, I know that. Considering your contribution to the 14-nanometer lithography machine, your institute does not have a big funding gap. Only real technology is the basic prerequisite for Xinghai and your institute to reach a cooperation, Director Yan, don't you agree?"
Fan Ren smiled. Yan Wentai's excited look showed that the basic conditions for cooperation should be no problem.
"Boss Fan, we won't do 14 nanometers anymore! We'll do 5 nanometers!"
As Yan Wentai spoke, he hurriedly stood up and ran behind the desk, took out the key to open the safe hidden in the corner, and solemnly took out a thick document with both hands.
"Boss Fan, let me be frank. Although 5-nanometer lithography machines have been put into chip production, their accuracy is still far from enough. The purpose of Ke Fengyun's visit to you is to use radio technology to conduct some improvement experiments on the 14-nanometer lithography machine. Once the experiment is effective, it will be applied to our 5-nanometer lithography machine. Look, this is the relevant information."
Fan Ren quickly put out the cigarette, took the document with both hands, and began to read it.
Yan Wentai took two deep puffs of his cigarette, and only then did he calm down a little.
At this moment, his eyes fell on Fan Ren in front of him, and for a moment he couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
This young man who seemed to be difficult to tell in his emotions really gave him a great shock.
If high-voltage radio technology and solid-state battery technology were unexpected gains, then the current technology of making graphene into carbon nanotubes is a problem that has plagued materials science and has not been solved to this day.
And now, it was accomplished so seemingly 'easily' in his hands.
He has only graduated for less than a year!
Fan Ren flipped through the pages very quickly. In fact, the lithography machine technology was not difficult for him to understand now.
The direct consequence of the poor precision of 5-nanometer lithography machines today is an extremely high wafer failure rate, which leads to higher chip production costs.
Although we can ship a small amount, the problem is that the more we do, the greater the loss.
This is also one of the reasons why most domestic mobile phone manufacturers on the market are still using relatively backward 14nm process chips.
One is that there is no stock, and the other is that the cost of chips is too high.
This has also directly led to the fact that domestic mobile phones have always lagged far behind Apple from the United States and Samsung from the Austronesian country in terms of high-end performance.
Because of the high-end mobile phone market, domestic mobile phone manufacturers only have the choice of high-end chip manufacturers in the United States.
In this way, the price cost loses its advantage, and how can it be compared with the high-performance chips designed and manufactured by others?
Fan Ren knew why Yan Wentai was so excited. If the above-mentioned problems could be solved, then some high-tech enterprises in China would be able to truly blow the clarion call for attacking the high-end market against those companies that had been suppressing them.
After all, the profit gap between the mid- and low-end markets and the high-end markets is too huge.
After a long time, Fan Ren closed the folder and gently placed it on the table, rubbing his sore eyes.
Yan Wentai stared at him expectantly.
Fan Ren said solemnly: "Director Yan, I think there is no problem with the feasibility."
(End of this chapter)
