Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

There's big news every day.

This is probably the most favorite and most hated thing among media people.

Needless to say, if you like it, if there is big news, various related articles will be casually written, and the number of views will be very high.

We can always give you a record high.

As for hating it, that’s actually quite understandable.

Anyone who gets a phone call from their leader in the middle of the night and is asked to get up immediately to catch up on a manuscript will definitely feel very annoyed.

Sometimes even when doing errands, I would think about how to make use of today’s hot news.

Xie Min from Zhongguancun Online has fully experienced what she likes and dislikes most during this time.

The domestic semiconductor industry and mobile phone industry are constantly making various big moves.

Behind these big moves are a series of news reports.

So she was so busy that she gained a few pounds.

"Editor-in-Chief, I think you can consider adding a channel to the homepage of the website to specifically report on chip-related matters."

"I think chips should be of great interest to both the national and industrial levels, as well as to readers who have attended university."

"Especially as chips become China's largest imported product, this topic will become more likely to attract everyone's attention."

“We can also use this channel to better communicate with some well-known domestic experts and scholars, making our website more authoritative.”

Xie Min is also thinking about how to further improve his status in the company.

If you set up a new channel for a project that you have been tracking, then the person in charge of this channel must have his own share.

Although the nominal boss may not be him, his status in this channel is definitely not low.

Xie Min is naturally very active in things that are beneficial to both public and private interests.

"The importance of the chip industry has been gradually realized by everyone. I heard that the number of students enrolling in microelectronics-related majors in various universities is increasing."

"And for those majoring in microelectronics, if they enter a chip company after graduation, their annual salary will start at 100,000 yuan, which is much better than most majors."

"It's just that I'm afraid it's not that easy to take this road."

Wu Xuebin deals with IT products every day and is no stranger to the chip situation.

None of the world's major chip manufacturers are from China.

Not to mention Intel and AMD, basically everyone knows they are American.

None of the other companies including Infineon, NXP, Renesas, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, ON Semiconductor, Rohm, and Micron are from China.

In this situation, it is extremely difficult to develop the chip industry domestically.

Not to mention that competitors will not easily give you the opportunity to develop, and will use various means to deal with you.

It is very difficult for domestic chip manufacturers to accept domestic chips.

For example, I have always used Infineon chips in the past, but now I go to other companies to sell domestic chips.

Not to mention that the performance of the chip has no advantages, and even the price may not be cheaper than imported ones.

Unless you are willing to sell at a loss.

In addition, your quality stability is also full of uncertainties.

After all, your product has not been tested over time.

Furthermore, people will also worry about whether they will mind when their products are sold to downstream companies after using domestic chips.

After considering all the factors, it is simply more difficult for domestic chips to develop in the country.

This is no longer a simple technical issue or a financial issue, but involves all aspects of the issue.

It even has something to do with some perceptions of society as a whole.

"Easy is definitely not that easy, but SMIC, which is supported by the national team, and Nanshan Semiconductor, which is supported by the largest private enterprise, have stopped producing chips. I think the future is still worth looking forward to."

"Especially for Nanshan Semiconductor, their business includes chip design, wafer production, and chip processing, packaging and testing. This kind of development model of the entire industry chain is something that ordinary companies would not dare to engage in."

"Even giants like Qualcomm and large companies like Apple are only responsible for designing their own chips and then finding manufacturers such as TSMC or Samsung to produce them."

"The most important thing is Nanshan Semiconductor's chips, which focus on car-grade chips and smartphone chips. Both types of products can be handed over to Nanshan Auto Parts and Honor mobile phones for installation and use."

"It is equivalent to Nanshan Semiconductor basically not having to worry that no one will use the chips it produces, and a large amount of production capacity will be vacant."

"Furthermore, their deep-seated advantage is that whether it is Nanshan auto parts or Honor mobile phones, they are very competitive in their own segments."

"And these manufacturers have mastered core technologies and can independently conduct various confirmations and analyzes on installed components."

"In this case, you don't need to worry about what problems your products will have after using domestic chips, or that customers will be unwilling to buy them."

"If you take into account the strong turnover and operating profits of Nanshan Group, then it will not be so easy for Nanshan Semiconductor to fail."

When Xie Min said this, Wu Xuebin couldn't help but nodded.

This is indeed the truth.

The advantages of Nanshan Group cannot be copied by other companies.

It is also something that no other company can surpass.

Thinking of this, Wu Xuebin somewhat understood why Nanshan Semiconductor dared to invest in four fabs at once. Behind this crazy move, there is actually a high degree of confidence!

This is definitely a good thing for the domestic chip industry.

The development of the domestic chip industry will naturally lead to purchase demand for related equipment.

Today, Cao Yang met with a visiting supplier at Nanshan Group.

"Mr. Cao, since its establishment, Modu Microelectronics Equipment has always attached great importance to the technological innovation of products and the protection of intellectual property rights of innovative solutions, respecting intellectual property rights and all creative achievements that promote the technological progress of products in this field."

"We always adhere to the quality policy of 'high quality, high technology, high quality and high efficiency'."

"The company has passed ISO27001 information security, ISO9001 quality management and ISO14001 environmental management system certifications, as well as SEMI product certification, CMMI Level 3 certification and CE product certification."

"Based on this, SMEE has established a complete quality management system with full participation, covering the entire product life cycle from quality design to quality realization and quality improvement."

"We strive to use advanced and reliable technology to continue to provide customers with high-quality products and services."

"The following will give you a detailed introduction to the achievements of Modu Microelectronics in the past few years."

“In April 2006, our registered trademark for lithography machine products was approved by the Industry and Commerce Bureau.”

"In November 2008, the major science and technology project of the 15th lithography machine independently developed by us passed the acceptance inspection organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology."

"In December 2009, the first advanced packaging lithography machine product SSB500/10A was delivered to users."

"Although we can't say that our products surpass all our international counterparts, we are definitely first-class domestically, and our products are also at the mainstream level internationally."

"Just like our photolithography machine, there is no problem in producing 95-nanometer chips, and it can also produce 65-nanometer chips."

"In the future we will develop products that can produce 40 nanometers or even higher technology content..."

As the general manager of Modu Microelectronics Equipment, He Guangming personally brought chief engineer Du Xinqiang and others to directly interview Cao Yang for business cooperation today.

Of course, before this, they also had some contact with Nanshan Semiconductor.

However, Zhang Jing, who already knew that part of Nanshan Semiconductor's equipment would be purchased from ASML and other manufacturers, and part of it would be purchased from Nanshan Equipment, naturally would not give He Guangming any accurate information.

This made He Guangming wonder if Zhang Jing had a problem with him.

So through connections, we directly arranged a meeting time with Cao Yang.

One of the shareholders of Modu Microelectronics is Modu City, and Nanshan Semiconductor's current mass production factory and the newly built 12-inch wafer fab are all in Modu.

Jaguar Land Rover, a subsidiary of Nanshan Group, also regards Magic City as its Asia-Pacific headquarters, with its R\u0026D center and production factory located there.

In this case, there must be someone in the magic city who has contact with Cao Yang.

As a core manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment, Modu still hopes that Modu Microelectronics Equipment can make some breakthroughs at Nanshan Semiconductor.

No matter how good a device is, it is meaningless if no one uses it.

Similarly, if the equipment industry wants to continuously improve its competitiveness and technological level, it is also very important for the equipment produced to be used by people.

Otherwise, you won’t have the funds to continue upgrading and transforming.

Without someone putting your device into use, it's hard to find some of the problem areas.

It is very difficult to upgrade equipment behind closed doors like this.

He Guangming naturally understood these principles.

That’s why I cherish this opportunity to visit so much.

"Mr. He, the technical strength of Modu Microelectronics Equipment is very good, but if it is to purchase a photolithography machine, we have already made arrangements."

Cao Yang would definitely not change his plans just because of a visit from He Guangming, whom he met for the first time.

Nanshan Group has invested a lot of money in Nanshan equipment.

There is even a special semiconductor division established within Nanshan Equipment. In this case, Nanshan Semiconductor will definitely use Nanshan Equipment's products in the future.

"Mr. Cao, I admit that ASML's lithography machines are much more advanced than ours, especially their DUV lithography machines, which are the best in the world. They even just announced that they have completed the first EUV lithography machine. They are the only ones in the world who can produce prototypes of the aircraft, and it is expected to be officially launched on the market in a few years."

"I also know that a chip processing plant currently built by Nanshan Semiconductor uses ASML's photolithography machines."

"But this time and the other time, that time was just when the financial crisis just broke out, and everyone was very unsure about the future."

"So many chip companies have canceled their equipment orders, and even don't even require deposits for this."

"In this case, ASML is naturally willing to sell the most advanced lithography machines to Chinese companies, otherwise it will fall into their own hands."

"But now the economy has slowly begun to recover from the impact of the financial crisis, and ASML's lithography machines have once again returned to a situation where supply exceeds demand."

"It is basically impossible for Chinese companies to obtain their most advanced lithography machines."

"Even if someone accepts your order now, it will definitely take two or three years before delivery."

"At that time, the photolithography machine you ordered may no longer be the most advanced product."

"Other chip manufacturers are using ASML's more advanced equipment to produce chips."

"Nanshan Semiconductor basically has no chance to catch up with the technical level of other chip companies."

He Guangming was not afraid that what he said would not be heard.

After all, compared to losing orders, a few unpleasant words can be said as soon as they are spoken.

At worst, I can just drink with you and apologize later.

He has also encountered the experience of hitting a wall when selling equipment countless times.

Even in front of some foreign customers, he heard a lot of even more unpleasant words.

A boss of a state-owned enterprise can be considered very responsible if he can personally go out and promote business for the sake of business development.

"Congratulations, Mr. Congratulations, I completely agree with your point of view!"

When Cao Yang said this, He Guangming was a little confused.

Should this be heard normally or the other way around?

Why can't I understand it?

If you agree with my point of view, then shouldn’t you buy photolithography machines and other products from Modu Microelectronics Equipment?

But looking at Cao Yang's appearance, he had no intention of doing so at all.

"Mr. Cao, I would like to take the liberty of asking which manufacturer of photolithography machines are Nanshan Semiconductor's related chip processing factories planning to use?"

If you don’t understand it, don’t think about it.

Anyway, the real owner is right in front of you, just ask directly.

If the situation is not clarified today, He Guangming will feel that he will not be able to sleep at night.

Nanshan Semiconductor will soon become the second largest chip company in China.

If it continues to expand like this crazily in the next few years, it will soon become the largest chip company in China.

He definitely doesn't want to miss this kind of big customer.

"To tell you the truth, Nanshan Equipment has been researching photolithography machines, and we are also researching and producing other core equipment needed in the chip processing process."

"Our chip processing factory will use related products developed by Nanshan Equipment as much as possible in the future."

"Mr. He, I think there should be some projects that can be cooperated between Modu Microelectronics Equipment and Nanshan Equipment."

"In addition to the photolithography machine project, if Modu Microelectronics Equipment can produce some other equipment, we can consider purchasing it from your company."

Cao Yang's answer greatly exceeded He Guangming's expectations.

Nanshan Equipment wants to produce its own photolithography machines?

Do you want it to be that funny?

The most important thing is to listen to Cao Yang's intention, which is to let Modu Microelectronics Equipment provide Nanshan Equipment with the production of some equipment that Nanshan Equipment looks down on, but that domestic production capabilities already exist.

How could He Guangming accept this kind of thing?

I don’t know how to continue talking!

"Mr. Cao, the photolithography machine is by far the most sophisticated and complex machine that humans are capable of manufacturing."

"A photolithography machine consists of three key parts."

"The first part is the light source, the second part is the optical system, and the third part is the etching table."

“The technical challenges of each part are comparable to landing on the moon.”

"Let's talk about the light source first. As for the EUV lithography machine, the world's most advanced lithography machine just produced by ASML, it is an extremely deep ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers. To produce this kind of light, the current method is Use a high-power laser to bombard a small tin ball with a diameter of only 30 millionths of a meter."

"A simple sentence is not enough to describe the difficulty of this matter. I need to expand on it."

He Guangming felt that Cao Yang knew very little about photolithography machines, otherwise he would not have asked Nanshan Equipment, which has been producing machine tools and other equipment, to research photolithography machines.

So he prepared to educate Cao Yang about his illiteracy.

"First, let a laser beam accurately hit the small tin ball that is moving at about 200 miles per hour. When the temperature of the small tin ball reaches 500,000 degrees, then bombard it with a laser beam. At this time, it will produce a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers. of extremely deep ultraviolet light.”

"To continuously and stably produce this kind of ultraviolet light, you need to bombard small tin balls at a frequency of about 50,000 times per second."

"Only one German company in the world can produce this kind of laser. It took the German company called TRUMPF ten years to successfully develop it. This laser alone has more than 45,700 parts."

“But you may not have thought that TRUMPF’s laser relies on a Lithuanian company to provide key equipment. Without the light source equipment manufactured by this Lithuanian company, TRUMPF cannot produce it. related equipment.”

"And even if you can get this step done, the next difficulty is how to collect this ultra-deep ultraviolet light to form an ultra-deep ultraviolet laser?"

"This involves optical systems."

When He Guangming saw that Cao Yang did not interrupt him, he thought that the other party was shocked by the difficulty of what he said.

So I continued to explain there very actively.

"This optical system developed for EUV can only be manufactured by one German company in the world, and it is the famous Zeiss."

“Many people may have heard that the camera lenses produced by Zeiss are among the best in the world, but compared with the lenses used in EUV optical systems, it is like the difference between an airplane with propellers spraying pesticides and a jet fighter. ”

"This optical system involves at least the following technical challenges: high-precision aspheric surface processing, multi-layer film mirrors, high-quality melting, ion beam polishing technology, and extreme precision grinding."

"The ultimate goal is to make a lens that is absolutely smooth and flat. How smooth does it have to be?"

"To use Zeiss's own promotional metaphor, even if this lens is enlarged to the size of the entire Germany, the fluctuation does not exceed 0.1 mm."

He Guangming wanted to continue explaining, but Cao Yang didn't want to listen to his popular science and said: "Mr. He, TRUMPF's laser equipment technology is indeed very powerful, but if you ask around, you will find that in laser cutting and In the field of laser welding, Nanshan Equipment has beaten TRUMPF to the point where it can no longer survive in China.”

"Take the laser cutting equipment required for hot stamping parts production lines in the automotive industry as an example. Among the more than 50 hot stamping production lines across the country, more than 80% of the laser cutting equipment is provided by Nanshan Equipment."

"So the difficulty you just mentioned about lasers is only compared to other manufacturers. For Nanshan equipment, it is not insurmountable."

‘I can even reveal some news that the laser of Nanshan Equipment has been successfully installed on the self-developed lithography machine. ’

"If Modu Microelectronics Equipment plans to continue producing lithography machines in the future, you can consider purchasing lasers from Nanshan Equipment, which will definitely bring you unexpected surprises."

"In addition, we have made a series of improvements to the optical system of the lithography machine. The relevant work has been basically completed. These technologies will be published in the form of papers in relevant magazines in the near future."

"Of course, I can also simply tell you, Mr. He, that although our optical system also requires high-precision lenses, the degree of exaggeration is far less than what Zeiss supplies to ASML."

"I admit that it is very difficult to make an absolutely smooth and flat lens. Zeiss can control the fluctuation of the lens to an error of about one atom, which is close to the theoretical physical limit. Our Nanshan equipment cannot yet do it, and it cannot be found in China. to manufacturers of similar level.”

"But we can make a relatively cumbersome improvement to this optical system and increase the size of the equipment to achieve the final goal in a different way."

"Although this will result in the volume of our lithography machine being much larger than that of ASML, there is no problem in meeting the production needs of 65-nanometer chips, even 40-nanometer and even 22-nanometer chips."

"The most important thing is that we don't need to produce EUV lithography machines immediately. It is enough to produce DUV lithography machines."

"In this way, the relevant technical difficulty immediately dropped by several levels."

When Cao Yang said this, He Guangming couldn't help but open his mouth.

If it weren't for Cao Yang who said this, he wouldn't believe it to be credible.

Can Nanshan equipment produce lasers at the same level as TRUMPF?

If the information Cao Yang just said is true, then it is possible that the laser level of Nanshan equipment is relatively high.

But what about the optical system?

Don’t think that DUV lithography machines are simpler than EUV lithography machines and that it’s that easy.

Is this something that can simply be replaced by an amplifying device?

It’s just nonsense, right?

Just like the first computer, it was a behemoth, using 18,000 electron tubes, covering an area of ​​170 square meters, weighing 30 tons, and consuming about 150 kilowatts of power, but it could only perform 5,000 calculations per second.

Now any junk laptop can kill it instantly.

Is this a problem that can be solved by being large?

If it were that simple, even giants like Nikon and Canon wouldn't start falling behind.

"Mr. Cao, are you sure these things are true?"

Although it was rude to ask, He Guangming couldn't help it and asked anyway.

If the news is true, it will be a huge change for China's chip industry.

This is also a major event related to the future development of Modu Microelectronics Equipment!