Tech Hammer

There is no doubt that the result of this conversation was an unhappy ending.

For Pat Gelsinger, what he felt was probably the ultimate humiliation, a humiliation that could only be overcome by... giving up the conversation. He still listened to half of Tim Cook's words. After all, it was meaningless to say harsh words at this time.

What made him even more confused was that he couldn't figure out where Ning Wei's boundless resentment towards him came from. Is it because Intel released a promotional video during this special period? Is this young man so sensitive?

If this was really the reason, he couldn't figure out how Tim Cook could communicate effectively with Ning Wei. Of course, there is also a possibility that the communication between the two parties was not friendly, so Tim Cook went to Shenzhen early in the morning, hoping to get some promises from another so-called partner. Maybe this is the truth.

But now Pat Gelsinger really feels that he is in a dilemma. It is not just Ning Wei's uncooperation, but more importantly, Tim Cook's ambiguous attitude.

Strictly speaking, Intel does not belong to the typical B to C company. Most of the time, Intel's chips are cooperated with those complete machine manufacturers. But it is also different from a pure B to B company, because the performance of the CPU directly determines the running speed of a computer. Electronic enthusiasts all over the world are also paying attention to every improvement in its CPU performance.

If we could maintain a technological monopoly in the past, this specialness would actually be an advantage. It not only has stable cash flow, but also gets widespread attention from around the world. But Intel's shortcoming is that it needs to keep up with the downstream to determine its dominance.

For example, for the newly launched Intel 12 series, before the CPU is officially mass-produced, it will say hello to the major motherboard manufacturers in advance, inform them of the technical standards and parameters of the newly launched CPU, and even give opinions to the motherboard manufacturers on how to design the motherboard to maximize its performance. Show the performance of the new CPU.

If there is a motherboard manufacturer that ignores it and wants to cooperate wholeheartedly with AMD, but does not want to cooperate with Intel in producing motherboards, Intel will most likely not care. Because any powerful motherboard manufacturer dare not ignore hundreds of millions of customers. This is the appeal of the big brother in the semiconductor industry. It is not Intel that begs these motherboard manufacturers at any time, but motherboard manufacturers must find ways to keep up with Intel.

Intel can use any convenient interconnect technology to achieve any functional requirements, but motherboard manufacturers have to match it unconditionally. This is Big Brother's card. Because countless customers recognize the Intel logo, as for the unsatisfactory AMD, the shrinking market will prove who is the well-deserved leader in this industry.

But no matter how arrogant Pat Gelsinger is, he doesn’t underestimate Apple’s appeal. Not to mention that he may also face the dual combination of Apple + Huawei...

When the two direct-to-consumer behemoths really started to cooperate, and there were new semiconductor technology additions, Pat Gelsinger simply did not believe that they would still honestly focus on their own three acres. Divide the land. Not to mention that both Apple and Huawei have their own computer businesses.

If these two companies really start to work together to use new technologies to make chips, this will be a bug for Intel!

Coupled with Tim Cook's ability to integrate resources, and the artificial intelligence platform that has now shown to be extremely powerful, and to come up with a universal operating system, it is estimated that Microsoft will have to kneel down to these two.

After leaving Ning Wei's office, the mountain of heavy pressure made Pat Gelsinger feel a little breathless. After thinking for a long time, I finally decided to follow Tim Cook's footsteps and head directly to the Deep City...

The only problem is probably that he came in a different way than Tim Cook did.

Tim Cook's visit to China was very low-key. He did not notify any media in advance and did not make any publicity. But he came in a very high-profile manner, and even released the parameters of the new generation of desktop-class CPUs directly on the official website during his visit to China in order to build momentum.

So Tim Cook can still be extremely low-key when he goes to Deep City, but he can't.

Every move he makes is watched by countless pairs of eyes. For example, when he visited Ning Wei today, he was pestered by many reporters when he walked out of the hotel. That is to say, the security measures he accompanied and the current security measures at Yanbei University were extremely strong, so he probably would not be followed into the Mathematics Research Center. However, the scene of him walking into Yanbei University early in the morning has probably gone viral on the Internet.

It is neither possible nor convenient for him to hide his decision to go to Shenzhen City from the media. In order to appear more candid, he may need to take the initiative to contact Shenzhen City. Maybe he should also accept interviews from the media there...

From this point alone, Pat Gelsinger feels that Tim Cook is indeed an old fox. However, the matter has come to this, and he seems to have no better choice now. For the time being, we can only take one step forward and take a step back.

Just thinking about the young man who had cornered him made Pat Gelsinger feel itching with hatred.

…

What Pat Gelsinger wanted at this time was to let Ning Wei die as soon as possible, but in some people's minds, Ning Wei was just a treasure at this time. If he was said to be dead, it would be like missing a hair. Worldwide loss.

For example, experts from the Institute of Microelectronics.

This time Chen Mingcai sent them two CNMD architecture chips with a 65-nanometer manufacturing process. One of them was a high-quality finished product, and the other was a defective product that was based on the standards given in March.

Normal finished products are used for various performance tests, while defective products are dismantled and their internal structures analyzed to make the best use of them. As Chen Mingcai said to Tian Yanzhen, these ten chips are not cheap. If you only calculate the upfront cost, it will exceed 100 million every minute, which is equivalent to a chip worth 10,000, so you must make the best use of them.

The results of the test are basically predictable.

Not to mention the test results of the finished product, when the complex and orderly internal structure of the 65-nanometer manufacturing process, which is like a work of art, was presented to everyone through an electron microscope, there were already tears in the eyes of some people at the scene.

It is indeed a 65nm manufacturing process! Especially when you get the test report simultaneously.

Look at the delicate structure of carbon nanotubes inside. The chip is smaller than the previous generation, but its performance is more powerful. The amplifiers, mixers, power dividers, filters... etc. are mixed together in such a Even the great works of art in various places were not as shocking as the scene in front of them!

Isn’t this what their generation is striving for and even the meaning of existence? Now it’s finally happened!

Yes, if the 180-nanometer process has only improved everyone's morale and allowed everyone to see the future development direction that breaks through layers of shackles, then there are only four words to describe this scene!

"The future has come! The future has come!" Academician Zhong murmured to himself, and the tears in the corners of his eyes were enough to illustrate his mood at this time.

People who have never experienced being stuck in a laboratory and working hard just hoping to push the project forward a little bit will most likely not understand this state of mind.

Whether it is a hobby or a responsibility, there are always some people who spend the best time of their lives in the laboratory, except for necessary rest, almost all the time, just to make some technologies come from scratch, from backward to advanced. lead. And many of them remain unknown even throughout their lives and are never known to the public. But fortunately, these people can make the country stronger and stronger.

The information spread at the speed of light and soon reached the computer of the Pearl Semiconductor Research Institute. Soon, high-definition pictures and the final test report from all directions were presented in front of Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan looked at the picture, looked at the various parameters attached to the picture, and recalled in his mind the scene of going to Ning's house that night under Chen Mingcai's leadership.

He couldn't figure out why such a good kid wanted to follow Tian Yanzhen to study that crappy math thing! What’s good about Beijing? Is it as prosperous as the Pearl? Wouldn’t it be nice to come to their microelectronics institute to teach doctoral students?

Just then there was a knock on his office door.

"Please come in."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his student walking into the office.

"Director Zhang, are you looking for me?"

"Well, Xiao Fu is here. Yesterday, you were still talking about the 65-nanometer process. Was it a joke? The Institute of Microelectronics has already received the finished chip. The structural diagram has been sent to me. Come and take a look. ." Zhang Yuan said neither salty nor coldly.

"Ah?! Have the finished chips been made?" Fu Zhou asked subconsciously, and his disbelieving tone probably reflected how surprised the professional was at this moment. Of course, this did not affect the fact that he had already turned his head around. He leaned over and looked at the structural diagram in Zhang Yuan's computer.

The picture itself doesn't tell much, but the parameters detailed next to it speak for themselves.

"Now you know where people's technical level is, right? I told you from the first day you came here that you must be humble in our industry. Why should we be humble? Because we can't do as well as others, and our technology is not as good as others. Others, if we want to achieve something, we must have the mentality of a primary school student. Look at you, how many words have you listened to what I told you?"

"Don't think I didn't hear the complaints you made in the conference room yesterday. What does it mean to be so young and have no clue? You can evaluate people?! I'm just confused. How can the gap between doctoral students be enough? Is it so big? It’s okay if the gap is big. We can’t ask everyone to be that great, right? But why are some people so ignorant? How can someone become a household name? How many people know you after you’ve done this? Don't you have any idea in your heart? Who is this that can't tell the truth? Why don't you see you go to heaven if you are so capable?"

Zhang Yuan glared at the students who were approaching him and asked questions one after another.

By the way, why did he take a fancy to such a guy in the first place?

I used to think that this little guy was energetic, talented, and a promising talent, but now it seems that he was mistaken. This is really what makes people compare to each other to death, and they have to throw away goods when comparing goods... I'm wrong!

Zhang Yuan's questions made Fu Zhou blush. He probably never expected that his tutor would hear his casual remarks while watching the live broadcast yesterday. He obviously didn't see his mentor. However, it was obvious that he could not argue at this time. Looking at the still angry mentor, Fu Zhou murmured: "Director Zhang, I was wrong!"

"Do you really know that you are wrong?" Zhang Yuan glanced at the student.

"Yeah!" Fu Zhou nodded quickly.

Zhang Yuan stared at Fu Zhou and said with emotion: "In the future, complain less and do more practical things. You have caught up with the best era. The silicon-based semiconductors we studied before have almost reached their limit, but Now there is a new way, and the intellectual property rights belong to our own people. In the future, you will not be subject to any restrictions if you want to study. If you really succeed in your studies, you will be able to work in the core circle of technology in the future. You How many Chinese people do you think there are in Intel’s core laboratories?”

"So don't think it's a big deal to delay your graduation for a year. It's really only in this environment that you have the opportunity to receive the latest and most advanced technical information at the age of study, and master the future of this planet. Technologies, without Academician Ning’s guidance, you may never be exposed to these in your lifetime, do you understand?”

Fu Zhou nodded again, but muttered to point out a slight mistake in the teacher's words: "But Director Zhang, that's not Academician Ning, that's Dr. Ning."

"Huh?" Zhang Yuan was stunned, and then murmured to himself thoughtfully: "Academician? Doctor? Academician! Doctor! That's right!"

After saying that, Zhang Yuan slapped his thigh, startling the students standing next to him. Then he guessed a possibility and subconsciously asked: "Director Zhang, do you want to recommend Dr. Ning to run for academician?"

"What? Can't I run for academician because of my achievements?" Zhang Yuan looked at Fu Zhou and asked.

"Yes, yes, but the online introduction shows that Dr. Ning is only 24 years old. He ran for academicianship at the age of 24..."

"Since when does it depend on age to run for academicians? That's what the Department of Mathematical Physics likes to do! We are a technical department. If we don't promote more young people, why should we wait for more than ten years? Okay, what should you do? Go, don't be an eyesore here. Have you digested all the previous learning materials? Go and study the CNMD architecture! Go, go!" Zhang Yuan said, waving his hand.

"Ah..." Fu Zhou wanted to say something, but seeing his tutor's impatient look, he could only swallow his words and silently walked towards the door. At this time, the tutor behind him couldn't wait to take out his phone and dial. go out……

"Hey, Lao Zhong, something suddenly occurred to me. Tell me, should we recommend Yi Ning Wei's achievements?... What should I recommend? What else can I recommend? Of course, recommending him to become an academician... This is also It’s just that the new regulations require the recommendee to be recommended by more than three academicians and two from the same department, otherwise I won’t even bother to call you..."

"What? It's too early? Too young? I said, Lao Zhong, use your brain and think about it, he is Lao Tian's shameless student! Do you think Lao Tian will give us a chance when we wait for him to graduate with his Ph.D.? He is a mathematician. Can’t the department gather a few people? That’s what I think, we still have to say hello to a few friends in the engineering department, and we need to improve our favorability first, right?”

"Yes, yes, we both have to make recommendations first. I have already opened the co-optation system and am about to start writing e-recommendations. We have to get people to come to our camp first. No matter whether it succeeds or not, that child has to remember it. Ours is good, right? In the future, if we ask him to come to the institute to teach, give some guidance, or maybe shift his energy a little bit, it would be nice to ask, right?"

"That's what I mean. Don't look at the fact that he developed this chip. You also have to remember that he just won the Chen Shengshen Mathematics Prize and the Wolf Mathematics Prize last year! You don't know about Lao Tian? He must have made arrangements for us. It’s just about taking him by surprise! Okay, that’s it, you write a letter of recommendation quickly, and by the way, find a few more people in your institute to make recommendations. I’ll also find a few friends here, and I’ll contact the engineering institute.”

"Yeah, okay, don't spread this out in advance, lest Lao Tian knows about it and takes action. Think about it, if it succeeds, Lao Tian is an academician, and Ning Wei is also an academician. I think that old guy has the nerve to continue to be Ning Wei. Not for the instructor! Let’s do this for now! Fail!”

Fu Zhou, who was eavesdropping at the door, was stunned.

I have to say that my instructor is very imaginative.

Not only did he get votes to recommend Ning Wei to become this year's candidate academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but he also planned to find friends from the Chinese Academy of Engineering to recommend Ning Wei to become an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering at the same time? If it succeeds, will it mean that a 24-year-old academician of the two academies will be promoted in person?

At this time, Fu Zhou's mind couldn't help but recall the scene of the meeting of the fellows. Looking around, there are mostly big guys in their 60s, and a 24-year-old young man is hiding among them. What a cool scene it is. The sense of immersion is extremely strong and the feeling of satisfaction is very satisfying. The only problem is that it is a pity that the protagonist is not him.

What’s even more frightening is that this is just to grab people. It is conceivable that with Ning’s current achievements in the mathematics world, there is a high probability that there will be no problem in being an academician of the Department of Mathematics and Science of the Academy of Sciences in the future.

As he thought about it, Fu Zhou suddenly felt like crying.

Why are the differences between people so big? Dr. Ning probably never thought that he could apply for academicianship at such a young age, but a group of big guys helped him think of it first! Thinking about how fierce the competition for academician quotas is every year, people are almost old enough to sharpen their heads and want to get in, but this one is useless. Not only do some people take the initiative to build steps, but some people want to carry him directly on their backs. …

But then again, who really wants to achieve Ning Wei's achievements, and who doesn't want to compete for it? If Ning Wei knew what his mentor was doing for him, he would probably be really touched, right?

…

It was obvious that Fu Zhou had gone astray.

If Ning Wei knew about this at this time, he most likely wouldn't feel too moved, but would only find it troublesome. It was as if the Internet was already in turmoil at this time. But we really can't blame the netizens. It's really the news he revealed in his acceptance speech that was really shocking.

The original 180nm process is pushed directly to 65nm at every turn. This is so outrageous! You must know that children in kindergarten all know that doing things must be done step by step, and building blocks must have a solid foundation before they can be stacked higher.

Although 99% of people on the Internet have not even figured out what the CNMD architecture is, what instruments are needed to prepare the so-called three-dimensional silicon through-silicon chip technology, and what is the high-purity carbon nanotube solution? How to prepare it, and how to arrange the carbon nanotubes to achieve the performance required by the chip, after all, these technical details have not been announced so far.

But many people know how to look up information, find ready-made clues, and then popularize science!

For example, in 2001, the chip manufacturing process was 130 nanometers, and Intel's representative product at that time was the Pentium 3 processor. Three years later, in 2004, the first year of 90 nanometer was reached. The Pentium 4 processor of that year was the first to adopt the 90 nanometer manufacturing process. At that time, Intel, Infineon, Texas Instruments, IBM, as well as UMC and Taiwan Island Chip Electricity probably has this technology at the same time. It was not until 2006 that Intel and AMD launched 65-nanometer manufacturing technology.

In other words, looking back at the history of silicon chip development, it took the world five years to advance the chip manufacturing process from 130 nanometers to 65 nanometers. And this progress is not just the history of chip manufacturing progress. In 2002, an engineer from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. proposed the concept of wet method, which allowed the lithography machine technology to break through from the dry lithography machine to the immersion lithography machine. By 2004, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and ASML jointly developed the first-generation immersion lithography machine, which pushed the chip manufacturing process forward by an era.

Now let’s switch to Ning Wei. From the last time he appeared in the news, letting people know that a doctor of mathematics in China has developed a new chip architecture that can subvert the semiconductor market, to yesterday when he appeared in the Wolf Award Ceremony It is less than a month since the speech claimed that the new chip process will be broken through to 65 nanometers.

This is enough to make most people feel incredible. What is going on? In other words, under what circumstances can a new technology take less than a month to complete a technological leap that previously took the world five years to complete? Isn’t it agreed that technology is mainly accumulated?

What’s even more frightening is that I haven’t heard of any innovations in the related instruments and equipment for manufacturing this new chip? Which company produces the equipment for this new chip? Is it listed? These questions were raised. Was Ning Wei's speech just nonsense? These questions have been raised online.

The last time this new structure was released, it made the news that day. Yesterday, Ningwei claimed to have broken through the 65nm process. Is there any test result to support it?

It cannot be said that netizens are very curious. After all, many people in the industry have doubts about Ning Wei's words, not to mention that there are many netizens who are waiting for a series of news to be announced in order to buy potential stocks in the future.

After all, it is a new technology that has been reported by the central media, and there is a national treasure-level academician platform of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In the future, it will inevitably focus on the development of related industries. The exposure of the upstream and downstream supply chains of new chips at this time is enough to ignite the enthusiasm of all Chinese investors. People in the financial circle have analyzed it, and the most conservative estimate is that in the future, the stock prices of companies involved in the new semiconductor manufacturing industry chain will rise three to five times in the short term, which is not a problem at all.

Especially when Ningwei claims to have solved the 65-nanometer process, it is almost certain that the stock prices of this type of companies will continue to skyrocket. This time, the analysis of people in the financial circle is quite reliable. At present, the stock prices of domestic listed companies related to the manufacturing and production of carbon nanotubes have collectively experienced a surge. That is to say, when Ning Wei spoke, it was on Saturday night, and the market was still closed the next day. However, it is foreseeable that Ning Wei's words are a major benefit to related industries. If the results are really proven, the market opening of related companies on Monday will The stock price is expected to reach the daily limit again...

This means that there are no cameras in Wei Wei's office, otherwise the images and conversation content of his Sunday morning exchange with the president of Intel will be uploaded to the Internet. It is estimated that it will be another wave of major benefits for the entire leading company in the Chinese semiconductor industry.

Therefore, the discussion on the Internet at this time is no longer limited to technology enthusiasts or ordinary people's concern for China's technological progress, but also involves the economic interests of many people. Various gossips have begun to circulate crazily on the Internet, such as who provided the equipment for Ning Wei's research chip laboratory, and the engineers of this company worked overtime for several weeks in a row, just to meet the technical standards proposed by Ning Wei, or The silicon base material for producing this kind of chip is provided by so and so, and it is purchased through bidding...

Regardless of the fact that some semiconductor companies' main business is only LED...

Of course, some people say that in fact, all the equipment in the laboratory is imported from high-end instrument and equipment manufacturing countries such as Europe and the United States. All the gossip is to deceive people into cutting leeks...

All of this is just gossip. After all, no listed company has actually announced these major good news on its official website so far. People outside are very confused about this. Most people in the industry understand that either the equipment supply is completed by some non-listed companies, or a confidentiality agreement is signed directly during the direct purchase, without the permission of the purchaser or before certain preset conditions are met. No information can be revealed to the outside world.

But no matter what, for these professionals, many people are looking forward to getting accurate news, which will help them make more accurate market judgments. After all, semiconductors have been the hottest sector recently, especially since the official business department and the technology department jointly issued preferential policies to promote new semiconductors to the market. During this period, most fund managers and investors are focusing on semiconductor-related industries. .

The specific manifestation of its popularity is that not only on various knowledge-based platforms, related issues are directly on the top of hot searches, and the popularity on various social media is also extremely terrifying.

For example, on Zhihu, "Ningwei announced at the Wolf Prize Award Ceremony that its self-developed three-dimensional through-silicon chip technology (CNMD structure) has reached a 65-nanometer process. Is this announcement credible? Technology has really begun to show a leap in development. Is it a trend?" Three hours after this question was raised, it had directly occupied the first place on the 24-hour hot search list, with a popularity of 73 million, while the second place had only a popularity of 16 million.

At the same time, on Weibo, # Ningwei’s rapid upgrade of CNMD structure chip manufacturing technology has doubts about its authenticity. # also ranked first in the hot search list, and the popularity once reached 280 million, also far surpassing the second place. This platform, which was once world-famous for chasing stars, suddenly became like a big V who didn’t know a bit about technology theory and was too embarrassed to go out and say hello to people.

If you open the hot search index ranking of Qiandu, you will find that "three-dimensional silicon silicon tube chip technology", "the difference between 180 nanometer process and 65 nanometer process", "world chip process development history", "Ningwei" and "CNMD structure" have all become a network The number of hot words and searches are measured in hundreds of millions.

Not to mention some more professional forums, such as electronics enthusiasts. After opening it, you will find that you will find at least ten pages after scrolling back, almost all of which are discussions about new processes, with occasional discussions about drones and robots. , VR discussion...

Even players on many well-known game forums have begun to discuss whether the new chip process breakthrough is true or false. If it is true, what changes will it bring to China's gaming industry...

There are also various other channels such as discussions in Moments, various public account topic-related indexes, stock bar discussion indexes, etc... If you look deeper, you will find that CNMD, the four English abbreviations that Chinese people look at, is very friendly. It has become a hot topic among the people. Now when an uncle goes out to buy groceries, he will not think that it is a curse when he sees the four letters CNMD...

Of course, there are also those who make jokes in the opposite direction. For example, in the comment area of ​​a big V that makes all kinds of nonsense, many people began to copy and paste this sentence: "To popularize scientific knowledge for you, do you know what the latest chip structure is named? Tell you: CNMD!”

Really, except for the Nobel Month, it is difficult to see technology becoming a hot topic for national discussion, but Ning Wei has done it now, without even using large-scale official media, just casually announced it at an awards ceremony in order to get a night of freedom Just a piece of news.

Some professors studying communication have even begun to record this case and plan to treat it as a topic for targeted research and even use it as a final thesis topic for undergraduate graduates. After all, every phenomenon-level information dissemination fission has its own internal logic lines that can be mined.

As for the Intel 12 series, which was hotly discussed the day before...

Um? What is that? !

Finally, with much anticipation on the Internet, a very brief latest news was posted on the website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"After testing and verification by experts from the Institute of Semiconductors of our institute, the standards of the 65-nanometer CNMD structure RF chip provided by China Frontier Intelligent Technology R\u0026D Center far exceed various international standards, and the performance greatly exceeds similar international products. It is understood that , the three-dimensional 65nm manufacturing process has basically reached mass production conditions."

Soon, many official Weibo accounts in China reposted the news, and various big Vs also took notice and began to interpret the news word for word. Generally speaking, the fewer the number of words in an official message, the bigger the message, and the more serious it must be when interpreted.

For example, what does "the 65-nanometer CNMD structure RF chip provided" indicate? It means that what Ningwei announced is not just theoretical, but the kitten in March has been rubbed out directly...

Another example is the sentence "Basically reached the conditions for mass production." The word "basic" has a lot of meaning, but if combined with the 65-nanometer process, it is enough to push it back a bit, and it will be at least as good as the world's first-class RF chips in 180-nanometer manufacturing. Technology and mass production are completely fine. As for 65 nanometers being used to manufacture radio frequency chips? Is this crazy? Traditional silicon chips only use 90 nanometer technology.

So everyone knows what the 65nm manufacturing process will be used for in the future!