Chapter 156 Light Source and Waves
In the short term of ten or twenty years, the demand for computing power in the rapidly developing Daxia will be terrible.
Projects such as artificial intelligence, driverless driving, telemedicine, and AR/VR games all require tremendous computing power.
Quantum computing, carbon-based chips, these "overtaking around the corner" projects are basically laboratory projects, or papers...
Of course, there is good news here In several projects, Daxia has not been late to implement them, and they are basically at the forefront of the world.
Gu's plan at this time is to train tool men.
On the one hand, it is leading the Daxia semiconductor industry to upgrade and catch up to the three- and four-nanometer track. On the other hand, it is to use high-performance chips to manufacture intelligent robots and complete the implementation of quantum computer projects in the future.
Although the employees in the semiconductor department and even the entire Jiuzhou Technology Company are currently very loyal, there are some things that machines can keep secret better than people and are also more loyal than people.
And chips cannot always be manufactured by friendly forces.
For the future of Jiuzhou Technology and the future of Daxia, Li You and others from the semiconductor department began a new round of hair loss journey.
In fact, there has always been a shortage of patriotic scientific researchers in Daxia. However, due to the market environment and professional specificity, some industries were unable to receive official care at the beginning of the century.
Semiconductors Due to the certain chip incident at the beginning of the century, semiconductor talents can only find employment in foreign-funded companies.
In the current global semiconductor industry, Daxia has the largest proportion of scientific research talents. It can even be said that the advancement of world semiconductors is promoted by Daxia’s top talents.
The vice president of the semiconductor giant Applied Materials Corporation and the main promoter of the world's semiconductor etching technology is a native of Daxia.
The man who pioneered and promoted the immersion lithography system and brought chip lithography into the immersion era is also from Daxia. You must know that all high-end lithography machines are based on immersion optical technology. Basic manufacturing.
In Gu Qing's eyes, Li You and others are the kind of people who will take semiconductor textbooks in the future.
At this moment, people in the semiconductor department are solving one problem, light source.
Lithography machine Lithography machine can also be understood as a machine that uses light to engrave chips.
Extreme ultraviolet light source, which is the light source used by EUV lithography machines.
The manufacturing process can produce chips below 7nm, but this light source has been monopolized by the Dutch company ASML.
Gu Qing has recently been teaching the semiconductor department to develop a light source called stable micro-bunching, SS1MB light source.
The wavelength of this light source can cover from terahertz to extreme ultraviolet band, and can become a new light source technology for EUV lithography machines.
At present, there are concepts for this project at home and abroad, and some people are starting to work on it. However, if you look at the process, no matter how lucky you are, it will take three or four years to have laboratory products.
That is the next ten years. Compared with the current 18 years, it is a bit far away.
Of course, as a friendly businessman at this time, Xia Xin has done a big thing this year.
In May 2018, Xia Xin Technology ordered a set of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) equipment from Dutch chip equipment manufacturer ASML worth US$120 million.
There is also a manufacturer, Dajiang Memory. His first lithography machine is also from ASML. It is a 193nm immersion lithography machine, priced at US$72 million, and used for the 14nm-20nm process.
Look, there are actually some partners who have been working hard on this road, and they were moving forward before they were suppressed.
Because the matter was so important, the personnel in the semiconductor department not only signed a bunch of confidential documents, but some of their relatives also accepted arrangements to return to China.
However, when Gu Qing came to the research and development area of the department office, he did not see anyone slacking off or looking downcast. It is their wish to add a monument to their industry and work hard for Daxia Semiconductor.
Especially under Gu Qing's "vigorous" cultivation, his future and money path were guaranteed.
“We are all the young generation in this industry. We all know how far-sighted the technology you gave Mr. Gu is. Light source is the key technology that limits the development of our Daxia semiconductor.
So We are all working overtime on experimental deductions. We are all happy for our colleagues and the company about the success of the bionic mechanical prosthetic project, but we want to produce results as soon as possible so that the entire Daxia Semiconductor does not rely on foreign light sources.”
Li You was explaining on the side.
Although he knew that Gu Qing understood them, this kind of thing still needed to be explained.
If someone wears small shoes, wouldn’t it be a loss of blood?
Gu Qing naturally understands.
After all, in the semiconductor industry, every project is protected by a patent wall, and the light source is the lifeblood, so this group of semiconductor people are so obsessed with it.
"How is the current progress?" he asked.
Li You frowned, "It's not going very well. What we learned at the beginning was the third-generation lithography machine that uses 248nm KrF excimer laser as the light source and the fourth-generation lithography machine that uses 193nm ArF excimer laser. .
The theory on light sources is still unfamiliar, and the instruments they provide in Germany are not the most advanced ones, and the storage rings in our country are not very..."
Gu Qing said. Understanding, he sighed and said: "This is normal. To reach the national level, It is not easy to reach the internationally advanced level, but we still have a research department that is undergoing renovation. Both the instrument and the storage ring will be given to you at the end of this month.
ASML1 company uses high-energy pulse laser to bombard liquid tin targets. forming plasma The body then produces an EUV light source with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers, with a power of about 250 watts.
As chip process nodes continue to shrink, the requirements for EUV light source power will continue to increase, and it is estimated to reach the kilowatt level. >
The EUV light source based on SS1MB is expected to achieve greater average power and has the potential to expand to shorter wavelengths, so the prospects of our SS1MB light source are certain.
Don’t panic. Once the preliminary theoretical homework is done, the practical experiment next month will proceed smoothly. "
Li You nodded and smiled, "I know that our R&D personnel work overtime and study every day after the production work is completed. We work by ourselves and don't need to look at the expressions of outsiders, so everyone's There is plenty of motivation. "
Gu Qing originally wanted to chat for a while, but Dong Qi's phone call came suddenly.
Well, to be precise, he called the office management of the semiconductor department and found Gu Qing.
Gu Qing took the phone that was handed to him.
“You have something to do with me?”
“Mr. Gu, Brother Gu, our phone calls are almost exploding!
In addition to partners, there are also international organizations You are interested in our bionic prosthetic technology and want to win some of the quotas that will be distributed tomorrow.”
“Follow the rules, do you still need me to teach you?”
"I know we have to follow the rules, but there are senior officials in the United States who are speaking out."
"What do they say about us?
You and Lao Huang should not go abroad recently. Pay attention to safety, and the quota for tomorrow will be left to our company’s system.”
(End of this chapter)