Chapter 152 The 48nm lithography machine is at work, Longxing X2 is coming!
The Magic City of Dragon Kingdom.
Loongson International Corporation.
In Gao Yongming's office, Chief Engineer Feng Chengming had a gloomy face and asked in disbelief: "Are you saying that Li Zaiyong has the evidence of our OEM Qingzhou chip and came to Longguo to find Chen Xing in person? Conditions?”
“What Chen Xing just called is basically not false.”
Gao Yongming also responded with a stern face.
He feels very embarrassed now that there are actually rats in their house, and they are also involved in the Qingzhou chip production process.
The most important thing now is that he doesn't know who the mouse is.
Feng Chengming sighed and said, "If something like this happens, we have to clear up the hidden dangers in time. Do you have anyone to suspect?"
"No clue at all." Gao Yongming shook his head. Shaking his head, he continued: "Obviously they are still the same group of people, but what went wrong in any link and let the Korean Star Group know about it."
"Wait!"
Feng Chengming suddenly thought of something. Although he didn't want to admit it, he still said it: "Could it be my batch of students?"
"This... ”
Gao Yongming didn’t dare to make random guesses.
Mainly because of Feng Chengming's face, he didn't think about it at all, but after he mentioned it, the range of suspected targets was narrowed.
Although Gao Yongming did not continue, Feng Chengming already had a plan to catch this mouse.
……
The other side.
Headquarters of Longxing Technology Company.
Chen Xing kept calling the bosses of the Domestic Alliance, explaining the situation he had just encountered and asking them to be more vigilant.
Fortunately, this time it was the Korean Star Group, and they have always had a relationship of interest with each other. If it had been any other force, the news would have spread to the ears of the West.
Settling the threat from the Li brothers and sisters temporarily does not mean that they will not be threatened in the future. The construction of a photolithography factory is imminent.
Only by truly localizing chips can we compete with the West.
At the same time.
Shin-Etsu Chemical Group announced that it will stop providing semiconductor silicon wafers, photoresists and corresponding supporting reagents to Longxing Technology Company.
Shortly after the announcement was issued, the four world semiconductor silicon wafer companies, Shenggao Group, Global Wafer, Sitronie, and SKSiltron, also followed suit and stated that they would suspend business dealings with Longxing Technology Company.
Obviously.
The West does not want Chen Xing to purchase too many chip raw materials.
Because no matter whether they can prove their success or not, they will sanction Longxing Technology Company. This is just a forward-looking notice.
However, if self-certification is successful, the secret of Loongson International can continue to survive for a while.
International companies in the semiconductor field have issued announcements one after another, forcing Chen Xing to complete self-certification quickly.
In the West, both Wall Street and the House of Representatives are focusing on Longxing Technology Company and want to see the reality of chip production.
If it is really confirmed, it will be a bit scary.
It is equivalent to taking over the two links of chip design and chip production, approaching the status of the Korean Star Group as a super factory.
But they are also curious. It is clear that the three EDA software giants Synopsys, Cadence, and Mentor have banned Longxing Technology from using the software. How can they continue to design?
The small Longxing Technology Company hides too many secrets.
......
While the big guys in the semiconductor field around the world are showing off, time is also passing by quietly.
A few days later.
Blue and Green Factory Chip Factory.
Lin Tian was doing the finishing work on the photomask of the Kaitian baseband chip, focusing on the numerical values of the equipment.
Because of the superb craftsmanship, there were no surprises in the finishing work.
“Didi——”
The laser beam direct writing device emits a beep.
Yang Fangcai, the chief engineer of the blue and green factory, quickly stepped forward, looked at the photomask and said, "Chief Lin, what should we do now?"
"Cleaning, testing, If there are defects, we will repair them; if there are no defects, we will put them into production.”
Lin Tian kept the story short.
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked at Chen Xing beside him and said, "It should be ready for mass production soon. Don't worry, CEO."
Chen Xing has been spending time here these days, Even if he wants to be lazy, he can't help it.
But it can also be seen that he attaches great importance to chip production. After all, this is the first time to use a 48-nanometer photolithography machine to produce chips.
Chen Yong, the boss of Blue and Green Factory, did not stay aloof. In the past few days, whenever he had time, he visited the chip production factory to inquire about the progress and chatted with Chen Xing about the development of the market.
Hearing this, Chen Xing nodded and asked the question he was most concerned about: "The Kaitian baseband chip should be fine, but the SOC God chip is a combination of four photomask patterns. 48nm light Is it really possible to engrave a machine? "
The difference between two-in-one and four-in-one is only one word, but the difficulty factor is increased dozens of times.
Lin Tian yawned and said without taking it to heart: "It's all the same, wait until the photomask is sent to show you my skills."
"I believe you."
Chen Xing smiled lightly.
While the two were talking leisurely, the photolithography engineers at the blue and green factory had already finished cleaning the photomasks and took them to check whether the circuit patterns were complete.
A moment later.
Chief Engineer Yang Fangcai trotted back with joy on his face.
“It’s done! Engineer Lin, Mr. Chen, the photomask patterns we produced have no defects and do not need to be repaired!”
The words just fell.
The engineers around were laughing loudly.
“Hahaha! It’s done!”
“It took more than twenty days to finally produce this damn photomask. Next is the multiple exposure technology. I’m really looking forward to it. , I don’t know what it will be like.”
“You don’t understand this. I was sent here from Loongson International. The multiple exposure technology is to expose twice, just like the Yin and Yang Tai Chi diagram. Others It can be exposed at one time, and we will expose the yin and yang sides separately.”
“That’s it, I’m really looking forward to it!”
“This is something that has never been taught in school. I really want to witness it with my own eyes!”
Listening to the admirations around him, Lin Tian didn't even raise his eyelids. He already knew the production results of the photomask.
If he cannot produce qualified photomasks even by himself, then no one in the world can do it.
Confidence! It’s not just talk!
"I will only teach you the multiple exposure technique once, you should take care of it yourself."
Lin Tian said lightly.
When Yang Fangcai, the chief lithography engineer of the blue and green factory, heard this, he quickly responded: "I understand, we must study hard."
Because we were about to enter the clean area of the lithography machine, It is basically impossible to carry a mobile phone and can only rely on naked eye observation. How much they can learn depends entirely on their own talent.
"President, do you want to go together?"
Lin Tian asked sideways. Chen Xing also wanted to witness it, and said lightly: "I have nothing to do here anyway, it doesn't hurt to go in and have a look."
Just after he finished speaking, he lowered his voice and warned: "Try to teach me carefully. You can't stay here all the time to give birth."
"Understood."
Lin Tian nodded.
He knew very well that Chen Xing had been helping him get a small particle accelerator. When the equipment arrived, he was going to build a photolithography factory. There would be no time to teach them multiple exposure techniques.
……
Clean area of lithography machine.
The moment Chen Yong, the boss of the blue and green factory, learned that the photomask production was completed, he rushed to the factory non-stop, also wanting to witness the production process of Kaitian baseband chips.
In front of the 48nm lithography machine, Lin Tian is giving lectures to lithography engineers.
“Multiple exposure technology, as the name suggests, uses multiple exposures and etchings to obtain the circuit pattern we ultimately want.”
“For example, the Kaitian baseband chip we want to produce , it is a 28nm process, but our lithography machine is a 48nm process, what should we do if the accuracy and resolution are far from enough?”
“The most direct way is to change the lithography machine, but we have Without this condition, we need to work hard on the photomask to disassemble the original complete circuit pattern and divide it into two or four pieces with complementary yin and yang, so as to obtain two circuit patterns with 56 nanometer intervals. "
“A single exposure is 56 nanometers. Can the accuracy and resolution of a 48 nanometer process lithography machine be sufficient for production operations?”
“This is multiple exposure technology.”< br>
Teacher Lin Tianwanru taught the students very carefully, and also demonstrated the entire process of multiple exposure technology in practice.
Chief engineer Yang Fangcai and other lithography engineers were stunned.
What kind of genius idea is this?
The equipment is not enough, so we need craftsmanship!
No wonder Loongson International is able to produce 14nm canoe chips. It turns out that they have learned multiple exposure technology.
Chen Yong, who was late, listened to Lin Tian's selfless teaching, quickly came to Chen Xing and said: "Brother Chen, thank you very much this time."
Although both of them were wearing dustproof suits and couldn't see their specific faces, they were on the periphery of the crowd of engineers attending the lecture, so it was easy to guess each other's identities.
Chen Xing heard the voice of Chen Yong and responded with a smile: "They are all from the domestic alliance, so we don't need to be so polite. We have to borrow your lithography machine during this period. "
"Haha, I'm too ignorant." Chen Yong nodded, and then continued: "Brother Chen, you can use it as long as you want. If necessary, I will buy two for you. .”
“I appreciate Brother Chen’s kindness. Let’s discuss this later.”
Chen Xing declined politely.
He didn’t have that much money to spend more than 100 million to buy a 48nm lithography machine. He would rather invest in a lithography factory.
However, the photolithography factory is top secret, so he doesn’t tell anyone about it.
Although the domestic alliance is good, people are alienated from each other. If the benefits are big enough, no one can say whether there will be rats.
Seeing Chen Xing's polite refusal, Chen Yong was also a smart man and said nothing more. The two of them quietly waited for the chip to be produced.
Half an hour later.
A lithography engineer took the packaged Kaitian baseband chip and quickly came to Chen Yong and Chen Xing and said:
“It’s done, it’s 28 nanometers!”
"Is the test clear?"
Chen Yong asked quickly.
If the chip is really 28 nanometers, it means that the multiple exposure technology is real, and his lithography machine has turned waste into treasure!
“It’s 28nm!”
“How is the yield of cutting die?”
“95%!”
“Our engineers operate "
"In that case..."
The engineer hesitated to speak. Chen Yong was in a good mood today, waved his hand and said: "Just tell me, how is your yield rate? "
"Very low..."
The engineer just finished speaking and quickly added: "Except for Chief Yang Fangcai, no one else has fully mastered the multiple exposure technology. The film is still a little far away."
At this time, Chen Xing also stood up and explained to Chen Yong: "Multiple exposure technology requires some investment in the early stage. Because of slight deviations, the entire silicon wafer will be scrapped. .”
"The whole picture?"
Chen Yong took a breath.
The semiconductor silicon wafers they currently use are 12 inches. If you make a mistake and scrap one, it will be equivalent to thousands of dollars in tuition.
Chen Xing smiled slightly and continued to explain: "Printing a circuit pattern is similar to stamping an official seal. If the pattern is printed incorrectly, the pattern will overlap. If it overlaps, the whole piece will be scrapped."
Chip The example of the official seal made Chen Yong understand. To put it bluntly, the circuit patterns overlap, causing collective internal damage.
No way.
Now we can only pay for teaching slowly.
If you want to master a technology, you will definitely have to pay a corresponding cost.
Chen Yong looked apologetic in his eyes and apologized to Chen Xing in advance: "The semiconductor silicon wafers damaged by my engineers will definitely be found in the future to compensate you, Brother Chen."
"You're welcome."
Chen Xing smiled lightly.
Learning technology cannot be done at zero cost, and he didn’t even care about damaged semiconductor silicon wafers.
......
Two days passed, and probably hundreds of semiconductor wafers were damaged. Only then did Yang gradually master the key points of multiple exposure technology, while other engineers had not yet started.
The teacher Lin Tian sighed secretly, these people have too little talent.
Although Loongson International's equipment is poor, they are at least elites, including academician Feng Chengming. Blue and Green Factory's equipment is poor, and the engineers' qualifications are also poor.
No way.
He can only teach with his heart.
After the blue and green factory engineers gradually mastered the key points of multiple exposure technology, Chen Xing also started his next move.
Weibo information platform.
Originally, today's digital world was unremarkable, but as the entry "Longxing X2 New Phone Preview" suddenly appeared on the hot search list, netizens became uneasy.
The official blog of Longxing Technology Company has published some information in the blog post.
[In June 2014, we announced the first Longxing series mobile phone, which was well received by users. In the past six months, we have successively launched the brilliant X1 and Geek X1 mobile phones, but we have not changed our original intention. We have been working on product upgrades for the Longxing series, and now it is finally here! ]
At the bottom of the blog post, there is a forward-looking picture of the fuselage and a forward-looking picture of the chip. The number 5433 is also engraved on the chip.
The moment the melon-eaters finished reading the blog post, they started to like and leave comments like crazy.
[Small Town Story]: "The Longxing series is finally about to have a new product. This phone is good news for our cost-effectiveness party!"
[Super Shenlong Brother]: "Freshman Student Party He said that I am currently using the Longxing X1 mobile phone. It is really awesome and has changed the charging landscape. I will continue to support Mr. Chen’s innovation!”
[Invincible Xiao Chen]: “The chip has been announced! Ah, the 5433 number, isn’t this the Orion, the latest model with a 20nm process, I hope the price will be more affordable!”
[风晓晓西]: “The price of the Longxing series should be very affordable, geek. The Longxing series and the Bright series are mid-to-high-end, and the Longxing series is aimed at the lower-tier market. I estimate that it should be under 2,000 yuan!”
Netizens’ comments kept coming, and as the popularity soared, Chen Xing He also broke the news on his personal Weibo and posted a "2000?" blog post to let netizens understand the meaning.
(End of this chapter)