20 years of restarting life

Chapter 3685 The Last Resort
In the afternoon, ASML will explain in detail the pros and cons of metal targets for light sources below 248nm, as well as the theoretical basis for their choice of pure water as the medium. Of course, in order to promote the TWINSCAN AT:750T, rather than the PAS5500 whose sales orders are already booked until next spring, it is also necessary to introduce the advantages of the TWINSCAN AT dual working platform to the 1nm North American team.

Since the afternoon was for listening, and there was nothing for Zhao Chang'an to discuss at noon, the real negotiations would take place tomorrow morning. After lunch, everyone went upstairs to their respective rooms to rest.

Eight people came, two people per standard room, Zhao Chang'an and Su Bo shared a room.

"What do you think?"

Zhao Chang'an tossed Su Bo a cigarette and asked him with a smile.

Su Bo lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and after a long while said, "No wonder it's the second best in the world, truly amazing!"

"So even though they were very enthusiastic in the morning and at lunch, their enthusiasm was tinged with pride that was still evident even when they tried to hide it, including during their explanations in the afternoon."

Zhao Chang'an said to Su Bo, "This negotiation is actually not that easy."

"Their purpose is very clear. Just as Xiao Yangming revealed, they urgently need money. You also proposed not to fight for the gains or losses of a single city or place. One side is willing to ask for money, and the other side is willing to suffer losses to give money. How can it not be easy to negotiate?"

Su Bo was quite confident about tomorrow's negotiations. The thought that the 1nm system would hold shares in ASML, the world's second-largest stepper lithography machine company, and that he would be an important participant, filled him with excitement.

Although the Jiangcheng Chip and System Research Center has been established for two years, and OneNano and Jiangcheng have invested hundreds of millions of yuan, the entire research and development is still like walking in a foggy mountain valley, with no effective path or direction in sight.

Influenced by Dr. Chen, Jiangcheng also demanded the development of a 16-bit high-performance embedded DSP chip with independent intellectual property rights. Su Bo and Nan Li wanted to curse at Jiangcheng's demands, asking if they understood.

However, the problem is that Dr. Chen's side only received a few hundred thousand yuan from Jiaotong University, along with an office space and some basic equipment, which is said to be a remarkable achievement.

Compared to the investment in Jiangcheng, the two of them couldn't bring themselves to say it, even if they cursed inwardly.

Seeing Zhao Chang'an smile without saying a word, Su Bo, who had been holding back, couldn't help but say, "Actually, Mr. Zhao, you're right. Technological innovation is either accidental or the result of a lot of resources being used for continuous trial and error. It's hard for us to guarantee that we'll have that kind of accidental success. If we're unwilling to invest a lot of resources, the best way is to buy mature units. ASML's next big gamble is on the 157nm wavelength. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, the PAS5500 they currently have can achieve a 220nm process, and the TWINSCAN AT:750T can reach 130nm, which already fully meets the current requirements of the world's chips. Moreover, even if there are processes below 65nm in the future, there will still be a huge market for chips with processes above 130nm."

"Are you complaining that OneNano has not invested enough in your research center?"

Zhao Chang'an asked with a smile, "Then tell me how much money and how long it will take to make a 16-bit DSP chip. I don't require it to have performance comparable to Motorola's 24-bit DSP56300 series chip launched five years ago, nor do I require it to catch up with their 32-bit Freescale 56800 series launched last year. I just want a 16-bit chip that is outdated but can still run successfully, independently developed, with intellectual property rights, and capable of mass production."

Zhao Chang'an's words left Su Bo speechless for a moment before he finally said, "I don't know either."

"I rely on!"

Zhao Chang'an uttered a vulgar curse: "No wonder Jiangcheng hasn't been allocating any new support funds to you for the past six months. The way you're saying makes me want to cut off your supplies too."

"Although I don't know how much money and time it will take, I'm certain that as long as we persevere, we will succeed!"

Su Bo was genuinely afraid that Zhao Chang'an would cut off the research center's funding. If that happened, his dream of returning to China—he had given up so much for it—would have been wasted over the past three years.

"Don't worry, we won't cut off your supplies, but don't expect to eat too much. If you want the company to increase investment, you need to design a mature 16-bit DSP chip first." Zhao Chang'an said, "This time, we're buying PAS5500s, and we're planning to get one for you too, to set up a small foundry and do some contract manufacturing. That way, even if the investment from both sides is less, you can still be self-reliant."

“If we build an OEM factory, one machine might not be enough. Even if some companies want to cooperate, the production capacity will not be sufficient.”

The reason why Su Bo and Nan Li came so readily this time was not only because they wanted to visit ASML, but also because Zhao Chang'an promised to get a PAS5500 for the research institute. Now that Zhao Chang'an has opened up a new horizon for them, they can't help but be a little greedy.

"Let's get started. You still have a Hitachi G-line machine, right? You can manufacture some 350nm and above. If you want to buy more, you can make money to buy them."

In Zhao Chang'an's era, the idea that it's better to buy directly than to make it yourself wasn't entirely without merit.

His desire to acquire shares in ASML is a classic example of the adage "buying is worse than doing."

In some ways, the idea of ​​trade, industry, and technology can be understood. If we change the current situation to twenty years from now, we would certainly say that this idea is wrong. However, given the current situation, it cannot be said that it is a wrong choice.

The Jiangcheng R&D Center is a strategic move to lay the groundwork for the future, and it can be nurtured gradually.

Let him start with 16-bit DSP chips, and then move towards 24-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit, general-purpose DSP chips, special-purpose DSP chips, single-core DSPs, multi-core DSPs, and so on, continuously pushing the evolution forward.

In other words, you can choose not to use it, but you can't be without it, because there are too many uncertainties in the future. So you need to have a card in hand that can barely cover the worst-case scenario.

Zhao Chang'an's main goal is to take advantage of the current favorable global trade and technology environment to make as many purchases as possible, rather than having everyone else already making strides while he, like an idiot, plans to start from scratch with just one nanometer.

"Ugh!"

Su Bo sighed. His boss, who was more than ten years younger than him, was said to be generous by outsiders, but after working for him for more than two years, Su Bo knew that he was actually very stingy.

-

At 2 p.m., the OneNano North America delegation arrived at ASML headquarters on time and was invited by Martin to the multi-functional screening room.

Besides Martin, only another young man in his early thirties from Western Europe, Svilak, accompanied him this time.

The young man turned on the projector, and Martin turned off the main light in the projection room, leaving only a few small wall lamps on.

The first image, displayed on the projector, shows some technical data about the KrF lithography machine.

"KrF lithography machines use a mixture of krypton difluoride gas as the active medium. Stimulated emission is generated through high-voltage discharge, outputting a 248nm ultraviolet laser with high single-photon energy (corresponding to 5.0 eV photon energy), which can effectively break down the chemical bonds in the photoresist."

"Currently, the smallest process of KrF lithography machines is 130nm. Driven by Moore's Law, there is an urgent need to break through the 130nm threshold and make chips with smaller process technology."