When I am reborn, I just want to be a top student

2019, April 1.

Tangdu Semiconductor Materials Industrial Park.

In the past two years, Tangdu City has developed numerous industrial parks.

The emergence of industrial parks such as the Semiconductor Industrial Park and the Xuanwu Battery Industrial Park is closely related to Galaxy Technology.

It can be said that without Galaxy Technology, these industrial parks would not exist.

Furthermore, these industrial parks genuinely possess technology, investment, and industry, unlike other cities that simply build a few buildings and roads and then claim to be industrial parks.

This industrial park is usually very low-key, so low-key that many people don't know that there is a super-powerful national instrument inside.

This superpower's most important equipment is the photolithography factory.

Once the lithography factory technology was proven to be feasible, the authorities allocated 500 acres of land to Galaxy Technology in the shortest possible time to build the lithography factory.

This industrial land is completely free.

Furthermore, a construction fund of one billion yuan was allocated to Galaxy Technology as a reward.

Furthermore, they contacted the official construction team and passed on the construction of the lithography factory as a political task.

With that, the rest is quite simple.

Galaxy Technology only needs to provide the requirements and technology, as well as the funding; the rest is up to the government.

When the authorities intervene, the speed is naturally extraordinary.

Comprehensive support accelerated the construction process, allowing this massive, high-tech factory to be completed and put into trial production in a short period of time.

Yes, today is the day the lithography factory will begin trial production.

Early in the morning, the entire industrial park was already secured by fit young men in suits.

The leaders of Tangdu City, the leaders of Qin Province, and the leaders from the capital.

Another team of reporters from CCTV quietly arrived at the industrial park.

Photolithography factory control center.

Not many people are able to appear here.

Wu Qingsong, the chief administrator of Tangdu City, Duan Zheng, the second chief administrator of Qin Province, the chief administrator of the Qin Province Science and Technology Department, the deputy chief administrator of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in Beijing, and the director of the High-tech Department of the Ministry of Science and Technology, among others.

The head of the lithography factory was Liang Song, a senior expert whom Wang Donglai had specially recruited.

In the original timeline, it was Liang Song's involvement that enabled the center to overcome the challenges of 14-nanometer process technology within 300 days and increase the center's international process yield rate to 95%.

This ability is undeniably powerful.

But this top talent was actually ousted from the company later due to internal power struggles.

This is practically a dark joke.

However, in this timeline, Wang Donglai did not give Central International that opportunity.

As soon as Liang Songgang was released from his non-compete period, he personally went to his home and poached him back.

Money alone is far from enough to attract such top talent.

But Wang Donglai only used three short sentences to move Liang Song, making him determined to join Galaxy Technology Semiconductor.

Now, standing in the command center, Liang Song's expression revealed an indescribable excitement and exhilaration.

If the lithography factory completes its trial production today, it will be of great significance.

The control center was brightly lit, and the huge circular screen was divided into more than twenty windows, with a very eye-catching countdown on the largest screen in the center.

Thirty minutes until startup!

Manager Liu stood in front of the screen, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, producing a soft thumping sound.

"Dr. Liang, during the final joint debugging last night, what was the optimal synchronization error control range for the two working platforms?"

The fact that Manager Liu is here shows that he must know a bit about technology.

If you really don't understand anything, you might be deceived while inspecting work without even realizing it.

As the person in charge, Liang Mengsong glanced at Wang Donglai subconsciously before speaking, "Reporting to the leader, the synchronization error is ≤2nm, meeting the design specifications!"

His voice was slightly hoarse, and if you looked closely, you could see the red blood vessels in Liang Song's eyes.

For the past six months or so, Liang Song has been living and working here.

If others work 996, then Liang Song works 007.

He devoted the most energy to the lithography factory.

I don't know how many all-nighters I've stayed up or how many overtime shifts I've worked.

If Wang Donglai hadn't specifically assigned Liang Song a medical team to ensure his health, he probably would have collapsed long ago.

Even so, the exhaustion on his face was still very obvious.

The second steward patted Liang Song on the shoulder and encouraged him, saying, "The province has always been paying close attention to this place. They will recommend you for commendation. You are the heroes of the province's semiconductor industry."

Wu Qingshan also chimed in, saying, "Dr. Liang, don't be nervous. Trust in Academician Wang's abilities, and also trust in yours."

Liang Song nodded, took a deep breath, and forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart.

Wang Donglai watched from the side, his expression revealing a strong sense of confidence.

If the technological path of lithography factories had continued in the original timeline, it would probably not have been possible for decades.

However, in this time and space, with his intervention, the situation is different.

The core technology of the lithography factory, to put it bluntly, is controlled by Nuwa.

In other words, a photolithography factory is simply impossible to replicate with current technology.

Wang Donglai could remove Wa's control at any time if he wanted, thus causing the lithography factory to fail.

Not only photolithography factories, but also Xuanwu batteries use similar methods.

When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; when the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away.

Wang Donglai was aware of this statement.

Time passed quickly, and it was nine o'clock.

A clear command immediately rang out from the control center: "Attention all units, the countdown to start the lithography process has begun."

"ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

"..."

Everyone instinctively held their breath, their eyes fixed on the screen in front of them.

"Laser source ready!"

"Projection lens focused!"

"Exposure begins!"

As orders were issued one after another, the entire factory fell into an extremely serious and focused atmosphere.

Photolithography is a high-tech field with extremely high technical content.

Therefore, it means that the workers who can appear here are unlikely to have a low level of education.

At the very least, it has to be a top-tier university.

Master's degree holders and PhD holders are even more numerous.

This is especially true because it is the world's only lithography factory technology, which is unique in the world and has attracted the attention of countless scholars and experts.

Many people don't even want a salary; they're even willing to pay extra to get up close and personal with this technology. This has immense academic value in academia.

Therefore, what outsiders can understand is also clear to the many employees working here.

This moment is undoubtedly the crucial one that will determine their fate.

If the lithography factory succeeds, they will be able to achieve new successes in their careers.

But if we fail, then forget everything!
Each process can be viewed on the screen in the command center.

This is a lithography factory, not a chip manufacturing process; it doesn't start from a pile of sand turning into chips.

All you could see was the robotic arm slowly delivering a 12-inch silicon wafer to a fixed position. The photoresist applied to this wafer was a product developed by Galaxy Technology.

From EDA design software to masking stages, these core software and equipment are all independently developed by Galaxy Technology, breaking through Western technology.

Everyone stared at the silicon wafer on the screen as if it were a rare treasure, filled with anticipation.

The moment the wafer is precisely aligned with the dual worktables, the alignment error number on the screen immediately displays a precise figure.

0.05μm!

What does this number mean? It's equivalent to one-thousandth the diameter of a human hair!

Soon, the light spot began to move across the wafer surface, as if drawing a circuit pattern with a nanoscale engraving tool.

A tiny chip, perhaps smaller than a little fingernail, reveals intricate circuit patterns under a high-precision microscope.

Only by seeing this scene can one truly appreciate the power of the technology embedded in the chip.

The low hum of the equipment became jarring in the otherwise quiet command center.

However, no one present seemed to mind the sound; they didn't even dare to breathe loudly, fearing it might have an impact.

The first exposed wafer is sent to the developing machine, where the photoresist is treated with developing solution, and the circuit pattern gradually develops.

As the wafer is ejected from the equipment, the testing supervisor quickly steps forward and uses a robotic arm to transfer it to the electron microscope.

On the screen, the 28nm transistor array is neatly arranged, with smooth, mirror-like edges without a single burr.

"Line width uniformity 98.7%!" The test supervisor's voice trembled. "Meets design standards!"

A suppressed round of applause erupted in the control center, which quickly fell silent again.

Because the real "test" is yet to come. There are more than 100 processes to go, including etching, ion implantation, and metal deposition. Any mistake at any step will render all the previous efforts futile.

Time ticked by, wafers moved between different workshops, and the screen in the control center updated the parameters of each process in real time: etching depth error ≤2%, ion doping concentration uniformity ≥99%, metal wiring yield 95%...

The data curve is like a taut string, sometimes high and sometimes low, but always hovering above the passing line.

Because the entire process cannot be completed in just one or two hours, the leaders specifically set aside a whole day to stay here and witness firsthand the official commencement of production at the lithography factory.

If a problem arises, it should be identified and resolved immediately.

If successful, report it immediately. This will become another globally leading technology, greatly enhancing our influence and competitiveness.

At noon, boxed lunches were delivered to us, instead of eating out.

Even their breaks were made by temporarily requisitioning the factory's employee rest area.

"The afternoon chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is crucial; the surface smoothness must be controlled within 0.5 nm."

"Don't forget to check the contact resistance of the metal interconnect layer, as this directly affects chip performance."

Liang Song was explaining the core technical points to the process team leaders below while reviewing their performance at noon and conducting a debriefing.

At this moment, Wang Donglai walked over.

When Wang Donglai appeared, everyone present stood up.

This wasn't because of Wang Donglai's status as the boss, but rather because of their admiration for the technology he possessed.

The core technology of the lithography factory was entirely achieved by Wang Donglai.

Even now, there are still many technologies that they know how to use, but not why they use them.

They may appear to be technical managers at a lithography factory, but in reality, they are not much different from monkeys pressing switches.

To put it dramatically, if Wang Donglai were willing to write an extremely detailed operating manual, then all of them could resign.

Pick any employees with good memories and obedience, have them memorize the operating manual, and follow the instructions. They might not necessarily do worse than the employees.

"boss!"

The crowd shouted in unison, their tone filled with admiration, awe, and a hint of envy.

"Alright, everyone, please sit down."

"Today is a very important day for the group and for you all."

"Let's put it to the test. The lithography factory has invested tens of billions of yuan. If it succeeds, it will double in value."

"For me, there is no failure!"

"Everyone did alright this morning, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. Considering this is the first time, I can understand."

"In the afternoon, relax and don't overthink it. Just do what you usually do."

"Technology doesn't lie, and machines are stable, so success is success."

"I have some news for you all. All employees will receive an extra month's salary this month as a hardship allowance. This will not conflict with the project success bonus."

As a boss, Wang Donglai naturally knows how to motivate his employees.

Making grand promises may work temporarily, but once credibility is lost, it will only backfire.

The most effective way is to just give money, just keep giving money away.

Even people who don't value money much won't refuse their boss's paychecks, and they'll be more attentive to their work.

As expected, after Wang Donglai announced the news, everyone's expressions immediately became excited.

After encouraging everyone, Wang Donglai left, and everyone quickly returned to their respective work posts.

At 3 PM, the wafers entered the final process: wafer testing.

When the probe card touched the chip pad, the air in the control center seemed to freeze.

The first set of test data pops up on the screen: Logic function test: Pass
Leakage rate: 0.01μA/mm
Maximum operating frequency: 3.2GHz
Yield: 96.7%
"96.7% yield rate!"

Upon seeing the test data, the test engineer immediately stood up excitedly, his voice cracking with excitement.

At that moment, the silence in the control center was instantly shattered.

First came an uncontrollable cheer, which then spread like wildfire—the young engineers hugged each other, some wiping away tears and laughing, others waving notebooks filled with parameters.

Even the leaders couldn't help but show a relieved smile.

The significance of the lithography factory is immense.

Don't be fooled by the fact that only a few leaders are present; many more are secretly keeping an eye on what's happening here.

Now that this test data is available, even though it's only the first batch, it's already reassuring enough.

Even if the subsequent product data is not satisfactory, it is only a matter of process optimization, not a problem with the technical route of the lithography factory.

Manager Liu strode up to Liang Song, grasped his hand tightly, and said, "Dr. Liang, you have created a miracle!"

"Today's achievement means that we have broken the Western lead in lithography machines. We have opened up a new track and opened up new fields for the development of the semiconductor industry. This is of great significance!"

Faced with Manager Liu's praise, Liang Song quickly recovered from his excitement and subconsciously explained, "Boss, I'm just an executor. The person who truly proposed the idea of ​​the lithography factory and completed the breakthrough research and development of the core technology is our boss. He deserves the most credit."

As soon as Liang Song said this, everyone's attention immediately turned to Wang Donglai.

It was only then that everyone noticed Wang Donglai's unusual behavior.

While everyone was happy about the test data, Wang Donglai frowned, and it was clear to everyone that he was somewhat displeased. This, however, piqued the interest and curiosity of the crowd. (End of Chapter)