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

With the lithography factory's technology roadmap officially confirmed and production successfully completed with such a high yield rate, it has practically secured this year's top technology award.

However, at such an important technological breakthrough, Wang Donglai was frowning, which undoubtedly aroused everyone's curiosity.

What happened?
This question appeared in everyone's minds.

"Academician Wang, has something happened?"

Minister Liu's face still held a smile that he couldn't hide, and he asked Wang Donglai in a gentle voice.

When Wang Donglai heard Minister Liu's question, he glanced at everyone present, relaxed his brows, and said, "It's nothing, I just discovered a small problem."

Then he turned to Liang Song and said, "How long do you need to improve the process you just described? Tell me your thoughts first."

Wang Donglai's tone was calm, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

But at this moment, everyone was not stupid, and they could naturally understand the meaning behind Wang Donglai's words.

Liang Song felt a pang of bitterness. After initially being pleased with the 96.7% yield rate, he slowly realized that Wang Donglai might not be satisfied with this yield rate.

Because he knew how strong Wang Donglai's technical skills were.

The truly core, arduous technological research and development was basically not done by them.

Or rather, they could actually do it, but it would take them a very long time.

The problems encountered in these research and development processes can often be reported and a detailed solution can be obtained in a short time.

Sometimes, if you're quick, it doesn't even take a day.

Having such a tech-savvy boss is both a source of joy and immense pressure for the R&D staff.

The advantage is that problems can be solved quickly, but the disadvantage is that you can't fool people; you have to go all out when you do things, which puts a lot of pressure on you.

Just like now, when faced with Wang Donglai's question, Liang Song had no intention of giving a perfunctory answer.

"Boss, from the current process flow, we still have problems such as lack of experience in processes such as mask templates, packaging bonding wires, temperature, and voltage."

"I expect to spend twenty days going through the entire process to improve the subsequent technology and strive to increase the yield rate to over 97.5%."

Inside the command hall, only Liang Song's voice echoed.

Wang Donglai nodded slightly and said, "Hmm, your answer is not bad, but raising the yield rate to 97.5% is still a bit low."

"Okay, let's do this: within a month, we can raise the yield rate to 98%, and then stabilize it at 98.5% to be considered acceptable."

"For chips of different specifications, the principle of lower difficulty and higher yield must be followed."

"But this is not a reason for you to relax. The yield rate of 7nm chips cannot be lower than 90%."

"The yield rate of 14nm chips cannot be lower than 95%."

"If you have technical difficulties, I can help you contact experts and invite them to solve them. If you have funding problems, I can allocate funds. If you lack talent, just give me a list and I can poach people from all over the world."

"With such strong support, these are the requirements for you. If you can meet them, the company will have corresponding reward measures."

"Speaking of which, let's just talk about the rewards for the success of this project."

"All employees will share a total bonus of 150 million. In addition, relevant personnel will have an extra coefficient added to their year-end bonus, and their basic annual salary and subsidies will be increased in accordance with company regulations..."

The 150 million yuan bonus will be split equally among all employees!

This number, when it reached everyone's ears, was undoubtedly like a thunderclap.

Even the CCTV reporters who were filming this scene were shocked.

Everyone knows that Galaxy Technology is generous and willing to spend money.

But they just thought that Galaxy Technology was willing to give its employees high salaries and benefits.

Who would have thought that upon the completion of such a project, Wang Donglai would generously award a bonus of 150 million yuan?

Even if the entire lithography factory has more than a thousand employees, each person can earn an average of 150,000.

And this bonus is only part of it; the year-end bonus, salary increase, and benefits that follow will also amount to a considerable sum.

As expected, upon hearing Wang Donglai's words, Liang Song couldn't help but smile, as could the other managers in the control center.

After all, no one would refuse to be given money!
However, for the leaders present, the money Wang Donglai was giving out was insignificant; what was more important was the goal Wang Donglai set for Liang Song.

7nm and 14nm chips are top-tier chip specifications globally.

If the yield rate set by Wang Donglai can be achieved, the performance of domestic smartphones will be greatly improved, while also reducing a large amount of foreign exchange outflow from China.

The same chip might cost Qualcomm only 500 to produce, but because of its monopoly, it sells to domestic companies for 2,000, a fourfold increase.

Many netizens are talking about the high welfare benefits and various humane measures of Western companies.

However, few people think about the real reasons behind these situations.

This situation only occurs in companies that are profitable enough, coupled with bosses who are willing to provide high salaries and benefits to their employees.

Western companies, relying on colonial and monopolistic economies and first-mover advantages in industries, have earned substantial excess profits in industry development. This is the foundation that supports the high salaries and humane benefits of foreign company employees.

In contrast, many domestic companies simply do not possess such economic strength.

There isn't enough profit, and even if there is, people are unwilling to share it due to cultural and other factors.

However, Galaxy Technology has now taken a new path, relying on its R&D advantages to occupy a larger market share and earn more profits, which in turn will benefit its employees.

Even though Minister Liu wasn't a relevant leader, seeing Wang Donglai casually throw out a 150 million yuan bonus without hesitation, he still felt a sense of approval for Wang Donglai.

"Academician Wang, seeing your high standards for technology gives me even more confidence in the development of lithography factories and the domestic semiconductor industry."

"Qin Province is truly blessed to have you!"

The second-in-command said to Wang Dong with a big smile.

The success of the photolithography factory's technology route is of extraordinary significance to Qin Province.

Leveraging its advantages in semiconductors, Tangdu City can develop more high-tech industries and drive the economic development of the entire Qin Province.

Just as Wang Donglai had envisioned for the development of Qin Province, he believed that technological and economic development should be driven by high-tech research and development.

In just a few short years, Tangdu City has not only freed itself from its dependence on land revenue, but has also become one of the cities with the highest annual economic growth rate in the country.

Wang Donglai remained calm and did not become complacent because of the Second Steward's praise.

"You flatter me, leaders. Even the best seeds need suitable soil. Back then, the leaders were bold enough to trust me and Galaxy Technology and give us their support, which is why Galaxy Technology has achieved what it has today."

"Going forward, under the leadership of the leaders of Tangdu City and even Qin Province, we will continue to make breakthroughs in the field of scientific and technological innovation."

The leader beamed with joy at Wang Donglai's words.

At this moment, although it was afternoon, a ray of sunlight shone in through the window, landing directly on the screen and reflecting off everyone's faces. "Today, using lithography technology with completely independent intellectual property rights, we have completed a high-end chip belonging to our country. This is not the end, but the beginning. In the future, we will achieve even greater breakthroughs in the production of 14nm, 7nm, and even more advanced chips!"

Amidst rousing music, the leader stood on the stage and delivered these words.

Thunderous applause startled the sparrows on the treetops outside.

On the tower cranes at the distant construction site, a banner that read "Independent Innovation, Serving the Country through Science and Technology" fluttered in the wind.

……

Kimchi Country, Four Star Electronics Office.

"China's lithography factory achieves a 96.5% yield rate for 28nm chips?"

The powerful figure stared wide-eyed at the message in the encrypted email, unable to believe it was real.

Quan Guixian has always believed that the lithography factory in China is a scam.

If you can't make a miniaturized lithography machine, just build an enlarged version of the lithography factory.

This is simply the ramblings of an idiot who doesn't understand technology, indulging in delusional fantasies.

This is an impossible situation, both theoretically and technically.

Even when news later emerged that China's lithography factory had achieved success in its experimental facility, the international community unanimously regarded it as fake news.

The reason is twofold: firstly, the relevant academic community has verified and theoretically refuted this technical route; secondly, it is because they are very familiar with releasing false information to deceive other countries with technology, as they have done so themselves.

Therefore, seeing the Chinese government making a big fuss and Galaxy Technology investing tens of billions, the international giants treated it as a joke and did not take it seriously.

But who could have imagined that there would be a sequel?

Now, it's been reported that China's lithography factories have already started production and have achieved such a significant breakthrough.

In the chip industry, 28nm has already reached a new milestone.

The previous technology node was 65nm. If we can achieve complete self-sufficiency in 65nm chips, we can ensure that the chips used in the military will not be in short supply and can be produced independently despite the blockade imposed by the Western world.

If it's 28nm, then it's industrial independence.

Industrial products such as air conditioners, washing machines, and automobiles can be decoupled from Western countries and produced and sold independently despite technological sanctions.

The next technological milestone would be the 7nm chip.

If China can independently produce 7nm chips, it will mean that China's electronics industry has achieved independence.

The vast majority of mobile phone chips, computer hard drives, memory, CPUs, displays, and other electronic products can be completely freed from foreign restrictions.

If we go any further, it will be about the competition for the world's technology center.

Whoever can complete it first will be able to take over the banner of the world's science and technology center, become the new mainstream of technology, and gain control of its discourse.

China's China International Technology Group Corporation (CITC) has long been able to produce 28nm chips, but the yield rate and production volume are not high enough.

More importantly, many of the technologies in the central countries were learned from the West, and technological research and development is driven by talent poached from Western companies.

Even if a company like Central International has mastered the technology of 14nm chips, it will not be taken seriously by overseas giants.

Because they know very well that the technology possessed by Center International is all under their control.

But lithography factories are different.

They are not on the same level in terms of either production efficiency or technological superiority.

Photolithography factories can mass-produce chips, which are considered the crown jewel of technology, as ordinary commodities.

Similarly, repairing problems is not as difficult as with lithography machines.

"Now we're in trouble!"

Quan Guixian sighed deeply, having keenly realized the immense significance behind this news.

Saying it would overturn the existing order is perfectly fine.

Just like the launch of Xuanwu batteries, even at prices ten times higher than mainstream batteries, global giants still flocked to them.

After a moment's thought, Quan Guixian picked up the phone and immediately reported the situation to Li Zairong, the young master of the four-star company.

"Okay, I understand the situation."

Although the other party tried to appear calm, Quan Guixian still detected a hint of panic in their tone.

Soon, a notice was issued from the headquarters office of Four Star to convene a meeting of senior executives.

“28nm is the most widely used mature process technology in the world. According to our production budget, our factory in Tangdu will account for about 25% of the global 28nm market share in 2019.”

"The Galaxy Technology semiconductor lithography plant has had a huge impact on our business."

"Not to mention the yield rate of 28nm chips. Our yield rate was only stable at 94% last year. Now you're telling me that Huaguo Lithography Factory has directly achieved a yield rate of 96.5%? That's simply impossible!"

"Based on my understanding of China, they will inevitably take advantage of their lower costs and use a low-price dumping method to quickly seize the market. They may even sell at cost price and only earn official subsidies to grab market share."

"It is foreseeable that, under such low-price dumping in China, our mid-to-low-end mobile phone customers will immediately switch sides."

The head of the Four Star Semiconductor R&D Center was reporting on these situations at the meeting. After he finished speaking, he sat back down quietly without offering any suggestions or solutions.

"In my opinion, the more troublesome thing is the technical principle of the lithography factory. It uses a combination of 'dry lithography + multiple exposure' process, which bypasses ASML's patents. Moreover, the relevant core technologies are all independent and do not depend on the outside world."

"This means that China Galaxy Technology can reproduce this technology in any country, which will greatly impact ASML's market."

"With the special process of photolithography, it is entirely possible to achieve large-scale production and increase the speed of chip production to a new level."

"How to deal with the business impact and market loss brought about by the lithography factory, and how we should make choices under the technological upgrade, these are the things we should be considering more."

Another executive, rubbing his brow, spoke up.

"Looking back now, it's really hard to know what to say. We had just secured the exclusive procurement rights for Xuanwu batteries, and we thought we could use that to return to the Chinese market."

"As a result, another lithography factory has emerged. If Chinese mobile phone brands leverage their advantages of high-energy-density batteries and low-cost chips to mass-produce products, I think the international smartphone market may be about to witness a major upheaval."

“We have already closed our mobile phone factory in China, and now we are preparing to regain the market with the revolutionary performance of the Xuanwu battery.”

"Now that we're directly competing in the semiconductor field, should we still stick to our previous procurement plan and fulfill our contractual obligations?"

In the conference room, many senior executives spoke up, expressing their thoughts and opinions.

Lee Jae-yong's gaze swept across everyone's faces, his expression calm and composed, making it impossible for anyone to discern his true thoughts.

As the young master of a four-star company, Lee Jae-young also needs to select his own talent from among the many management personnel.

This incident presents an opportunity. (End of Chapter)