The top student must be diligent.

Chapter 301 Finale

Chapter 301 Finale
The meeting lasted for five days before it came to an end.

Moreover, all the matters to be discussed in the meeting have not yet been concluded, and another meeting will probably need to be held after some time.

However, these have little to do with Xiao Yi.

He probably doesn't need to come to the next meeting.

However, after the meeting, he was called into the office by his old leader.

First, they chatted about a lot of things, showing their concern for Xiao Yi's various matters, and asked as usual if he needed any help or anything.

In response, Xiao Yi just smiled and said that he didn't have any difficulties at the moment.

Some scientists may be poor, but he doesn't have this problem.

Today, the market share of lithium-sulfur batteries has reached over 70%, and as the patent owner, he has accumulated wealth to an unimaginable level.

He didn't invest the money, nor did he hand the money over to some professional managers. He basically let the numbers lie in his account and grow wildly like wild fungi.

Although many people approached him, including some related financial companies and well-known financial managers who sent him emails, he rejected them all in the end.

Honestly speaking, although he would earn more money if he really made some investments, if he really wanted to make more money, it would be better for him to invest on his own. After all, the good news he could get would definitely be the most first-hand and detailed.

Therefore, he was not very interested in letting others manage the money.

Of course, for a scientist, besides poverty, another problem is the inability to apply for projects.

However, by the same token, this question is completely invalid for Xiao Yi. Now if he wants to apply for a project to build a space elevator, the country will probably express its support.

It is highly likely that the country will feel a little excited, thinking that it must be confident enough to be able to apply for such a project.

Once the space elevator is built, even SpaceX's proud rocket recovery technology may seem outdated.

Of course, such things are just thoughts.

At least, Xiao Yi would definitely not suddenly apply for a project saying that he wanted to build a space elevator.

In short, the various problems encountered by scientists cannot be considered problems for Xiao Yi, except for one problem, which is also a problem that all scientists must face.

That is: how to solve this problem.

"That's good."

The old leader smiled and nodded, then asked, "Well, can you tell me what research you plan to do next?"

Xiao Yi shook his head: "Not yet."

“There are too many problems in this world. When choosing which problem to solve, I always fall into a state of hesitation.”

The old leader laughed and said, "So, this is why you agreed to their request at the meeting?"

Xiao Yi pondered for a moment, then said: "Almost."

“Why is it called almost?”

"Well, I hope to study some important problems, so the topic they give me may be one of these more important problems."

Xiao Yi replied: "This way I can study what I want to study, so agreeing to their conditions is also for my own benefit."

The old leader nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "Well, I'll give you a direction now, do you want to consider it?"

Xiao Yi raised his eyebrows.

Sure enough, the reason why the old leader wanted to see him was because of this matter.

To be honest, he had thought of this before he came.

So he sat up straight and said, "You tell me, as long as I am sure of something, I will try it."

The old leader smiled and said, "Actually, this is also an issue we urgently need right now, which is chips."

"Chip..." Xiao Yi nodded slightly to show his understanding.

China's chip strategy has lasted for more than ten years, starting from the initial sanctions.

Of course, they have achieved certain results, but it is undeniable that they are still a certain distance away from the world's advanced level.

At least, in terms of EUV lithography technology, there is still some lack of technical accumulation.

EUV lithography machine is a more advanced lithography technology than DUV lithography machine, mainly in terms of light source.

EUV uses extreme ultraviolet light, while DUV uses deep ultraviolet light. The difference between the two lies in the wavelength of the light source.

In the field of lithography machines, the wavelength of EUV is usually 13.5nm, while the wavelength of DUV is generally 193nm and 248nm.

The smaller the wavelength, the more sophisticated the circuit can be engraved, which means the chip manufacturing process is shorter.

To put it in terms that the public can understand, EUV can usually carve chips below 7nm more easily, while the limit of DUV is to carve chips with a 7nm process.

Moreover, it is quite complex for the DUV lithography machine to carve out a 7nm process chip. It needs to repeatedly carve on the silicon wafer to finally carve out a 7nm process. And this is basically the limit. The yield rate will be relatively low and the working hours will be longer. Compared with EUV, it is basically still behind.

At present, China is basically still at the DUV stage.

Fortunately, although EUV is more advanced, as current technology is getting closer and closer to physical limits and Moore's Law is gradually becoming invalid, the speed at which foreign countries are trying to widen the gap with China in this regard is becoming slower and slower.

"Now we are just short of the most critical EUV lithography technology. As long as this technology can be solved, we will be able to truly build the most advanced chip production line in China."

The old leader said: "We have invested a lot of money in this technology in our country, but it has not been completed until now, so now I hope to hand this task over to you."

“And, I hope, it will be done within the next three years.”

"As long as we achieve a breakthrough in this technology, we will have more bargaining chips when we use nuclear fusion technology to negotiate with foreign countries in the future."

"I believe you are aware of this."

"We originally announced that we would consider accepting foreign funding for the construction of a nuclear fusion power station five years later. Now, about a year and a half has passed. After three years, we must start considering cooperation with foreign countries."

"If we can't come up with chip technology that's not inferior to theirs before then, we'll have to pay a heavy price for it. In other words, this will weaken some of the conditions we can put forward in other areas."

"For example, let them open up their tariff barriers so that our products can be sold to other countries."

At this point, the old leader suddenly smiled and said, "Speaking of this, it reminds me of some pictures I saw on the Internet before. Nearly two hundred years ago, we were still practicing a closed-door policy. Then the foreigners drove their powerful ships and guns to open our country's doors and told us to trade freely."

"And now, after so many years, the tide has turned. It is our turn to stand outside their borders, carrying a ship full of goods and advocating the slogan of free trade."

When Xiao Yi mentioned this, he also laughed: "I've seen this picture too, it's quite interesting."

"Yeah." The old leader nodded slightly and said with emotion: "This can probably be regarded as a real historical change."

"It's like decades ago... Well, it's not that far away. At most, it was more than a decade ago when we were still hoping that foreigners could sell us some technology. Sometimes we even had to beg them."

"Standing up doesn't mean standing up straight and holding your head up."

"But at that time, probably no one thought that the time to stand up straight would come so soon."

"This is also thanks to you."

"Of course, the next thing we have to do is to really raise our heads."

"When we raise our heads, Huaxia is the real Huaxia, the nation that has lived on this land for so many years."

The old leader paused, then smiled and said, "I accidentally strayed so far off topic."

"Okay, let's get back to the original topic. This is what I'm asking for. Chips and lithography machines."

“Academician Xiao, it depends on whether there are any problems on your side.”

Xiao Yi pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course I have no problem with this. This way, I will have a definite goal for the next period of time."

"That's good."

The old leader nodded with satisfaction, looked at Xiao Yi with eyes full of emotion, and said: "I feel relieved with your words."

"Oh, by the way, I got the news yesterday that the H-20 has been thoroughly verified, and its first flight will be on National Day. It seems that you have also done research in the H-20 project team before, so I'll tell you this news."

"There is no military parade this year, but letting this thing fly is also a gift to the people of the whole country."

Hearing this news, Xiao Yi also smiled: "This is indeed good news. It seems that I can look forward to it then."

The old leader smiled and nodded.

"Also, I heard that you found a girlfriend? Is she Luo Bangrong's granddaughter?"

"Yes, you are still paying attention to this matter?" Xiao Yi said with a little surprise.

The old leader smiled and said, "I follow everyone I follow, so start a family soon. When you get married, I will write a calligraphy for you."

Xiao Yi nodded and thanked him, "Thank you very much." The old leader nodded with a smile.

At this point, everything was discussed, and Xiao Yi didn't stay any longer and left.

…………

……

Time keeps passing by, just like a flowing river, it never stops.

Although there was no military parade on National Day on October 1, the news of the first flight of the H-20 still made people across the country feel extremely excited.

This is their own new generation of stealth strategic bomber, combining the common advantages of Tu-160 and B2, with unmatched speed and powerful stealth capability, making it a real killer.

However, to this day, it remains unknown whether this new bomber can really play a role on a battlefield in the future.

Perhaps people all over the world would not expect that such a weapon of mass destruction would one day take off fully loaded with ammunition and head to another place.

Peace is the eternal theme song of this world.

But no matter what, even if unexpected friction does arise, China will not be afraid when that day really comes.

Of course, until that day comes, economic development is the top priority.

The relationship between science and technology and economic development is extremely close.

So after Xiao Yi left Shangjing and returned to Fei City, he officially began to research chips.

Chips involve all aspects, from upstream to downstream, and there are quite a lot of fields involved.

Of course, the most critical and also the most complex instrument is the photolithography machine.

There are many crowns in industry. The aircraft engine is one, and the photolithography machine is also one.

Now, Xiao Yi is going to start attacking this field, just like he started attacking nuclear fusion.

As the news spread, it immediately caused a shock around the world.

The foreigners began to panic.

They are really panicking now.

They have already lost to China in energy, and if they lose to China again in chips, they really can't imagine what else they can lose.

So much so that some foreigners began to say that Xiao Yi should not research chips because it would disrupt the world situation.

But who cares?
Soon, Xiao Yi's research also attracted support from other leading figures in the domestic chip field.

Major technology companies have expressed their willingness to cooperate with Xiao Yi and share all their past technical information.

Of course, Xiao Yi’s research is not for himself, but for the country.

So in the end, under the leadership of the government, a company was jointly established, called China Xinxin Technology Company. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission held the majority stake, and other technology companies held less than 5% of the shares according to their investment amounts. Xiao Yi personally held 5% of the shares, making him the absolute second largest shareholder.

Of course, this company is destined not to be listed in the future, so shares and the like are not particularly important.

Then, a research institute was established in the name of Xinxin Technology Company, which mainly studies semiconductor technologies such as chips. The institute brings together core talents from major companies and basically no one keeps their knowledge to themselves.

After all, these companies are well aware that if they continue to keep things secret, they will only be asking for trouble. Do they think their researchers can be better than Xiao Yi?

Considering the stipulations in the agreement, they would be even less likely to do such a thing.

Then, Xiao Yi took the relevant information shared by other companies and officially started the research and development work on the lithography machine.

There are hundreds of people in the entire institute, and they can achieve certain results almost every day.

Of course, no one knows how long it will take to truly develop an EUV lithography machine.

All of this depends on Xiao Yi.

……

Another year has passed and 2029 is here.

After a wonderful Spring Festival, the second day of the new year arrived.

That day was September 2th.

On this day, Luo Mingya came to Fei City from Jinling again.

She said she wanted to come and see her cousin, but in fact, she just came to pay New Year's greetings and then got together with Xiao Yi.

Wandering aimlessly, Luo Mingya happened to ask, "Photolithography machines, aren't they difficult to study?"

Xiao Yi smiled and said, "Aren't you also in the group? You should know it very well."

"I am only responsible for material development. Academician Xiao, you are the chief designer who controls the overall situation."

"Well... it's not that bad. Even if it's difficult, it won't be as difficult as nuclear fusion."

When Xiao Yi started to study nuclear fusion, he felt extremely difficult.

Now that he has started to study the lithography machine, Xiao Yi feels that it is actually a bit easier.

"Yeah." Luo Mingya nodded, and then said no more.

After walking for a while, Xiao Yi asked again: "But by the way, why did you come here on the second day of the Chinese New Year?"

Luo Mingya said: "I don't want to stay at home anymore. It's annoying."

"Annoying?" Xiao Yi asked with a smile, "What else would annoy our Professor Luo?"

"It's not about urging marriage or anything like that."

"So do you want to get married?"

Luo Mingya did not answer, but threw the question to Xiao Yi again: "What about you?"

Xiao suddenly stopped.

"I think it's time."

Luo Mingya was startled: "What?"

"Although today is the second day of the Chinese New Year, it is also Valentine's Day on February 2th." Xiao Yi smiled and said, "So this should be the reason why you came to my place."

"Although I don't really admire foreign festivals, since this is the case, I will respond to it."

"Professor Luo, will you marry me?"

Luo Mingya blushed immediately.

But soon, she looked at Xiao Yi and nodded solemnly: "I do."

Xiao Yi chuckled, then held her in his arms.

"So, you are my fiancée now? Is that right, Professor Luo?"

"Yes." Luo Mingya said softly.

"But why do you still call me Professor Luo?"

Xiao Yi raised his eyebrows and asked, "What are you shouting about?"

"Call me sister!" Luo Mingya hesitated for a moment, then suddenly her eyes lit up and she said mischievously, "Call me sister!"

"I really want to know what it feels like to be called sister by Academician Xiao."

Xiao Yi looked at her helplessly, then put his mouth close to her ear: "Sister?"