Traveling through the sword to engage in military industry.

Dawn Optical Research and Technology Center.

Professor Fang Guangqi's brows were completely furrowed when faced with the difficulties of the latest stepper lithography machine project.

"Professor Tu, our optical objective system still cannot meet the standards. Can we solve the problem by ourselves?" Professor Fang Guangqi knew that Professor Tu's team in charge of the optics had tried their best, but the accuracy of their products still could not meet the requirements of the new 2-micron-level lithography machine L-100 prototype, which was based on GCA's stepper lithography machine DSW 4800.

Ren Zhong has already brought everyone quite sufficient design information. The principles and proof of principles have been completed long ago. He has even completed the development of the 3-micron prototype L50 and successfully put it into actual production, raising the production yield of the 8080 chip to a new level and directly reducing the chip cost by an order of magnitude, from hundreds of US dollars to tens of US dollars.

The L-50 lithography machine was also used to produce the more complex 8086 and 8088 chips.

However, in the process of further improvement, it is difficult for this system to stably reach the 2-micron processing level.

According to the design of the Chip Design Research Center, the next-generation chip 80286 requires the use of new process equipment below 2 microns to produce. According to the preliminary estimates of design engineers, the number of transistors in the new CPU chip has expanded from 8086 in 2.9 to an unprecedented 13 transistors.

This forces the research on lithography machines to further explore its potential.

"Professor Fang, considering our current optical technology capabilities, it is already very difficult to make further improvements. Although we don't want to admit it, the fact is that our current optical objective lenses have already reached the limit of our technology. If we want to make further improvements, I'm afraid we can only use time to slowly improve them. In this regard, compared with top optical companies such as Zeiss, our starting point is too poor." Professor Tu returned from Sandezi and once worked at Sandezi's Zeiss.

Precisely because of the return of talents from all over the world, the Optical Research Institute led by Fang Guangqi was able to expand rapidly and develop into a large research institution with thousands of people like the Liming Optical Research and Technology Center, and started from simple optical equipment research to undertake the research tasks of several generations of lithography machines.

From the initial contact lithography machine to the research on emission lithography machine, Fang Guangqi was only a little more than halfway through his life, and they had already reached the pinnacle of optical equipment research on this planet.

However, all of this was achieved thanks to Ren Zhong's direct help. After identifying the most core design issues of the equipment, they worked hard to implement them according to these designs.

Now that we have reached our peak, some of our past shortcomings have become apparent.

Although the manufacturing principle of the optical lens of the lithography machine is not complicated, it is very difficult to make ultra-high precision lithography lenses in terms of technology and process. In terms of technology, the technical difficulty of large numerical aperture (NA) is very high. It is necessary to combine about 20 lenses based on the double Gaussian structure design, and to share spherical aberration, balance field curvature, and offset distortion. In addition, to ensure the quality of the wafer pattern, the position error of each lens in the lithography machine must be less than 1nm, and the heat generated by light loss must be eliminated as much as possible.

In terms of technology, the mirror finish required by the lithography machine is very high, and the most precise grinders and finest lens abrasives are needed. In addition to the material requirements, these also require the supervision of extremely skilled craftsmen, because the lenses of advanced lithography machines are all hand-polished, requiring high-purity light transmittance and high polishing.

In this regard, the strongest technical master in the Dawn Optical Research and Technology Center is Professor Tu. However, at Sandezi's Zeiss, Professor Tu was only an ordinary processing technician at the beginning, and there was still a long way to go before he could become the company's top master. What's more, these top technicians would not teach some key technologies.

"Professor Tu, if we want to quickly achieve the design targets, according to your idea, do we need to cooperate with optical giants like Zeiss and let them design and manufacture this optical objective lens system according to our requirements?" Professor Fang Guangqi asked after thinking for a while.

Professor Tu smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid this is the only way for now."

Fang Guangqi nodded and made up his mind.

Ren Zhong approved Fang Guangqi's request for international cooperation without hesitation.

On a sunny morning, the city of Oberkoch in Baden-Württemberg welcomed an important business reception.

As a black car slowly stopped, Professor Fang Guangqi of Dongda University and his accompanying team appeared on time in this historic town. Mr. Cabot, the president of Zeiss, had been waiting in front of the iconic office building in the city center for a long time. He was wearing a neat suit and smiling, looking both solemn and enthusiastic.

"Professor Fang, it is a great honor to welcome you to Oberkohn." Cabot President personally stepped forward and extended his hand to shake hands with Professor Fang Guangqi, his voice full of sincerity and expectation. This moment was not only a respect for personal friendship, but also a high regard for the possibility of cooperation to be launched.

Behind this reception, there is an extraordinary preparation process. A few days ago, a piece of news from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China made President Cabot particularly excited. Although the University of Tokyo did not disclose the specific details of the cooperation in diplomatic occasions, the clear expression of the desire to establish a deep strategic partnership with Zeiss undoubtedly brought unprecedented opportunities for Zeiss to find new growth points. Cabot knew that the visit of the University of Tokyo was not just to purchase a few telescopes, but must contain more far-reaching significance and cooperation potential.

After a brief and warm greeting, Professor Fang Guangqi introduced his team to President Cabot: "Thank you very much for your warm reception, President Cabot. The person next to me is Professor Tu. He had the honor of working in the prestigious company Zeiss in the past and has a deep affection and understanding for Zeiss's technology and culture." Professor Tu smiled and nodded. Upon hearing this information, Cabot smiled even more and stepped forward to shake Professor Tu's hand tightly, "Welcome Professor Tu!"

Professor Tu's past experience undoubtedly added a touch of intimacy and trust to the cooperation between the two parties.

Two days later, we reunited in the conference room.

The atmosphere became somewhat subtle after the two sides exchanged greetings.

"Professor Fang, Professor Tu, thank you for keeping you waiting for a long time. I hope our Baden-Württemberg's fine wines and delicious food can ease your fatigue from the journey." President Cabot said with a smile on his face.

However, in Professor Fang Guangqi's opinion, there was a hint of temptation in this barely perceptible smile in the opening remarks.

"After two days of sleepless review and discussion, our technical team has come to the conclusion that your proposed optical objective system design and stringent requirements are feasible." Cabot changed the subject and got straight to the point.

Then, his tone became a little sharp: "However, Professor Fang, Professor Tu, we must be honest with you. The investment required to realize this system is astronomical. It not only requires us to mobilize the top craftsmen to hand-carve, but also requires a long and complicated production process to meet the extremely high standards set by you." Fang Guangqi and Professor Tu quickly exchanged a look, which was tacit understanding and vigilance. Although such an answer had been preset in their hearts, when it really came out of the other party's mouth, the heaviness was still hard to ignore. They seemed to see the tug-of-war that was about to unfold at the negotiation table.

"Dr. Cabot, this is undoubtedly the most exciting news we have heard today. To us, its value far exceeds the unforgettable wine of your country." Fang Guangqi nodded politely, then said with a slight smile.

His English was fluent and precise, reaching people's hearts without the need for translation. Professor Tu, who had studied and worked in Europe and was proficient in English, French and German, listened to every word from both sides. Today's negotiation was a tough battle.

As an expert who is most familiar with optical processing and production, his responsibility today is to evaluate the costs behind the other party's processing of this system, so as to determine a reasonable price for the purchase of this system.

It can be said that his assessment may be the key point and turning point of this negotiation, so he must not only thoroughly understand the intentions behind every word of both parties in the negotiation, but also observe the dynamics of the other party's negotiators and understand the other party's possible bottom line.

Although Dongda has been in the international market for more than ten years and has many successful cases, it still needs to be extremely vigilant to avoid being ripped off by these real businessmen.

"If we can happily reach a cooperation agreement, I think it will be a happy event worthy of celebration for both parties." Fang Guangqi changed the subject and moved from greetings to the main topic.

“Since there are no technical obstacles to our cooperation, we have a very good basis for cooperation. I believe Dr. Cabot thinks so too.

The next discussion should focus on how to negotiate a reasonable price for this cooperation. For any cooperation, achieving a balance between cost and value should be our common goal, right? "

"So, Dr. Cabot, what is the price you estimate for this system?"

Fang Guangqi temporarily gave the right to make an offer to the other party.

Cabot turned around and exchanged glances with the Zeiss experts involved in the negotiations. One of the bearded experts nodded.

"Professor Fang, I would like to ask, how big is your demand for such optical lens systems?" President Cabot did not directly quote a price, but began to inquire about the scale. "I think Professor Fang is well aware that different procurement scales will lead to different costs."

"Dr. Cabot, I understand," Professor Fang Guangqi nodded and replied, "We will purchase no less than 100 sets every year. Of course, the performance indicators will continue to improve over time."

One hundred sets is not a big number, but it is not a small number either. "Professor Fang, when you say every year, does this mean one or two years or many years?" Cabot asked.

"Dr. Cabot, to be honest, if we reach a strategic cooperation agreement, our cooperation will be long-term, lasting at least ten years. And in terms of quantity, one hundred sets per year is a very basic number. As the market opens up, we may be able to place larger orders." said Professor Fang Guangqi.

Professor Fang Guangqi was not lying. With the improvement of chip performance and the further popularization of computers, the demand for chip production equipment has naturally increased and more quantities are needed. At present, the University of Tokyo has not considered selling these equipment to third countries to produce chips.

"Professor Fang, in this case, our initial quotation is 8 US dollars per set." Cabot said, "This takes into account the factors of our initial R&D costs and the actual processing costs. If the technical standards for processing require higher standards, the price will increase further according to the amount of work invested."

Cabot quoted a high price to Fang Guangqi and his team. If they bought 800 sets, they would have to pay million US dollars a year. In this era, this is a huge number. You have to know that a family car now costs only a few thousand US dollars. One set of objective lens system can replace more than ten cars. The added value is amazing.

The current cost of the optical objective lens system manufactured by Dongda does not exceed 5 yuan. According to the current exchange rate of about 1:3, that is, 1 US dollar is exchanged for 3 Dongda local currency, the initial quotation from Zeiss is almost 5 times more expensive!
Smiling on the surface, but ruthless in action!

After Fang Guangqi and Professor Tu heard the offer, they exchanged glances again. Professor Tu said, "Dr. Cabot, to be honest, we are doing the same work and are very clear about the processing and manufacturing costs of this optical lens system. It is true that due to the inconsistent price levels in the two countries, there are also huge differences in costs. We can understand this. Based on the premise of our long-term cooperation, the cost of the initial system research and development and process exploration is nothing at all with a large number of orders."

"Your company's price of 8 US dollars per set is indeed far from the reasonable cost. Considering the actual labor cost in your country, we think 5 US dollars per set is a reasonable price."

Professor Tu had already calculated this price. According to the current wage comparison, the wages of workers on both sides are indeed about 5 times different. However, the wages of workers should account for about 60% of the cost of this system. All in all, 5 US dollars is a more appropriate price.

That is three times more expensive than if Todai did it itself.

"No, no, no, Professor Tu, what you said is the cost price, but if our company wants to survive, we must ensure a certain profit. 8 US dollars is a very sincere price on our part." Cabot shook his head like a rattle at Professor Tu's counteroffer.

"Dr. Cabot, maybe we can expand the scope of our cooperation." Fang Guangqi saw that the negotiations might reach a deadlock over price, so he interrupted and said, "Our demand for lenses is not just for objective lens systems. We also need a large number of high-quality lenses for our cameras and telescopes. If we can reach a strategic partnership in this regard, I think the number of lenses we purchase each year will be huge."

Although Dongda can also make lenses for telescopes and cameras, it still lacks top-quality lenses. In the past, we would purchase a batch from international markets and produce a batch ourselves to ensure that top-level products would use the best quality lenses.

"Professor Fang, you are right. Perhaps we can further discuss the mode and scale of cooperation." Cabot looked at Fang Guangqi enthusiastically.

(End of this chapter)