Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 159 Fairy Mountain Holdings

However, Wu Deyi was soon relieved. Zhiyun Technology, where he now works, is a multinational technology giant with annual revenue of hundreds of billions of dollars and gross profit of more than 10 billion US dollars. Its interest binding and cash flow are extremely terrifying, which is completely different from ordinary companies.

Wu Deyi didn’t know how the company would solve these patent issues in the end, but since the company said not to worry, he didn’t care and just got on with it.

Wu Deyi immediately calmed down and continued to explain to Xu Shenxue: "Using immersion lithography, we can break through the 45-nanometer process and achieve 45-nanometer or even 28-nanometer process. Our company's next goal is 45-nanometer, and then 28-nanometer, approaching the physical limit of DUV immersion lithography!"

Xu Shenxue said, "Is 28 nanometers the limit? I heard that they are working on a process with a lower node than that? I heard that TSMC's 28 nanometer node is almost ready for use, maybe it will be available next year!"

"At the same time, I heard that they plan to push the process node further forward to the 20-nanometer node!"

Wu Deyi said: "In fact, 28 nanometers is close to the physical limit of this DUV immersion lithography machine. Although a single exposure can reach about 22 nanometers under certain circumstances, it has no practical value."

"The mature process of single exposure of DUV immersion lithography is basically limited to 28 nanometers."

At this time, Ding Chengjun on the side also said: "This is also the main reason why the 193-nanometer wavelength DUV immersion lithography machine is also called a 28-nanometer lithography machine... The theoretical physical limit of this lithography machine is a single exposure of nanometers!"

"As far as I know, TSMC, Intel and other companies are trying to make DUV immersion lithography machines approach the physical limit of 193 wavelengths, and then change the chip design to make equivalent processes, but the gate length will not change much."

Wu Deyi also said at this time: "In addition, we can also use a multiple exposure process."

"If multiple exposure technology is used, an immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 193 nanometers can theoretically produce chips with an equivalent process of more than nanometers or even lower... However, the process is too complicated, and no company has yet succeeded in this technology."

"In fact, using multiple exposure technology is far less simple and direct than using EUV lithography machines with a smaller light source resolution, and the cost is lower."

After listening to this, Xu Shenxue recalled some information about chips that he remembered, but he could not remember much... just something like 14 nanometers, 7 nanometers, and 5 nanometers.

He didn't know that for processes of 28 nanometers and above, the gate length is used when calculating the chip process.

But below 28 nanometers, the chip process is calculated using 'half-pitch', and the calculated process is an equivalent process, such as a 14-nanometer process... This is actually an equivalent process!
Moreover, due to differences in process or marketing needs, different chip foundries often use different formulas to calculate equivalent processes, which can easily confuse people.

For example, TSMC's 10nm and Intel's nm... Although these two things have different processes and names, their performance is actually similar. They can be simply and roughly understood as things of the same technical level.

But Xu Shenxue knows that if TSMC's equivalent 7-nanometer process or Intel's equivalent 10-nanometer process is used, it can actually meet the needs of most chips...

Only the top-level computer CPUs, graphics cards, mobile phone SOCs and future AI chips will require lower equivalent five-nanometer, or even equivalent three-nanometer, two-nanometer and other processes... and these processes require more advanced EUV lithography machines.

This thing has just been developed overseas, so it won’t be available for purchase for the time being...not to mention that it is likely to be difficult to purchase due to technological blockades.

Therefore, Xu Shenxue did not have any hope for this. He decided to buy a large number of DUV immersion lithography machines first... and then try to purchase more advanced DUV immersion lithography machines as much as possible in the future, so that after being sanctioned, he could independently produce chips equivalent to about seven nanometers.

With this thing, there will be more strategic space for subsequent maneuvering and transfer, so that the company will not be defeated if the other party is slightly blocked from chip foundry.

As long as the blockade is not too severe, there will be no major basic problems and the needs can be met for at least the next decade or so.

However, if the blockade is too severe, even these lithography machines will not be allowed to be used, and even immersion lithography machines will not be available for purchase. Even other equipment and materials, such as photoresists, will be sanctioned.

Then we need another option in the backup plan: independent research and development of semiconductor basic equipment and materials!

In the semiconductor backup plan, Xu Shenxue walks on two legs!

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A few days later, Xu Shenxue once again appeared in a foreign-funded company in Shenzhen in a low-key manner.

This is the lithography machine integration design company that Xu Shenxue invested in in a low-key manner: Gulf Electronics Co., Ltd.

On the surface, the company is wholly owned by a Hong Kong-funded company, which in turn is held by several offshore companies. Behind these offshore companies is Xu Shenxue's newly established secret offshore company, Fairy Mountain Holdings. Just like Liuhe Holdings, the Liuhe in Liuhe Investment is the name of the stream in front of his hometown, and the name Fairy Mountain is the name of a small hill behind Xu's hometown... You can't even find this name on the map.

Xiannvshan Holdings actually indirectly invests in or controls nearly 100 companies in the semiconductor equipment and materials industry chain, including more than 20 unknown but important low-key companies acquired and controlled overseas.

At the same time, there are dozens of related semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials companies newly established or acquired in the country.

Xiannvshan Holdings has never been announced to the outside world. This company is responsible for using Xu Shenxue's personal funds to acquire and invest in various technology companies at the bottom of various semiconductor fields, in order to solve the bottleneck problem of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials.

It is also the core enterprise in the backup plan.

At present, most of the 5 billion US dollars cashed out by Xu Shenxue have been invested in Fairy Mountain Holdings, which is responsible for the plan, and mainly in the most basic areas, that is, the research and development of various basic equipment and materials.

While investing in the research and development of a large number of semiconductor basic equipment and materials, we also invested in several important integrated companies.

For example, those who work on light sources, duplex tables, exposure, lenses, gratings, immersion... basically all the core subsystems needed for the front-end lithography machine have been laid out.

In addition, there are supporting enterprises, such as those engaged in photoresist, photolithography gas, mask, glue coating and development, and defect detection.

Some of them are currently being done in China. Those that are doing well will make acquisitions and expand their R&D, or make strategic investments. Some that are not doing so well will simply start new companies to do the work.

The companies that make these important sub-components...are actually midstream companies in the industrial chain. They also have to rely heavily on some of the lowest-level equipment and material supplies, special supplies!

As for the whole system of lithography machine...in fact, this thing already belongs to the downstream industry...it is just a system integration of many basic industry technologies.

To give a simple example, a photolithography machine must have a lens so that the light source can be refracted and then photolithography can be performed. However, this lens is not easy to make and requires extremely high technical difficulty.

To make this lens, you need basic and very special lens materials...this is the field of materials.

Then, in order to process this special lens material to a level that meets the flatness requirements of the lithography machine, aside from experience, engineering skills and other issues, a lot of special specialized equipment is also needed... Even the top engineers need the help of a large number of cutting-edge equipment to make this ultra-high precision lens.

Previously, Xu Shenxue secretly acquired an Austrian company, one of whose equipment products was used for lens production.

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It would be impossible for Xu Shenxue to directly acquire a lithography machine company...even acquiring or obtaining the technology of important sub-components would be impossible, as Europe and the United States are very critical of this.

But relatively speaking, it is much easier to implement the underlying technology, which is separated by several layers, because the supply chain is so huge, the technology commonality is greater, and it is distributed all over the world.

Furthermore, Xu Shenxue didn’t want to move the other party’s company directly to China. He just wanted the technical information.

Sometimes, there is no need to acquire or control these companies. In fact, some technical information can be brought back through some commercial espionage, but the uncertainty is too great.

Therefore, Xu Shenxue would acquire the company if he could, and would resort to other methods if he could not!
It is worth noting that patents cannot be taken into account in this process... Now we need to solve the problem of whether or not the technology exists, not the problem of patents, so as long as we can get the technology back, we don’t care about patents or not.

Patents are a game played within rules... but sometimes some games are not played within rules, such as semiconductor basic equipment and materials... With such important national equipment, who would talk to you about the rules!

Almost all modern science and technology is based on semiconductor technology. If you tell me the rules...that's nonsense!

The importance of the semiconductor industry to a major country is no less than that of nuclear bombs and aircraft carriers...even without considering the occurrence of a world war, this thing is more important than nuclear bombs and aircraft carriers.

Chips are needed in countless fields of modern society in research and development, production, and use, which also means that the support of the semiconductor industry is needed.

The semiconductor industry is the foundation of the third industrial revolution...it cannot be overemphasized!

(End of this chapter)