Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 160 The Dawn of Domestic Lithography Machines
Of course, semiconductors are important, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have any semiconductors at all. In fact, we also have some ordinary semiconductor technology that is behind the times.

And many things don’t actually require the most advanced semiconductor technology.

Civilian consumer products and the AI ​​field often have high requirements for advanced processes, such as computer CPUs, mobile phone SOCs, and the extended smart terminal chips, as well as more special AI chips.

Many industrial equipment actually don’t need the most advanced manufacturing process… Based on future experience, most industries can make do with 28 nanometers or 14 nanometers…

But the problem is that you don’t have the entire industrial chain for 28 nanometers and 14 nanometers... From immersion lithography machines, ion implantation machines, to photoresists and masks, they are all imported... If someone blocks you at any link, you will roll your eyes.

What about the domestically made ones? According to what Xu Shenxue learned, a domestic company advertised that it had developed a DUV dry lithography machine. When Zhiyun Microelectronics went to buy it and was ready to support the domestic supply chain, the other party hesitated and refused to sell it. The people at Zhiyun Microelectronics were stunned.

What? You don’t even want the money that’s delivered to your door?
This is a support order...it's no different than just giving you money directly, and you don't even want it.

Then I asked around a bit and found out, oh, it turned out to be just a prototype and it would still be several years away from mass production... and even if it was made, the best it would be would be the lowest process of 90 nanometers.

Well, what else is there to say? Let’s just do it ourselves…so Gulf Technology was born.

----

The photolithography machine is just one type of equipment in the semiconductor manufacturing field, and a variety of equipment and materials are also needed.

And the problems in other areas are equally huge. For example, ion implanters, etchers, photoresists, masks, etc. cannot be said to be completely blank, but they are almost non-existent.

There is also a huge gap from the international mainstream.

The advanced semiconductor manufacturing industry chain is a very large and complex industry chain...but there are only a few key equipment and materials that can be produced domestically!
The main reason is that semiconductor technology is becoming more and more advanced. Up to now, the so-called semiconductor technology has become a comprehensive large-scale project.

The requirements for various fields such as mathematics, optics, fluid mechanics, polymer physics and chemistry, surface physics and chemistry, precision instruments, machinery, automation, software, image recognition, etc. are very high.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to develop a high-tech semiconductor production line.

It is actually very unlikely that Xu Shenxue could build such a large industrial chain by himself. This is impossible...

The hidden plan in Xu Shenxue's backup plan is actually based on core terminal equipment such as lithography machines, etching machines, and ion implantation machines, and then he brought in a large group of domestic manufacturers to work together, playing a leading and financial support role.

This time when he came to Gulf Technology, Xu Shenxue's purpose was very simple. He wanted to know whether the current domestic industrial chain could meet the production technology of some lithography machines. If not, what was lacking in the industrial chain.

Then Xu Shenxue will invest in and strengthen the deficient industrial chains in a targeted manner.

Then, Gulf Technology gave Xu Shenxue a thick technology list... It listed in detail the various technologies needed to manufacture EUV lithography equipment and various advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials...

Xu Shenxue's scalp tingled when he saw it...

Because these are just technical catalogs... just catalogs!

Detailed technical requirement documents filled up the entire room in front...

Even though Xu Shenxue had long known that semiconductors were difficult to deal with, he still didn't expect them to be so exaggerated. When he saw a pile of technical documents and information in the room in front of him, he couldn't help swallowing.

There are so many weird things to deal with... I'm afraid the 5 billion US dollars I've prepared won't even be enough.

Then Xu Shenxue asked, "I see that the list of technologies you listed may not even be enough with 50 billion US dollars!"

Wang Daolin, the head of Gulf Technology and the R&D director who was poached directly from another company, was also very embarrassed... But in the face of Xu Shenxue's question, he still said: "According to Mr. Xu, your semiconductor manufacturing industry is completely independent, from materials to equipment to processes, and it is completely independent. In addition, it is required to achieve the future technology of five nanometers or even lower. That must be very difficult... Many things have to be started from scratch."

"Fifty billion US dollars should be enough."

Wang Daolin, the head of Gulf Technology, said this without any confidence at all!

Xu Shenxue had dealt with many technical personnel, so when he heard this, he knew that there was at least 90% water in the statement. Well, it seemed that he had to prepare at least hundreds of billions of US dollars or even more.

In reality, hundreds of billions of dollars would be wasted, but Xu Shenxue has a scientific research system that can greatly improve scientific research efficiency and its upper limit.

Therefore, Xu Shenxue felt that with a few billion US dollars, it might be possible to create an advanced semiconductor manufacturing industry chain with EUV lithography machines as the core.

Perhaps Wang Daolin felt that his words were too exaggerated and frightened Xu Shenxue... He immediately said:

"In fact, we don't have to do everything ourselves. There are still some scientific research institutions or enterprises in China that are engaged in related industries. If we take the lead and guide them, the overall investment can still be controlled!"

"And this is talking about the current top-level EUV-based advanced semiconductor manufacturing industry chain. If the technical standards are lowered, such as the current DUV dry lithography machine, the investment would not be so large!"

Hearing this, Xu Shenxue was slightly relieved: "If we were to develop this DUV dry lithography machine now, how long would it take and how much money would it cost?"

Wang Daolin said: "Our company's main project now is this DUV dry lithography machine. Domestic light sources, workbenches, lenses, etc. are actually not a big problem. We already have corresponding suppliers. It's just that there is still a gap in technology. In addition, there are some parts that have problems with localization!"

"The localization problem of these parts can be solved with an investment of several hundred million US dollars."

"If the funds are in place, we will be able to produce a completely domestically produced DUV dry lithography machine in two years at most."

“But the production efficiency is definitely not as good as that of advanced foreign products. I hope the group is mentally prepared for this!”

Xu Shenxue said: "Don't worry about the funding. I dare not say how much it is, but a billion US dollars is nothing!"

"As long as you make the product, you don't have to worry about not being able to sell it. Our group has a chip factory, and even if this lithography machine can't produce advanced processes, it can be used to make low-end process products!" After listening to Wang Daolin's words and looking at some information on the current basic technologies in the country, Xu Shenxue felt that the situation was slightly more optimistic than he had expected.

As for DUV dry lithography machine, the domestic technology in this area is actually quite good. The general direction has been almost completed, and the only thing left is some ink and wash work. Even if I don’t participate, it is estimated that it will be developed in four or five years.

What we need to do is to use our own funds and scientific research system to accelerate this process.

He immediately said: "Some industry-related subsystem companies invested by the group are currently promoting related technologies. You also need to work hard on your side. I look forward to your good news!"

Xu Shenxue never counts on the existing domestic manufacturers, as they are too slow in doing things...

Anyway, the basic technology in China is in place, so we should spend money on it, and then with the help of the scientific research system, we should try to develop the DUV dry lithography machine as soon as possible...

DUV dry lithography machines can be used to produce chips at the two process nodes of 90 nanometers and 65 nanometers. There is still a market for them in recent years. If you can get them out early, you can at least get some money back!

If it was a few years later, I wouldn’t even have soup to drink.

After carefully reading the technical data, Xu Shenxue said, "There is also the DUV immersion lithography machine. This is more important, and the technological progress cannot be left behind!"

The DUV dry lithography machine is destined to be an outdated technology, and although the DUV immersion lithography machine will also be outdated in a few years, it will still be usable in a dozen years. If the technology continues to be advanced, it will be able to reach the equivalent of a seven-nanometer process level in the future.

Therefore, Xu Shenxue paid more attention to this thing.

Wang Daolin was embarrassed at this time: "We are also promoting the development of DUV immersion lithography machines, but the difficulty is even greater than expected!"

Xu Shenxue said: "It's difficult but we have to do it, and we have to do it as soon as possible."

Hearing what Xu Shenxue said, Wang Daolin immediately said, "Don't worry, Xu Dong, we will work hard. After we develop the DUV dry lithography machine, many technologies will be common. We already have key subsystems such as light source, workbench, and lens. We can solve the wetting problem later. If there is sufficient funding, give us a few years and we will definitely be able to do it."

Xu Shenxue said: "Okay, I look forward to your good news."

-----

After the inspection, Xu Shenxue returned to the office of Liuhe Investment, and looked through the list of R&D personnel in the semiconductor field, including chip foundries, lithography machine manufacturing, and even other semiconductor companies, and then added places for them in the scientific research system.

As usual, each person gets one D-level quota out of ten points. This thing is in large quantity and is very useful. It can effectively improve the R&D efficiency of the entire team.

Then we will select some technical backbones and give them some C-level positions.

Finally, more than a dozen B-level scientific research places are given to some technical leaders to take turns to tackle core technologies.

The above-mentioned D, C, and B-level talents in the semiconductor field are basically poached from various companies under Xiannvshan Holdings.

Among them, a considerable number of core technical personnel are Chinese and Chinese-American technical personnel invited back from overseas, and some are foreign R&D personnel of other ethnic groups. In short, all talents that can be invited are wanted, regardless of whether they are Chinese or not.

On the other hand, in China, people are digging with hoes...

Haiwan Technology did the most ruthless thing, directly draining the entire technical backbone of Shangwei's R&D department...

Anyway, there is no point in keeping these precious scarce talents in the field of lithography machine design, so it is better to poach them and use them ourselves.

The same is true for other fields, from objective lenses to light sources, to workbenches, basically they dig whatever they can, and if they can't dig, they force themselves to dig...

Fairy Mountain Holdings' large-scale poaching naturally aroused widespread resentment in the industry, and even protests... After the large-scale protests, Fairy Mountain Holdings could no longer continue to poach people from various R&D units and enterprises, but they turned around and started poaching people from various universities...

Professors, lecturers, doctors, masters, even undergraduate graduates are required.

It is a fine tradition for Xu Shenxue's companies to poach people with high salaries... Basically, whenever they enter an industry, they will forcibly raise the average salary level of technical R&D personnel in that industry.

Paraquat is regarded by many companies as the talent field...wherever it goes, the price of talent will skyrocket!
However, the majority of technical personnel welcome and even look forward to Zhiyun Technology entering their field...that means a substantial increase in revenue.

After poaching so many people, the companies under Xiannvshan Holdings doubled the salaries of professionals in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment and raw materials-related industry chain!
In the past, ordinary technicians working on lithography machines only earned a few thousand yuan a month, but now at Gulf Technology, those working on lithography machines can basically earn over ten thousand yuan a month, and those with good skills can even earn twenty or thirty thousand.

While a large group of companies were wailing, a group of practitioners were cheering... This reminded many people of the previous talent war in the 3G industry. At that time, within just a few months, the average salary of the entire 3G industry doubled, making it the industry with the highest average salary in the country at that time.

This trend is now also happening in the semiconductor manufacturing field.

In addition, due to the huge talent gap, when Xiannvshan Holdings' companies conduct campus recruitment, they often take away students from relevant majors of famous universities, as long as they are not too bad.

As a result, the employment situation in the entire semiconductor manufacturing industry instantly improved, and relevant talents went from being ignored to being in high demand!

The direct response is that many universities have directly expanded the enrollment quotas for semiconductor-related majors. At the same time, because of the good employment situation and high average salary, more outstanding students have chosen to apply for related majors when applying for admission.

This means that in a few years, the number of graduates in semiconductor-related majors in China will increase significantly.

In scientific and technological research and development, talent is the foundation.

Without relevant talents, even if Xu Shenxue has a scientific research system, he will be powerless!
However, such large-scale research and development and the recruitment of talent require a huge amount of funds!
Xu Shenxue estimated that the 5 billion US dollars might not last long!
He has already been thinking about the next phase of cashing out plan. Whether it is selling shares or pledging shares, he will need to get another few hundred billion dollars.

(End of this chapter)