Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 336 The wind direction has changed
In Tongcheng, the headquarters of Zhiyun Microelectronics, Xu Shenxue visited the second factory, inspected the local 12-nanometer production line, and then went to see the 25th factory which had completed the construction of the factory building.

Factory 25 is also the factory prepared by Zhiyun Microelectronics for the equivalent of 7-nanometer process. From the factory building to the equipment, everything is prepared according to the equivalent of 7-nanometer process. The overall investment is expected to exceed 8 billion US dollars, which is quite exaggerated.

"We are planning to build two production lines at the same time in the 1980th plant. One production line will use the imported ASML company's NXT600 lithography machine, and the second production line will use the HDUV- lithography machine from Gulf Technology!"

"The overlay accuracy of both lithography machines is 2.5 nanometers. According to our design, both can meet the technical requirements of the equivalent 7-nanometer process!"

"In order to ensure that the equivalent 7-nanometer process completes technical certification on time, we use all imported equipment on the first production line. At present, all equipment has been ordered and some have arrived. The first NXT1980 lithography machine will arrive in ten days. All equipment will arrive before December this year. The equipment will be installed and debugged in the first quarter of next year, and technical certification work will be carried out."

"If we are optimistic, we will be able to complete the technical certification in the third quarter of next year and start preparing for mass production. However, considering the low yield rate caused by quadruple exposure, it is estimated that it will take a lot of time for us to solve this low yield rate problem."

"If we want to ship on a large scale, it will probably take until the first quarter of next year."

"As for our main competitor, TSMC, according to their announced plans, their schedule is similar to ours. After all, we are using the same batch of lithography machines to build equivalent 7-nanometer process production lines, and the arrival time of the lithography machines is similar to ours. The hardware equipment is in the same time period, and the specific schedule is also similar."

"As for who will be able to take the lead in the future, it depends on the competition in process technology, and we have an advantage in this area."

"Four Star has also announced an 8-nanometer process plan, but according to current intelligence, their 8-nanometer process looks like an improvement on the 10-nanometer process node in terms of technical indicators. The performance improvement will not be significant. It is a transition node between the 10-nanometer and 7-nanometer processes, similar to their 11-nanometer and our 12-nanometer processes."

"We skipped the eight-nanometer process and went straight to the seven-nanometer process."

"Their 7-nanometer process is even further behind."

"As for Intel, they have not announced the equivalent of the 7-nanometer process, but are promoting the 10-nanometer process node. However, their 10-nanometer process node is actually higher in technical parameters than our equivalent 7-nanometer process."

"However, higher technical parameters also mean it is more difficult. According to our estimation, it will take them a longer time to complete it."

"According to the intelligence we have collected so far, we can estimate their process node development. In the short term, our main competitor in the 7nm process is still TSMC; Intel's 10nm and Samsung's 7nm will be much later than us!"

“We will maintain our leading edge in the competition for the equivalent 7-nanometer node!”

Ding Chengjun expressed great confidence in the timetable for the equivalent seven-nanometer process, which was based on the confidence brought by the process research and development team with Professor Liang Song as the core.

"We have completed the basic theory and process flow of quadruple exposure, and are waiting to use this batch of lithography machines to carry out various tests in the next stage."

"After the first NXT1980 lithography machine arrives, we will use it to conduct preliminary technical testing and verification work."

------

At this time, Ding Chengjun pointed to another huge factory building of the 25th Factory and said, "This is the second production line of our 25th Factory. In order to support domestic equipment, we will use domestic equipment as much as possible on our second production line, even if it means a slight increase in production costs!"

"On the second production line, the core equipment includes the HDUV-600 lithography machine that Haiwan Technology is developing, as well as the auxiliary HDUV-500 lithography machine and HKRF-34 lithography machine, as well as back-end lithography machines, etching machines, ion implantation machines and other core equipment. As long as Haiwan Technology has them and the technical indicators can meet the requirements, we will use them!"

"The schedule of this production line is similar to that of the first production line. Although the core HDUV-600 lithography machine will arrive later, it is not a big problem and should be able to complete mass production in the second quarter of the year after next."

"It's just that the production efficiency of this production line is lower and the cost will be higher!"

"In terms of production efficiency, Gulf Technology needs to continue to work hard!"

Xu Shenxue listened while looking at the technical report in his hand.

There are two production lines with equivalent 7-nanometer process, one is entirely imported, and the other is a mix of domestic and imported equipment.

Everything else is fine, but there is still a clear gap in the field of lithography machines.

At this time, Wang Daolin, CEO of Gulf Technology, who came with Xu Shenxue to inspect, said: "Our HDUV-600 lithography machine and ASML's NXT1980 lithography machine are the same in the three core hard indicators."

"The resolution is 38 nanometers, the numerical aperture is , and the overlay accuracy is nanometers."

"These three core indicators are also the hard indicators for making equivalent 7-nanometer technology. Not even one less will do."

"However, in addition to these three core indicators, there is another indicator where our HUDV-600 lithography machine has some gaps, that is, WPH, or the number of wafers processed per hour."

"The larger this data is, the greater the output of the lithography machine per unit time. The greater the output, the higher the production efficiency!"

"For comparison, ASML's NXT1980 lithography machine has a WPH of pieces."

"The WPH of our HDUV-600 lithography machine is slightly worse in design indicators, with only pieces."

After hearing this, Xu Shenxue said: "This gap is not small. If it is reflected in the production process, it will lead to an increase in production costs!"

Wang Daolin said: "There is a little gap, but there is nothing we can do about it. We are too pressed for time!"

"ASML's NXT1980 lithography machine is based on a newly developed machine architecture. The initial purpose was to achieve higher production efficiency. In addition, their technical accumulation is deeper, so the NXT1980 has extremely high production efficiency."

"Although our HUDV-600 lithography machine also uses a newly developed machine structure, in order to catch up with the progress, we have adopted some more conservative technology application strategies and also made extensive use of the technologies on the HDUV-500/400 lithography machines."

"This faster development process allowed us to produce a prototype at the end of last year, and then start shipping next fall."

"But this also results in a slightly lower production efficiency for the HDUV-600 lithography machine."

At this time, Wang Daolin also glanced at Ding Chengjun who was also concerned about this matter, and continued: "However, our HDUV-600 lithography machine is sold at a lower price, and the after-sales service fee is lower, which will eventually be reflected in the chip cost. Although there will be some increase, it will not increase too much and is within an acceptable range."

"We will never let our customers suffer any loss!"

Wang Daolin’s meaning was very clear. That is, since my products are inferior, I will make less money and give more profit to customers, so as to avoid cost increases due to the use of their Gulf Technology’s lithography machines.

Besides, ASML’s NXT1980 lithography machine is good and has high production efficiency, but ordinary wafer fabs can’t buy it!
Even Zhiyun Microelectronics can’t get much goods a year now, let alone other domestic wafer fabs.

Therefore, there is only one domestic wafer fab that can obtain this level of advanced lithography machines in the short term, and that is Gulf Technology.

ASML's NXT1980 lithography machine currently has very low production, and the four major wafer fabs are still taking turns queuing up to get the goods.

As for other manufacturers, they have to wait in line!

By next year, even if Zhiyun Microelectronics does not purchase this lithography machine, the other three companies and subsequent manufacturers such as UMC and GlobalFoundries will squeeze ASML's orders.

ASML's advanced lithography machines never lack buyers...

It is not easy for other domestic wafer factories to obtain this lithography machine!

SMIC is a typical example. They also wanted to buy ASML's NXT1980 lithography machine, but couldn't.

At the same time, they are also actively promoting the research and development of the 600-nanometer process. For this purpose, they have placed an order with Gulf Technology for an HDUV- lithography machine, and plan to use this lithography machine to develop the -nanometer process.

The 500-nanometer process is very difficult to achieve with the HDUV-1970 lithography machine or ASML's NXT lithography machine of the same level... This is almost the limit of this level of lithography machine, and it is too difficult for SMIC to do it.

It’s not that it can’t be done, but it’s extremely difficult… Not all wafer fabs will be like Zhiyun, TSMC, Sixin and Intel, the four wafer fabs, who will desperately push the progress of process nodes for market competition and thus squeeze the performance of lithography machines to the limit.

For example, using the HDUV-600 lithography machine or the ASML1980 lithography machine to produce an equivalent seven-nanometer process (Intel's 10-nanometer)... Only these four companies plan to do so, and other wafer fabs will not do so.

It is too difficult and the cost is too high. If you can’t find enough high-priced orders in the early stage, you will lose everything!

At present, only these four wafer fabs have received or already have orders for such advanced technology and are willing to pay a high premium.

It is almost impossible for other wafer fabs to receive such high-premium top-level process orders for the time being.

Therefore, it is not so fun to try to squeeze the performance of the lithography machine to the limit, and it is easy to result in huge losses!

Using a higher-end lithography machine and then developing a mature process is actually a more commercially viable option with low difficulty, low cost and high efficiency.

SMIC plans to use the advanced generation HDUV-600 lithography machine to launch the -nanometer process through the powerful performance of the more advanced generation of lithography equipment.

There are other wafer fab manufacturers that have similar ideas, but they just can't get the more advanced lithography machines... Whether it's ASML or Gulf Technology, the production capacity of advanced lithography machines with an overlay accuracy of 2.5 nanometers is limited.

Needless to say, ASML's limited NXT1980 in the early stage is in short supply. Except for the four major manufacturers, the others have to wait!
The HUDV-600 lithography machine from Gulf Technology is still in the prototype stage and will not be shipped until the end of the year. Even after it is officially shipped next year, its production capacity will be very limited.

In addition to supplying Zhiyun Microelectronics, the company will only supply another strategic partner "SMIC" in the short term. Other manufacturers will have to wait a long time if they want to get the goods!

To some extent, SMIC has taken advantage of the development of Gulf Technology and was able to successfully obtain advanced lithography machines of this level... If nothing unexpected happens, UMC and GlobalFoundries will obtain NXT1980 later than SMIC obtains HDUV-600.

However, even SMIC will not be able to get too many goods by then, as most of Gulf Technology's HDUV-600 lithography machines will still need to be supplied to Zhiyun Microelectronics.

Because in addition to using this lithography machine to produce chips with an equivalent seven-nanometer process, Zhiyun Microelectronics also needs to use this lithography machine to produce chips with ten-nanometer and even fourteen-nanometer process nodes.

The HDUV-600 lithography machine, including the NXT1980 lithography machine from ASML next door, is actually more suitable for the production of 10-14 nanometer process from a commercial perspective. As for the equivalent 7 nanometer process, that is pushing the limit and there is nothing that can be done about it.

This lithography machine is needed for the three core process nodes: equivalent to seven nanometers, equivalent to ten nanometers, and equivalent to fourteen nanometers. Therefore, the sales volume of this lithography machine will be very large in the future.

Not only Zhiyun Microelectronics needs it, but also SMIC and other domestic wafer fabs will need it.

If HDUV-500 and HDUV-400 are included, it is optimistically estimated that the annual shipment volume of Gulf Technology's DUV immersion lithography machines, namely ARFI lithography machines, will be maintained at around units in recent years.

Then Gulf Technology's ARF lithography machine, also known as the DUV dry lithography machine, is also currently having some sales, with about ten to eight units being sold a year.

The total sales volume of the above two types of deep ultraviolet lithography machines can be maintained at around 50 units.

Then there are the KRF lithography machines and the I-line lithography machines. These two types of lithography machines are either used in mature processes or as auxiliary lithography machines in advanced processes.

Gulf Technology sells more than 20 KRF lithography machines a year, and I-line lithography machines sell even more, with more than 40 units. These two low-end lithography machines are mainly used as auxiliary lithography machines. If you buy Gulf Technology's ARFI lithography machine, you will also buy a KRF or I-LINE lithography machine as a companion.

Adding together the four front-end lithography machines, ARFI, ARF, KRF and i-line, Gulf Technology’s annual shipments can reach more than 100 units.

Of these more than 100 lithography machines, only i-line and k-line lithography machines can be exported.

ARFI and ARF lithography machines are only shipped domestically...due to foreign patent issues, they cannot be exported.

Therefore, in addition to Zhiyun Microelectronics under Zhiyun Group, Gulf Technology’s customers include many domestic wafer fabs such as SMIC, Huali Microelectronics, and Yanwei Electronics.

There is not only one Zhiyun Microelectronics wafer factory in China. There are many others. In total, there are more than a dozen larger ones. However, their technology was not very good before, and they had no funds or technology.

Haiwan Technology not only sells equipment, but also provides a full set of technical support services, from equipment installation and commissioning to mass production auxiliary processes. It can also help them obtain technical authorization for some mature processes of Zhiyun Microelectronics...

In order to sell lithography machines and other semiconductor equipment and enable the semiconductor equipment field of the Fairy Mountain Holding system to form a virtuous circle as soon as possible, Xu Shenxue has put a lot of thought into providing a one-stop packaging service!

To put it simply: Buy a photolithography machine and get the process for free...

Therefore, these domestic wafer fabs are also willing to look to Gulf Technology to purchase lithography machines and other core equipment: not only does it save trouble, but the key is that for them, the process is actually more difficult than that of lithography machines!

ASML's 1950 series lithography machines, which can be used for 28-nanometer process, can now be easily purchased from ASML, and there are even many second-hand ones on the market.

However, apart from Zhiyun Microelectronics and SMIC, there is no third manufacturer in China that has mastered the 28-nanometer process!
Now Xu Shenxue offers free technology when you buy equipment, even if the technology is only mature and backward, and you have to pay for authorization, which is equivalent to working for Zhiyun Microelectronics.

But it’s better to have something than nothing!

Not only them, even SMIC is trying to find Zhiyun Microelectronics to discuss the licensing of 14nm process technology...even if it requires a high price.

In addition, GlobalFoundries of the United States has also approached Sixin, hoping to obtain the technical license for the 14-nanometer process, and the cooperation between the two companies is likely to be realized.

First, try out some mature technologies from large wafer fabs to accumulate experience, and then imitate them. The road to innovation will be easier.

Otherwise, it would be too difficult to do everything by yourself.

For wafer fabs with technological advantages such as Zhiyun Microelectronics and Sixing, they can also obtain more profits through the licensing of mature process technology... This is equivalent to using other people's wafer fabs to expand their own production capacity and further increase revenue and profits.

It's something that benefits both parties!

Gulf Technology sells lithography machines through various means, selling more than 100 units a year. This is actually very large considering the already small lithography machine market.

Today's lithography machine market has sales of only a few hundred units a year.

The ARFI lithography machine (DUV immersion type) and the ARF lithography machine (DUV dry type) on the market only sell more than 150 units a year. Basically, ASML takes about 100 units, Gulf Technology takes the remaining 40 to 50 units, and Nikon takes a single digit.

KRF and i-line lithography machines are low-end lithography machines. They are produced in large quantities but have low unit prices and are not that important. The four major lithography machine manufacturers produce and sell these two types of lithography machines. Among them, ASML's KRF lithography machine sells more, while Canon's L-LINE lithography machine sells more.

In addition, there is another branch in the field of lithography machines, that is, flat panel lithography machines (FPD lithography machines). For example, OLED displays are actually made using this lithography machine.

In this field, Nikon and Canon have great advantages, and Gulf Technology also has an advantage, but the current shipment volume is relatively small, with only seven or eight units shipped this year.

Then there is a back-end lithography machine. Gulf Technology also has this back-end lithography machine, which has a relatively large advantage and a high shipment volume. The second is another domestic lithography machine manufacturer, Shanghai Microelectronics, whose back-end lithography machines are also good.

The last one is the SUSS lithography machine, which is used in packaging and other fields. This is the Germans' strength. Gulf Technology also has it, but it is not doing very well for now.

Although an advanced lithography machine costs tens of millions of dollars, in fact the market size of the entire lithography machine is not large, and the total market size is only more than 10 billion US dollars.

ASML took the lion's share, Gulf Technology took the smaller share, Nikon and Canon's revenues were even smaller, and as for Shanghai Microelectronics and Germany's SUSS lithography machines, they were a small fraction of the small fraction, with very low revenues.

The market is small, revenue is low, the technology is particularly difficult, and the R&D investment is huge... This is the embarrassment of semiconductor equipment with lithography machines as the core.

If it weren't for Xu Shenxue's BUG, ​​it would be extremely difficult to develop lithography machines in China...even if they were developed, they would still be a loss-making product.

Hundreds of billions of dollars were invested, and in the last year only a few billion dollars were sold...it would take decades to recover the cost!
At a time when the voices of globalization are still relatively loud, only Xu Shenxue, a sucker, would invest tens of billions of dollars to develop lithography machines in China.

That’s right, Xu Shenxue is now seen as a victim by many people in the country…

----

But Xu Shenxue was not moved at all, and continued to work firmly on a series of semiconductor equipment and consumables with lithography machines as the core!

After all, for Zhiyun Group, the only areas that can really strangle the company and have a major impact on the company are semiconductor equipment and consumables...which will directly affect the chips.

Without a lithography machine, what’s the point of playing with chips... The American consortium will block Zhiyun Group’s chips in minutes.

Apart from chips, some important sub-components required by smart terminals are not a big problem.

For example, in the field of screens, Huaxing Technology's top-level OLED screen is technically very good, similar to that of Four Stars. They each have their own advantages and disadvantages in some details, but overall they are at the same technical level and there is no obvious generation gap between them.

The flat-panel lithography machines needed in the manufacturing of OLEDs are currently mainly imported from Japan, but Gulf Technology also has such lithography machines, which, although slightly inferior, can actually be used.

In the battery field, domestic battery manufacturers are actually in a leading position. Although the outside world does not know much about Desay Energy, which is strategically invested by Zhiyun Group, its lithium battery technology is actually quite good. It is currently the main battery supplier for Zhiyun Group and Weiku Electronics... At the same time, the company is actually one of the main battery suppliers for fruit.

This company has a very large battery production volume and excellent technology, and has a very good market share in the field of smart terminals.

Of course, Desay Energy only provides basic battery packages. As for another core technology of batteries, which is mainly the battery cells that manage battery charging and discharging, they are all provided by customers.

Desay Energy will assemble the battery cells provided by customers with its own battery packs, which is a semi-OEM type.

In addition, Liuhe Investment has also invested in another domestic battery company, Ningdai Battery, which also makes very good batteries. This is mainly supplied to other manufacturers. Liuhe Investment's investment in it is purely a financial investment and it does not have operating rights.

Then Hailan Automobile also has its own power battery manufacturer. This power battery factory is for its own use and currently does not supply to the outside world, so not much is known about it outside... Because for Hailan Automobile, this power battery technology is a core technological advantage and it is impossible to easily release it for external supply.

In addition, there is another large battery manufacturer in China, that is BYD Battery. They do a good job in the lithium batteries and power batteries used in their electronic products.

The four major domestic battery manufacturers have good technology, large output, and high market share, and are in a leading position internationally.

As for smart terminals, they basically consist of three major components: chips, screens, and batteries. The rest are miscellaneous items, which are basically available in China. It doesn't really matter if some are worse or better.

There is no problem with the screen and battery, so the chip becomes Xu Shenxue's most concerned area.

As for the chip design, there is no problem in this regard. Zhiyun Semiconductor's chip design capabilities are currently world-class, covering mobile phone SOC, CPU chips with independent instruction sets SOP, server CPU chips, X86 CPU, and a GPU, that is, a graphics card or AI chip.

In these fields, Zhiyun Semiconductor is at the first-class or even top-class level.

Even chip design software such as EDA is developed by Zhiyun Group itself. Its Zhiyun Software has the corresponding chip design software, so there is no such thing as being stuck.

The only area where there is still a bottleneck is in the chip manufacturing field.

Although all equipment and consumables basically have similar domestic alternatives under the Xiannvshan Holdings system, even if patent issues are not taken into account, the performance of many equipment and consumables is still inferior to imported products.

It is actually extremely difficult to achieve comprehensive domestic substitution in the field of semiconductor manufacturing. If this domestic substitution is to reach the world-class level, it will be even more difficult.

Semiconductors are a global industry, and equipment and consumables come from the entire Western system dominated by Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea.

To carry out comprehensive domestic substitution is almost equivalent to confronting the semiconductor industrial system of the Western world at the same time.

Even though the R&D personnel of each company under Xu Shenxue have the assistance of scientific research quotas, and each of them is as if possessed by gods and is progressing at a very fast pace, it is unrealistic for them to catch up in all aspects and reach the first-class level in a short period of time.

Therefore, the domestic substitution of the semiconductor manufacturing industry led by Xu Shenxue is mainly aimed at the research and development of core equipment and consumables, and the purpose is to solve problems whether there are any or not, rather than performance problems.

Therefore, once the American consortium strangles the company in a certain field of semiconductors, it will have a certain actual impact on Zhiyun Group.

Xu Shenxue is very clear about this point, and the other side is also clear about it!

However, both parties are currently cautious and are still in the stage of a temporary verbal agreement, so the other party has not taken action in this area.

Because they dare to block, Xu Shenxue dares to push for a comprehensive ban on the import of US semiconductor products. Intel, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments will all have to get out.

Anyway, with Zhiyun Group at the top to support us, without these foreign chips, it will not have much impact on the current domestic industrial and economic activities.

At worst, Xu Shenxue can just be self-reliant. He doesn't need to worry about you...

After all, everyone in the consortium circle knows that Xu Shenxue’s character has always been that if you slap me, I will slap you back twice!
The consortium circle initially called Xu Shenxue a nouveau riche, and later said that Xu Shenxue was crazy Xu!
Xu Shenxue's reputation is not very good in the overseas consortium circles... Some less powerful consortium families are actually very afraid of Xu Shenxue.

Others just make verbal threats or take financial action at most, but Crazy Xu really dares to throw rockets at your house!
It's a typical 19th century style, so disgusting!

What era is this? Why are you still doing this?
Xu Shenxue's tough attitude actually ensures to a certain extent that the other party has not done anything too excessive.

However, when Xu Shenxue looked at the schedule and the wind direction on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, he knew very well that there was not much time left for Zhiyun Group and himself.

The wind direction on the other side is changing dramatically, and this change is driven by their internal forces, and even their consortium cannot stop it to a certain extent.

Because a consortium is a consortium, and ordinary people are ordinary people...they cannot be confused. In most cases, their interests are actually not consistent.

The one that reached a temporary verbal agreement with Xu Shenxue was only the other party's consortium, or to be more precise, part of the consortium, not all of the consortium, let alone the ordinary people on the other side!

Xu Shenxue is now a little worried that some of the other party's consortium may not be able to control the situation, which may eventually lead to drastic changes.

This drastic change will lead to restrictions on the import of many equipment and consumables.

By then, there might be trouble.

Xu Shenxue's worries soon became a reality.

After entering February, the delivery of the first NXT1980 lithography machine was delayed!

Although ASML explained that it was only due to production capacity constraints and the delivery deadline was only postponed by two months, during the telephone conversation with the American consortium, the other party also said that I did not do anything tricky and it was none of my business. You, Crazy Xu, don't blame me!
But Xu Shenxue still smelled a conspiracy!

The source of the conspiracy is not one person or one consortium, but the fact that the wind direction on the other side of the Pacific Ocean is undergoing a drastic change!
He could even guess that the consortiums that had reached a temporary agreement with him were losing control over their internal affairs, which in turn caused the extension of the conflict, which would affect Xu Shenxue outside.

Otherwise, such an accident would not have occurred without major changes.

Thinking of this, Xu Shenxue was speechless. He was so good at fighting me, but how come he couldn't even control the situation in his own territory...

But since the incident had happened, Xu Shenxue naturally had to respond...

No matter how the outside world responds, the blacksmith still needs to be strong himself!

Gulf Technology's HDUV-600 lithography machine project must proceed as scheduled to ensure that the equivalent 7-nanometer process is mass-produced on time in the second quarter of next year!

(End of this chapter)