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"Boss Jiang, during this period of time, many people have come to us to inquire about information through various means."

“It feels like the information that we have broken through the 1.8-micron process has been known.”

Lin Qiaosheng has received many calls inquiring about information and investigations during this period, and he feels it necessary to report to Jiang Hui.

He knew that Jiang Hui wanted to develop semiconductor technology in a low-key manner in recent years.

Therefore, whether it is the breakthroughs in lithography equipment technology from Lingnan Semiconductor or Nanshan Equipment, they are not planned to be publicized on a large scale.

When our technological strength reaches the internationally advanced level, it will naturally be reported without the need for publicity.

At that time, progress has certainly been made in other areas where people were easily stuck.

But now, if some international manufacturers unite, it can really have a certain impact on the development of Lingnan semiconductors.

After all, in the chip processing process, it doesn’t mean that everything can be done just by mastering a few key equipment such as lithography machines.

Many of the chip design software, photoresists, inert gases and other items need to be purchased internationally.

Domestic manufacturers are still relatively weak in this regard.

"It doesn't matter. Once you know, you'll know."

"It was impossible to hide it. After all, Lingnan Semiconductor wanted to expand its 1.8-micron chip foundry business."

"But even if they know about it, we just won't actively promote it."

"As for other domestic manufacturers who want to purchase, we will sell to them openly."

"But we also need to ask the other party to sign a confidentiality agreement and not to proactively disclose that the lithography machine was purchased from our Nanshan Equipment."

Although this approach is a bit like covering up the truth, it can still be effective if you do it repeatedly and over a long period of time.

"Well, many domestic semiconductor companies have seen Lingnan Semiconductor's remarkable success in chip foundry business, and they should be very motivated to introduce advanced chip processing equipment."

"Ministries and commissions also support projects that can improve the production level of semiconductor factories without spending a lot of foreign exchange."

"As a result, we should be able to receive a large number of orders for 1.8-micron process lithography equipment in the next three years."

Lin Qiaosheng is currently in charge of many large equipment projects.

The production scale of Nanshan Equipment as a whole is growing rapidly every year, and it has now become the largest equipment manufacturer in the country.

The key is that the equipment they produce is generally high-tech and high-value equipment.

This is very rare.

If a country wants to have strong industrial strength, its equipment strength must also be strong.

Otherwise, unilateral development is unrealistic.

In the end, all the benefits will be reaped by others.

"Didn't we go to Chang'an City for an inspection some time ago?"

"We can consider producing some of the lithography equipment in Chang'an City. This will also make it more difficult for our opponents to get intelligence."

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Jiang Hui was also worried that Nanshan Equipment would develop too fast and some people would resort to extreme methods.

For example, something like a factory fire is entirely possible.

It will be too late to regret then.

Although it can be prevented through various means, it is also necessary to build a new factory at the same time.

The relevant departments are obviously happy to see this happen.

In particular, some military industrial units also have the need to use various equipment, and they certainly do not want to produce them together with general equipment.

"No problem. There are many colleges and universities in Chang'an City, and the talent pool is relatively rich."

"If we go there to develop, the obstacles are not very big."

Compared with other inland cities, Chang'an City has good conditions in all aspects.

It has a profound historical heritage and many talented people are willing to settle in Chang'an City.

This is also very beneficial to the development of Nanshan Equipment there.

……

"President, the situation is basically clear now."

"Lingnan Semiconductor is indeed a chip factory that has already put into production a 1.8-micron process."

"The key equipment inside, the lithography machine, was provided by Nanshan Equipment."

"Some semiconductor companies in China have already started to proactively contact Nanshan Equipment to discuss the purchase of lithography machines."

"After Lingnan Semiconductor achieved new technological breakthroughs, it is said that it is preparing to make multiple moves in the fields of chips and memory to rapidly expand application scenarios."

"It is estimated that they will further build more 1.8-micron process chip factories to seize this market."

As the head of Samsung Electronics' marketing department, one of Jin Tai's important jobs is to collect various industry information.

This is also very critical for the development of an enterprise.

Especially since the semiconductor industry is changing very quickly, information in this area is even more important.

"It's a bit surprising that Nanshan Equipment has achieved a technological breakthrough so quickly."

"Didn't ASML estimate that it would take at least two to three years for the other party to transition from a 3-micron process lithography machine to a 1.8-micron process?"

Li Jianxi frowned, feeling a little worried.

Samsung Electronics is now focusing on DRAM memory, with the most important process being the 1.8-micron process.

It would not be good news if Lingnan Semiconductor also invested heavily in this area.

Over the years, he has become relatively familiar with Lingnan Semiconductor.

Backed by the BMW Group, Lingnan Semiconductor faces less financial pressure than Samsung Electronics.

The other party has every confidence to spend money on DRAM memory together with Samsung Electronics.

"Many of our speculations over the years on Lingnan Semiconductor or Nanshan Equipment have failed."

"The development of the companies founded by Jiang Hui is very different from that of many Chinese companies."

"I think we can't use the past perspective to evaluate those companies in the future."

"Otherwise, you never know when they will come up with something new."

Jin Tai's judgment is obviously very accurate.

But Li Jianxi didn't want to hear such content.

"While the company is considering increasing investment in DRAM, it is also increasing investment in the chip field."

"Our computer and mobile phone businesses will also see an increase in demand for chips in this area in the future."

"As a result, Lingnan Semiconductor is likely to become our main competitor in Asia."

"You must find a way to get more information."

"And if we can poach some people from the other side, that would be the best."

Li Jianxi is still very ambitious.

Samsung Electronics has also grown rapidly in the past decade.

If history continues to develop normally, Samsung Electronics will become a giant in the industry in a dozen years.

"Well, we have already established a branch in Huaxia, but it is quite far from Shenzhen."

"I plan to set up a branch in Shenzhen next, so that I can carry out my work better."

"The salaries in China are generally not high. As long as we provide an income level similar to that in China, we can attract many Chinese employees to join us."

Jintai has a deep understanding of the market situation. The salary level of Samsung Electronics employees is generally more than 1 yuan per month.

He feels there is no pressure to recruit people with this income level.

You should know that in Samsung Electronics' factories in China, the average salary of workers is only over 100 yuan.

Even for some technical personnel, the salary will not exceed 300 yuan per month.

In this way, you can imagine how stimulating a monthly salary of 1 yuan is.

……

"President Koike, I think the company needs to speed up the upgrading of semiconductor technology."

"Otherwise, the technological level of our competitors, such as Samsung Electronics, TSMC and Lingnan Semiconductor, will soon surpass ours."

Hitachi Semiconductor was once one of the dominant players in Japan's semiconductor industry.

Its current strength and scale should not be underestimated.

However, in the past decade, Japan's semiconductor industry has been suppressed by the United States, and the development speed in all aspects has obviously slowed down.

In the past, Hitachi Semiconductor did not take TSMC, Samsung Electronics or others seriously.

As for China's competitors, they do not consider those manufacturers as their competitors.

But now the situation is beginning to change.

As the head of the sales department, Sano Miki feels this most deeply.

"The semiconductor business is not the company's core business now, but more often it is to meet the needs of other companies in the group."

"We want to invest more money to develop new technologies and build new factories, but the board will not agree to this easily."

Taro Koike has a clear understanding of the changes in the status of Hitachi Semiconductor within the Hitachi Group.

He had a hunch that Hitachi Semiconductor might be abandoned by the group in the future.

Not to mention selling it directly to a certain company, the possibility of merging it with the semiconductor business of another company is very high.

In this case, the group naturally does not want too much investment to take place.

Because it is very likely that after these investments are made, before they start making money, the situation will have changed dramatically.

"But if we don't move forward quickly, other manufacturers won't wait for us."

"Companies like Samsung Electronics and Lingnan Semiconductor have added several new factories in recent years."

"Their production scale is expected to completely surpass ours in the next two years."

"In terms of technology, the gap between them and us is also very small."

Sano Miki said a little anxiously.

In the semiconductor industry, once your technology lags behind, it will not be easy to catch up.

After all, others won't stop and wait for you.

Under the urging of Moore's Law, each competitor will quickly achieve technological iteration.

"That's also something that can't be helped."

"We can only develop at the pace set by the board of directors."

"Besides, we are not the only ones in this situation. NEC and Mitsubishi Semiconductor are in similar situations as well."

"In the short term, we can still meet market demand."

Taro Koike certainly doesn't want to go against the board of directors.

Because that would make you lose your position under your butt.

As for whether the company’s prospects are very bad, I can’t worry about that.

Anyway, Japanese companies all emphasize the lifetime employment system, and even if a company is failing, they will not easily lay off employees.

Hitachi Group is a large and powerful company, so there will always be a place for him.

After hearing what Taro Koike said, Sano Miki was a little disappointed, but he didn't dare to say much.

The hierarchy between superiors and subordinates in Japanese companies is very strict.

This seems to be similar to the Chinese history where a higher-ranking official could crush someone to death.

……

"Grove, Lingnan Semiconductor's 1.8-micron process technology is relatively mature and has the ability to produce chips for us."

"Our previous foundry business in this field was all outsourced to TSMC."

"I think it is necessary to introduce competition appropriately."

Otellini is considered to be an executive within Intel who has more frequent contacts with Lingnan Semiconductor.

It was he who led the team to conduct the initial entry review of Lingnan Semiconductor.

Through the contact over the past few years, his impression of China and Chinese companies has also changed a lot.

Especially every time I go to Shenzhen, I can feel the huge changes.

These things are difficult to understand for those who have not been there in person.

He had a feeling that close cooperation between Intel and Lingnan Semiconductor would be a good thing.

"It's definitely better to have competition than not have competition."

"Especially Lingnan Semiconductor's price advantage has always been relatively large."

"But I heard that ASML, Canon and other equipment manufacturers do not sell advanced lithography equipment to Lingnan Semiconductor."

"Under such circumstances, Lingnan Semiconductor has developed the 1.8-micron process technology through its own methods. Is this reliable?"

Grove asked a question that many people want to know.

That is, is Lingnan Semiconductor's 1.8-micron process technology reliable or not?

Being able to produce a certain product and being able to produce it stably on a large scale are two completely different concepts.

People who work in industry are well aware of this difference.

The chip industry has very high requirements for various processes.

It is possible that something goes wrong in one of the processes, which will cause a large number of chips to be scrapped.

This is not just a cost issue, it also involves product supply issues.

That's why Grove confirmed it carefully.

"Lingnan Semiconductor's lithography machines are produced by Nanshan Equipment."

"As the largest equipment manufacturer in China, Nanshan Equipment started with 3-micron process lithography machines and now has 1.8-micron process lithography machine technology."

"It is said that more advanced 1-micron process lithography equipment is already under development and it is estimated that it will not take too long to appear."

"In this case, I think their equipment is still trustworthy."

Otellini not only visited Lingnan Semiconductor, but also visited Nanshan Equipment.

Therefore, he is quite confident about Nanshan equipment.

"Since you think it's reliable, we'll give part of the orders to Lingnan Semiconductor for production."

"In the future, Lingnan Semiconductor and TSMC will form a competitive landscape, and all products will be outsourced to both of them."

Grove quickly made a decision.

This decision will undoubtedly do Intel no harm. (End of this chapter)