Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 414 has a rather romantic feel to it!
From the initial design of the research institute, some rooms with special specifications were reserved, such as a cleanroom laboratory.

There aren't many rooms like this, but I did spend money to get one, and I hadn't used it much until ten days ago.

At that time, Zhai Da bought all the available parts for the silicon carbide vapor deposition (CVD) equipment according to his own list, and the parts were delivered one after another.

As mentioned before, 70% of the components in this TEL device are sourced externally, and only 30% of the components are core technologies, which are locked in a black box, but this has been revealed by Zhai Da.

He explored various alternatives and found 10% of the replacements, so the remaining 20% ​​were unavailable and might require him to develop and manufacture them himself.

Finally, let me say that human TELs are also assembled and debugged by hand with precision. Only public intellectuals would think that such expensive equipment comes from an assembly line.

So for the past few days, one of his main tasks has been "playing around".

When Lu Qinjian, dressed like a rice dumpling, entered the cleanroom, he was greeted by a huge scene of parts being assembled.

No one else came in. After all, everyone is doing "reverse engineering," but there's no need for outsiders to know the details.

In fact, Lu Qinjian couldn't tell what the shell-less thing in front of him was at all, and there were many messy things scattered around.

Zhai Da didn't have the audacity to say, "I made this," but explained, "This is where I reverse engineer the equipment. What you see here is a replica based on TEL's approach. Of course, it's far from finished."

Zhai Da explained the issues of 70% and 30%: "Among the various processes of silicon carbide, 'epitaxy' is actually not the most technically demanding. There are even some on the market that use CVD to modify silicon carbide, but it is still worth overcoming."

Zhai Da, also dressed in a cleanroom suit, picked up a nozzle: "Besides the structure and materials, the three major challenges are: 1. the high temperature uniformity of the reaction chamber, 2. the uniformity of gas delivery in the gas spray system, and 3. industrial control software. The rest, to be honest, are not difficult. If other companies had enough market appeal and were willing to invest, they could have broken through the technical barriers."

"However, I have found that silicon carbide semiconductors are indeed widely used in industrial applications, and people are already trying to take shortcuts. For example, they use its high-frequency characteristics to drive gas spray systems, which can increase the speed by a level. So some of the electronic components are made by me."

Lu Qinjian squatted down. Although it didn't look like a complete piece of equipment at all, but was just a collection of parts, it was still clear that the equipment was quite large.

Like many of his peers, he has an engineering background, though it was decades ago, but he still feels that such a piece of equipment shouldn't be treated so lightly.
"Mr. Zhai, are you really confident that you can reverse the process?"

Zhai Da explained, "Lu Bu shouldn't overestimate these things. There are many mediocre parts and numerous craftsmanship flaws. The machine at the school was incredibly difficult to use, and it made people so angry that they had high blood pressure. Sometimes the technological gap isn't as big as you might imagine; it's just that it's specialized in this field."

"Many things aren't impossible to make, but there are technical barriers and information gaps. For example, regarding coatings that resist chlorine/fluorine gases, I contacted quite a few companies that can do it. If it were something completely hopeless, why would these companies be operating in secrecy?"

"The companies that can produce this may not have even thought in this direction. The more complex and large the industrial chain, the more opaque the information between them. Perhaps a more efficient way can be found by conducting a thorough investigation."

If all else fails, try kneading and mixing by hand.

I move forward step by step, simply so that the results will be universally applicable.

That doesn't mean I didn't die.

Lu Qinjian asked in a deep voice, "How long will this take?"

Zhai Da gave an awkward laugh: "I've been quite busy lately, working only sporadically. After the final exams are over... it'll be at least another month or two? It's a bit of a delay."

Lu Qinjian:
Do you want to listen to what you are saying?
Zhai Da didn't think there was anything wrong with it. How could a piece of equipment take half a year to make?

By the time the entire industrial chain becomes self-reliant and controllable, it will almost certainly become outdated production capacity, dying as soon as it's born, let alone making chicken necks.

Only Baidu is willing to do something like getting up early but arriving late.

“Minister Lu, semiconductors and Hongtu OS are different. The things that need to be linked are beyond my previous expectations, but it is worth the effort. However, you are aware of the investment required for semiconductors, so we may need some help.”

After a long pause, Lu Qinjian said, "While reverse engineering of equipment is a good idea, we don't need to get bogged down in the details. If we can first scale up the scale of externally sourced equipment and ensure positive market feedback, then gradually replace it with domestically produced alternatives, it will be a more prudent approach."

Regardless of whether the one in front of us is reliable or not, at least the silicon carbide power devices and motors outside are reliable.

If these two initiatives can be implemented, they already deserve strong support.

Zhai Da laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm not the only one carrying the burden of the research institute. I'm in charge of reverse engineering of equipment, but silicon carbide process and motor technology are all accumulated by everyone. I only play a guiding role. Most of the key breakthroughs were achieved by the members themselves."

Of the more than seventy invention patents (after being split up), Zhai Da only accounts for about ten of them based on his contributions.

Sun Ting was the most capable and was responsible for the most crucial tasks, handling nearly half of them by herself.

"I will introduce each member of the team to you one by one in a moment."

Lu Qinjian nodded. He had already kept Zhai Da's team in mind before coming. He was already surprised enough by the appearance of Zhai Da and Cheng Mo, but now it seemed like four or five more had emerged.

In a horizontal comparison, there may only be one person in the world every few years who has achieved remarkable results in scientific research and technology at this age; it is definitely not something that can be achieved by talent alone.

But here they're popping up in droves.

Yes. Only Zhai Dahe Research Institute dares to let young people of this age take the lead in scientific research, and this is part of the reason.

If I were to move to another place, I would first work at Wahaha for a year, then do laundry for another year. My biggest role would be to take over the night shifts for my seniors, mentors, and security guards.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Lu Qinjian said.

The two left the cleanroom, changed clothes in the changing room, and finally led the entire inspection team toward the conference room.

Perhaps because the conversation turned to the team, Lu Qinjian lingered a little longer when passing by a "November Outstanding Employee List".

This ranking isn't based on metrics like "sales figures" to criticize or punish employees; rather, it's used to encourage everyone within the research institute's new salary system.

For example, the "Health Star" award was given to a programmer who achieved excellent results in his year-end physical examination, had the most standard BMI, and the thickest hair, and received a 10% increase in his base salary.

There's also the "King of Certificates," a top-performing student who self-studied three professional qualification certificates, made the list, and received a +15% bonus on his base salary.

There are also a series of honors such as "Prince of Optimization" and "Star of Public Welfare," which are basically awarded monthly.

Only the "Heroic Acts" section is empty, mainly because it's filled with introverted men who can't find opportunities.

+20%!
The HR team, inherited from "Yueda Catering," has carried on their philosophy quite well. Zhai Da hadn't actually paid much attention to this list.

However, at the very top, a place called "Best Employee" caught Lu Qinjian's attention.

It has a cartoon character sticker on it.
A little girl with white hair, who would be called a "white-haired loli" in the anime/manga world, is cute and wears a green dress.

It says "Yu Xiaobai".

Lu Qinjian pointed there: "Who's that? Didn't you have time to take a picture?"

Zhai Da said awkwardly, "Haha. That's an old elm tree. Everyone in the company likes it very much, so someone personified it. They gave it a name and even gave it an employee badge, employee number 000, which is higher than mine."

Lu Qinjian smiled and said, "Great, you look young! Looks like I'm out of touch."

Zhai Da chuckled dryly, thinking to himself: Then I'm out of touch too.

He simply couldn't reconcile the image of madness, eeriness, and the near-unspeakable phrase "Execution of Old Elm" carved into the tree trunk with this adorable white-haired loli.

The group arrived at the conference room, inspected the key items they needed to see, and then moved on to the crucial part.

Before everyone took their seats, Zhai Da first gave a formal introduction to each member of the silicon carbide team. It was the first time anyone had experienced such a grand occasion, so they were all a little nervous.

Lu Qinjian shook hands with everyone with a smile and chatted for a bit. Qi Lin was the most excited, while Zhou Mo was the most composed.

Zhai Da put down his teacup for Lu Qinjian and then sat in the head seat: "Actually, even if Minister Lu hadn't come this time, I would probably have gone to Beijing after my final exams. There are many things I need to consult with you about."

"Is it about relocation?"

"You guessed that?"

Lu Qinjian shook his head, calmly blowing on his teacup: "It's not that I guessed, it's that I realized. This place is almost full. Besides, I told you earlier this year that you could tell me which place you want to go and I would recommend some. Tell me, where do you want to go?"

Zhai Da said in a deep voice, "Dongyang."

Boss Lu, holding his teacup, paused for a moment, his mind racing as he pondered which place "Dongyang" was.
It took me a while to realize that this was Zhai Da's hometown!
He wasn't unaware of where Zhai Da's hometown was; he just hadn't expected this answer, and he was caught off guard!

It's like someone saying he's a returnee from studying abroad, and when you ask where he studied, he says "Somalia."

"Well, your idea has a rather romantic feel to it."

(End of this chapter)