Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

Chapter 58 Major Chipmaking Failure

Chapter 58

The Great Yan landship and Kazdel's Arctic Beast maintained a considerable distance, and both sides maintained a strange tacit understanding or atmosphere. The Great Yan people knew that the other side would definitely come to their rescue, and in order to avoid the other side choosing to resolve the matter violently, necessary precautions were required.

This is the icy plains. To put it bluntly, after murder and robbery, as long as the witnesses are silenced, no one will know. Besides, the two sides come from different countries. Given the style of the Great Yan Dynasty and its officials, it is absolutely impossible for them to retaliate through military action.

Of course, as the party in the wrong, the Great Yan people could not take advantage of the safety and decisiveness to run away, and they could not run away anyway. The price of the overloaded engine was that now both land ships were completely unable to move.

Faced with the Kazdel forces gradually encircling them, the Great Flame fleet appeared quite flustered. In the previous escape battle, they had lost a lot of manpower, or to put it more bluntly, anyone with a backbone or backbone had chosen to stay behind to cover the rear and buy time, and the fighting spirit of the remaining people was highly questionable.

Even if there were some warriors who prioritized the greater good and restrained their impulsive passion, their numbers and combat strength were completely incomparable to those of the enemy.

"In order to rescue you, we lost hundreds of men, especially those deployed at ground artillery positions. Also, the ancient interference relics we repaired had to lose their precious lifespan. As for the shells and the like, we'll leave that aside for the sake of our friendly relations."

So, what do you intend to do about this? The doctor almost went straight to the point and made the claim. The admiral of the Great Yan Fleet and his deputy looked at each other. If it was just about paying money, that would be fine. This would be a headache for the Ministry of Revenue when they got back, and it had nothing to do with him. Besides, those professional eunuchs would have plenty of ways to bargain little by little.

But the fear is that these people don't just want money, or it's not just about money. What they get from the dead city is far more valuable than a little money.

"Therefore, according to the regulations of the Land-based Navigation Act, since we rescued you, and it was your own fault that you caused this trouble, half of your spoils and cargo belong to us." This law does exist, and it is in effect when land-based ships are navigating mobile cities, as well as when exploring wilderness ruins.

If it weren't for this, you might not get help but instead be plundered and kicked while you're down. Just like sailing ships in the Age of Exploration, rescuing a ship in distress was an obligation, and behind this obligation was the right to demand half of the other party's cargo with a clear conscience.

After all, being able to take half of the goods legally and without bloodshed is much more worthwhile than resorting to violence, where the other party might burn everything down, resulting in heavy losses and no money.

Because of this rule, when a land-based ship encounters other land-based ships that have been attacked by bandits or the like, it will provide assistance to the best of its ability.

"This..." The other party pressed on with overwhelming force, leaving the Great Yan side with little room for negotiation. They could only resort to stalling and evasion tactics. "We still need to discuss this further. Of course, please rest assured, we will act according to the rules." There are significant differences between what constitutes "half" and "half." For example, calculating based on value would be the most reasonable, but the value of items produced by ruins is difficult to determine. Calculating based on quantity, on the other hand, would allow them to simply dump a large amount of sifted scrap metal onto the other party, while keeping the high-value, complete relics for themselves.

Moreover, even if we take a step back and wait until the landship is repaired, then choose a dark and windy night to start it up and escape, do you think these people will still chase after us across the ice field? After all, this is not human territory, but the territory of demons.

When the time comes, you only need to leave behind some worthless items and a message saying you've run away. The other party is even less likely to chase after you. Fighting them might not be beneficial, so it's better to quit while you're ahead. At most, you'll lose a little money. If you leave behind a few valuable items, they're even less likely to turn against you.

"Please~" Of course, the doctor knew that the other party was stalling, but he had a way to deal with such stalling guys. Although the other party's plan was clever, the doctor never intended to let them leave so easily in the first place.

He wants not only the goods, but also the people. Why not use such good henchmen and scouts? However, that depends on how far they venture into the dead city and what they actually obtain.

In the Great Yan Fleet, in the Admiral's office, "What are we going to do? These demons are simply too aggressive!" If he didn't have only a handful of troops left, he would have turned on the Doctor immediately when the other side mentioned three-digit casualties—three-digit, my ass! The main attacks and bombardments of those demons were all directed at the Great Yan people.

"Why don't we just drag this out?" "We can't drag it out any longer. Not only are we in the wrong this time, but we've also given them leverage. We're under their roof, so we have to bow our heads. We have to give something in return." It's impossible to refuse to give anything; that would be no different from a complete falling out. If the other side has a short temper, they might actually have their air force bomb them to death on the ice field.

Even if he hadn't been paralyzed by the bomb, returning home would have caused such a huge problem for the government, ruining his own future and potentially endangering his entire family.

However, if things were done according to the rules, it would be even more impossible, as that would mean a negative return this time. Not to mention the issue of compensation for the fallen soldiers and crew, the various powerful figures who held shares would not forgive him.

"Then let's just go along with them. Besides, it's up to us what we give them. As for that scrap metal..." Although the doctor didn't hear their plot, he had already guessed what they were going to do.

However, the Great Yan people seem to have forgotten one thing: while the Kazdel people may not have accumulated as much technology or studied it for as long as the Great Yan people, they are more skilled in identification than any other nation in Terra.

How are the negotiations going?

"They've said all the nice things, but they're just not willing to honestly hand over the goods. However, I also guessed that these past few days they've been discussing how to fool us with junk rather than actually negotiating." The doctor revealed a mocking smile.

"So, what do you plan to do?"

"Let's wait and see. We still have things to collect. There are quite a few good things dug out here, especially in the garage below." Many ancient vehicles were rotten inside, and various parts and structures are still useful. Some can even be repaired and driven.

However, these were all civilian vehicles, and there were no heavy equipment such as landships or tanks. Nevertheless, there were many things left behind in those refugee camps, the main items being books. The people at the antiquities repair shop were trying their best to photograph each of these things without damaging them, as they could be turned to ashes at the slightest touch.

These ancient books are more valuable than many other things. Besides some for leisure, there are also things like repair manuals and scientific magazines. After all, even a PhD is not omnipotent, and he doesn't fully understand many industries and specific details.

Meanwhile, in the polar behemoth's repair workshop, "Is this your electronic chip production line?" Old Xia stroked his chin, feeling that this setup was a bit... strange.

“Yes, it’s a genuine Originium crystal, not some inferior product like synthetic jade.” Nian took a rose-colored, crystalline cylinder from the still-cooled jig. “After the defect detection, it will be sent to the slicing workshop.”

"Ion cutting?" A superpressure ion knife with a gap of only a few micrometers instantly slices it into thin circular pieces. "Then mask exposure?"

“No, the first half is no different from the ordinary semiconductors of the past.” Nian thought for a moment and said, “We don’t have your quantum cell technology, nor do we have such good relics to pick up. Since we are completely unable to enter the quantum computing era through normal means, we can only compromise and use the Originium field effect and its unique photon transmission and storage capabilities to create optical quantum computers, that is, photonic computing chips.”

"So, their manufacturing of synthetic jade and its use in semiconductors is actually..."

"It's like using a gun as a club. Although synthetic jade, or Originium crystals, are indeed semiconductors, we don't use their properties. We use copper ions to etch circuits and then lay out transistors." Nian threw the scrapped crystal pillar into the trash can. The fact that she picked it up meant that the thing was already scrapped.

The trash can was almost overflowing with scrapped Originium crystal pillars. There was no other way; this was their first time trying to produce something like this, and they hadn't even reached the chip fabrication stage yet. They had scrapped about ten tons of Originium or pure Originium ingots (Originium single crystals) to produce only a few qualified, genuine synthetic Originium crystals.

In terms of cost, the price of the pure source stones used now is enough to buy an entire street in Lungmen, just like it takes more than ten tons of gold to create a circuit board substrate.

There are many reasons for scrapping: too much hair, too much dust, too high or too low temperature, vibration, improper heating, and the heat barrier inside the excavation is ineffective. However, after dealing with each of these issues, we can finally move on to the next step: slicing.

The scrap rate of the slices is also very high. The main reason for the scrap is the production workshop itself. Even though the landship has stopped operating, there are still some other integrated equipment that cannot be shut down, which are causing slight vibrations. Moreover, they have not yet learned to use the compensation algorithm of the ancestors—even if they had, it would have been useless. The control system of the ancestors is almost scrapped.

The slight oscillation of the ion beam caused the first few dozen pieces to be destroyed. The subsequent production was originally intended to be moved to the ground, but due to the penetration of Originium particles in the environment, it became even more unstable. Therefore, it could only be manufactured in the land-based ship.

Fortunately, it was only a high scrap rate; in the end, qualified wafers were still produced. The Originium wafers are rose-red in color. After the outer skin is peeled off by particle impact and a copper-colored plating is formed, they are sent to the next step, the etching workshop.

"I've already asked Xi to prepare the optical circuit diagram. It's not an exaggerated one; it's the earliest version. The manufacturing process for the optical components is only around 600 to 800 nanometers, and it doesn't have any of the more complex things like gratings used for quantum computing," Nian said, looking at the wafers being fed into the enclosed processing equipment.

"And there's only one layer. By comparison, we're just trying out tape-out right now."

"So, it's just a simple optoelectronic hybrid computer that uses photons instead of electrons? And not a pure photonic computer or quantum computing?"

“Yes, it used to be a hybrid, but it was more hybrid, so it could be considered a pseudo-quantum computer.” Nian watched the construct slowly approach the target. This kind of device, let alone Kazdel, even among the early people, only a very few institutions could produce it.

By utilizing the Originium Field Effect resonance, optical components extend from the surface of the wafer, essentially allowing them to grow on their own. This is somewhat similar to the process of a magnetic head reading and writing on a hard drive, but it is more precise. This construction process is not fast, but it is not too slow either.

Soon, the first layer was completed and sent back to the slicing workshop. This time it was even more challenging, as the outermost layer of the constructed component layer needed to be peeled off. Then, the reverse side underwent another ion bombardment coating, followed by another layer construction. Then it was immersed in a special protective colloid to have a protective colloid applied. At this point, only half of the process was complete.

Because it needs to be processed into dozens to hundreds of layers, and then sent to the drilling workshop, a special ion beam with a diameter of about 20 nanometers will drill a circular hole through a pre-set opening. Next, through etching and guided growth, the source stone ion lines and trenches are laid inside the circular hole, and after the etching is completed, a complex interconnection circuit is formed.

Finally, these dozens of layers are aligned and stacked together. These apertures become the positions of optical registers and photoelectric signal converters. To put it simply, this multi-layered 3D chip is considered to be completed at this stage. The next step is packaging and installing pins, or optical signal input and output terminals.

When connected together with other optical components and photoelectric signal conversion interfaces that serve as the motherboard, an industrial intelligent control board made using the oldest technology of our ancestors is completed. The next step is to program it using lasers or signal cables, import the control program, install it, and test it.

Of course, this step is unrelated to the chip fabrication process. In fact, before even one-third of the entire process was completed, all the spare parts were scrapped. This is no longer a problem of chip fabrication failure and inability to mass-produce; it is a situation that even laboratory production cannot handle.

"It still doesn't work!" Nian looked at the golden disc in his hand, sighed, and threw it into the trash can.

"The process is too complex, even more difficult than semiconductors, especially the way it grows on its own, which requires extremely precise control of the Originium particle field." To give an analogy, it's like playing a dodgeball game where one person keeps throwing balls at another, forcing them to move while simultaneously controlling their movements to dance a ballet, and the rhythm must remain consistent throughout.

Then this kind of thing needs to last for hours, allowing hundreds of millions of dancers to dance in this way and form a huge troupe, not to mention the subsequent music (input/output ports) and set design (encapsulation) for them.

"I suggest you consider using particle printing needles directly, as it would be faster."

"Is your system still usable?"

"No," Lao Xia said frankly. "No, the Star Alliance developed a true optical quantum computer based on gravity control technology. Simply put, it achieves this by combining four forces. Moreover, the precision of chip production is actually not as high as the equipment from years ago. After all, it's not the same process and architecture, and higher precision isn't necessarily better."

For example, a carbon nanotube silicon through-hole chip only requires a 60-nanometer process, which is equivalent to a 5-nanometer ordinary semiconductor chip. Of course, this is on the premise that this thing can be produced. If a pure carbon chip is used, the precision requirement will be further reduced, but the technical difficulty will probably increase significantly.

Clearly, the early inhabitants lacked gravity control technology; otherwise, they would have escaped long ago instead of waiting to be blown to bits by Terra's sun. Therefore, Old Xia's production technology was completely useless to them and had no possibility of being realized.

“That settles it then. But I have some bad news,” Nian rubbed his temples. “We not only need to complete the tape-out, but we also need to improve the process to 20 nanometers before we can possibly repair the Ark.”

600-nanometer optical components are simply not up to the task. Of course, things must be done step by step. If the 600-nanometer chip fabrication is successful, it will mean that a significant portion of the Kazdel factory and automation systems can move away from wet components and use proper chips.

Wet components are indeed not as good as chipsets in terms of computing power. However, given that it is impossible to use a real quantum computer, or even a pseudo-quantum computer like those of our ancestors, wet components will continue to be used. After all, the biological brain is the most readily available quantum computer in nature.

However, the computing power of biological computers is indeed quite ridiculous. If we have to calculate the hard metrics, its computing power is actually quite enormous. But if we calculate the computing power per unit, it's quite absurd—no computer chip has the computing power of the human brain, but no chip weighs several kilograms.

The brain quantum chip, with a total weight of 680 grams, is less than six times the computing power of the human brain. Even if most of its computing power is consumed by emotions and self-awareness, which are unnecessary for computers, just like humans, the remaining part is still more than enough to control a small to medium-sized spaceship.

Moreover, it is far superior to biological brain chips in terms of high and low temperature resistance, energy consumption, and stability. Therefore, as mentioned earlier, the applications of Star Alliance biological chips are very narrow and not very popular, belonging to an obsolete industry.

Given that the raw materials for biochips are readily available and would not reveal much of the Covenant's technological secrets, they could serve as a viable alternative for civilizations that do not possess true quantum computing chips.

Later, after discovering that exports were possible, the industry gradually emerged from obsolescence. However, even so, according to Lao Xia's understanding, this industry is still a sweatshop with meager profits. There's no way around it; it's essentially a byproduct of animal husbandry. So, let alone profits, sometimes just breaking even is a victory—because hiring a professional biological waste treatment agency would cost even more.

At least if you find a fat sheep, you can still make a little money, right?

The title of Chapter 59 is missing. Did you see it?

Chapter 59

After countless failed attempts, the lab production process was finally completed through sheer luck and sheer volume of materials. The main reason for doing this was that the process was impossible to cut corners on. Personnel, equipment, technology, and a whole host of strange and unusual problems that wouldn't be covered in the manual all required repeated attempts.

Although a complete chip fabrication usually means that a huge investment will be wiped out, it is an essential part of the development of the chip industry. Therefore, some "smart people" are not willing to continuously invest hundreds of millions of dollars in it, but instead choose to get away with it in other ways.

However, industry and agriculture share a common characteristic: if you try to fool them, they will fool you in return. If you are unwilling to make the huge investment in each chip fabrication process, you can only choose to use other people's finished products or endure expensive, low-quality chips that are not even available.

This is based on the premise that you have already completed the preliminary research and development, including equipment, technology, and architecture design software. If you don't even have these, then it is a truly enormous and complex project, and it is definitely not some strange thing that can be mass-produced quickly by stealing some blueprints and formulas.

"This is the finished product. One of them failed during testing, so we only made three in total." While the doctor was negotiating with the Great Yan people and continuing to move things from the dispatch center, Nian finally produced a First Civilization chip board. The next step is to send it for cutting and packaging.

"What about performance?"

"The computing speed is much faster than normal semiconductors, but that's about it." Nian rubbed his eyes, having stared at the entire process flow for so long—it was both mentally taxing and visually jarring. "Basically, this is just a test chip. Don't expect any practical use. Even if it did, with this production volume and scrap rate..."

The scrap rate at each stage is as high as 35% to 40%. If a chip can be produced from 100 wafers in the entire process, that's considered very lucky. Not to mention that there are still many problems with the wafer manufacturing process that need to be improved, including the improvement and repair of equipment. Those ancient equipment are all old grandfathers. Such a high scrap rate is not unrelated to this.

"However, it also means that our spacecraft can be made lighter." Contrary to what many people imagine, aerospace electronic systems often do not use very advanced chips, which is completely different from civilian consumer electronics. In terms of performance, it is basically about just being able to do what is needed, because excess performance means wasting payload for such a high-precision activity as aerospace.

However, this does not mean that they are just making do, only requiring sufficient performance and leaving a certain redundancy. Any more would be a waste. On the contrary, they focus more on stability and reliability, as well as whether they can withstand the harsh operating environment in space. This is why biochips and wet components are almost never put on spacecraft.

Numerous, heavy, and fragile, these factors have a significant impact on the slow development of Kazdel's spacecraft. Otherwise, they could have launched manned canisters into space long ago. It's worth noting that while Xia's rocket engines are retro-style, this also means that these models of engines and rockets are well-tested designs that don't require starting from scratch and troubleshooting problems bit by bit.

The main reason for the long delay was in the control circuit and manufacturing process, especially the control circuit. It was very difficult to replace all those components with a biological computer. Not only did the load and center of gravity have to be changed, but even its own overload resistance was very poor, resulting in a series of launch accidents. This made it impossible to copy the design.

"There are still many problems. Besides weight reduction and chipset issues, there are also control logic and a whole host of other problems, but those are minor issues." As long as Kazdel can provide him with a control system that meets his requirements, he can launch his first manned spacecraft no later than next year.

It's worth mentioning that although Colombia opted for the refuge plan, they were also developing space rockets. In the past few months, according to the staff who stayed behind, the Colombian spies captured by the space research center could fill an entire prison.

They are certainly not planning to go down both paths, but they are afraid that Kazdel will deploy weapons in outer space. Countries like Casimir, which are mired in post-war economic crisis, can only lie dormant, but Colombia will not do that.

Therefore, they will inevitably need to develop a weapon for equivalent sanctions or retaliation. Of course, to develop a targeted defensive weapon, they need to figure out the current level of Kazdel's aerospace technology. If it is still the kind of scrap metal weighing less than 20 kilograms that is quickly destroyed when thrown into the sky, then naturally there is no need to invest too much.

If weapons like the Divine Light Cannon were deployed in outer space, then developing countermeasures would be an urgent matter. However, Kazdel had no intention of deploying weapons in space, at least not ground-attack weapons.

It's not that Lao Xia and his people don't know the importance of the space-based weapon platform, but rather, even if they were to deploy weapons, it would be outwards. They would blast a safe path through the Originium belt, clearing it all the way to the Ark, and then send the first batch of Ark restart engineers aboard.

Because whether it's the Doctor, Kal'tsit, or Old Xia, they all understand one thing: if they control the Ark, it will be more useful than deploying any orbital weapon. It means that the large delivery launchers on the Ark can be used, and the repaired long-range interference field can also be used at will. They can deploy an entire legion and a large number of ground combat facilities anytime, anywhere.

In this situation, there is no need to waste limited technology and payload on the research and development and deployment of space weapons. With that rocket payload, it would be better to send more materials and engineers up there.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Doctor and the Great Flame People finally reached an agreement. The Great Flame People handed over their spoils from the Dead City, allowing Kazdel to choose one-third of them. This was a concession made by the Doctor, in exchange for the right to choose freely by reducing the number of items to choose from.

Of course, the Great Yan side must have hidden away all the good things they could identify and recognize, that's for sure. But the doctor believes that even so, there are still many useful things and even things that the Great Yan people couldn't imagine among the remaining items. And the ratio of these to the scrap metal is already lucky if it's 1:5. Therefore, taking 1/3 is not a loss at all.

"It's all here, take your time choosing." The landship's warehouse was filled with a bunch of random things. The most eye-catching item was a device that hovered on its base, almost intact. However, the Great Yan people had mentioned in the previous agreement that there were a few high-value items that would not be included in the selection, and this was one of them.

“Oh, an industrial beacon, no wonder…” The Doctor glanced at it. Is this thing useful? Very useful. If it were installed in Kazdel, the “power” of the Reiwa era could be greatly reduced in load, and the surrounding blueprint facilities could be generated precisely through the beacon.

But the doctor didn't want this kind of thing, mainly because what were the consumables for this industrial beacon? They were demonic.

So, these Great Yan people got themselves chased and beaten. At this critical juncture, even if the Great Yan people hadn't said this was not for sale, the Doctor wouldn't have wanted it—just kidding, what's the difference between bringing this into the Veiled Zone and showing the whole map to taunt them? Let the Great Yan people take it with them.

For the people of Dayan, bringing it back alive would indeed be a great gain. Their celestial masters had dealt with many giant beasts and gods, and they knew at a glance what it was for, so they would naturally make use of it, provided that they could bring it back alive.