Chapter 681 Lithography Machine

Author: Linjiangxian

Chapter 681 Lithography Machine

island country.

Edo.

The island country does not have a clear concept of a capital. Wherever the political power flows, it is the political center.

At this moment, several senior executives of Connie Company gathered in the conference room, each of them frowned and looked ugly.

After a while, Chairman Hiroko Toyama, who was sitting at the top, asked: "Have the results come out from the laboratory?"

His eyes were gloomy, making Technology Minister Itsuka Takada break into a cold sweat. He said tremblingly: "The experimental results are out. The good news is that the mechanical peeling method has low production efficiency and cannot be industrialized for mass production. It can only prepare micron-sized graphene."

, this is not enough to shake the status of silicon-based chips in the semiconductor industry."

Obviously, this set of rhetoric did not satisfy Hiroko Toyama. He frowned and asked: "What about the bad news?"

Itsuka Takada sighed and said: "The performance of chips made from graphene wafers is at least ten times that of silicon-based chips, and the power consumption is even lower. What's more terrible is that graphene wafers are not suitable for photolithography.

The machine requirements are not very high.”

Hiroko Toyama leaned back, leaned on the chair, closed her eyes and said, "So, once graphene is mass-produced, it means that silicon wafers can only withdraw from the stage of history?"

The ten-fold performance gap and lower energy consumption means that there is a technical generation gap between the two materials that cannot be smoothed out.

This can be said to be life-threatening for Connie.

After all, half of the island country’s semiconductor industry is now in the hands of Connie, because at this time Connie is the absolute overlord of the lithography machine industry.

As for the current ASML company, it is still the stinky little brother in the lithography machine industry and is insignificant.

It is precisely because of this that the big thunder of graphene has now fallen on Connie, causing Connie's market value to plummet, and the entire semiconductor industry is in turmoil.

As those with vested interests, what they fear most is "innovation" or even "revolution."

Although technological progress is inevitable for the development of civilization, if a speck of dust from history falls on oneself, it is as heavy as Mount Tai!

Now, this mountain is pressing on Hiroko Toyama.

Zhonghai in April is cloudy and rainy, just like Li Yiwen's mood at the moment.

"I heard from your father-in-law that you plan to fuck Connie?"

"No."

"Aren't you going to build a photolithography machine?"

"That's true, but my opponent is actually not Connie. It's just bad luck that it blocked my way."

"..."

Lu Yiming's answer left Li Yiwen speechless.

In his opinion, these words were simply crazy.

However, for Lu Yiming, this was the truth.

ASML, which will become famous in the future, is just a small joint venture company owned by Philips.

Counting the boss, there are 31 employees in the company, and they can only work in a temporary board room set up next to the Philips headquarters.

As soon as you go out, you can see a huge trash can next to the board house. When you go out to sell, you can only do it in the name of the parent company, and you look weak, pitiful, and helpless in the face of your opponents.

In that era when the chip manufacturing process was still stuck at microns, there were at least dozens of companies that could make photolithography machines. However, only Connie, relying on its accumulation in the camera era, became the leading company in the era when the island nation's semiconductor industry was on the rise.

A well-deserved giant.

In just four years, Connie overthrew the former lithography machine powerhouse Meiguo, and became on an equal footing with the old king GCA, taking 30% of the market share. Several major customers in its hands, Intel, IBM, AMD, and Texas Instruments, lined up every day.

The enthusiasm waiting for the latest products to come off the production line at the door of Connie is no different from Xia Guo's eagerness to wait for the delivery of EUV lithography machines from ASML in the future.

Time flies, time flies.

The new king has become the old king now. At this critical juncture of the transition between the old and the new, whoever can rise up on the bones of the old king will be able to occupy the throne and become the new overlord.

Facing Connie, who is about to decline, how could Lu Yiming, as a reborn person, not have the ambition to step on him and kick him a few times?

Although he didn't understand the lithography machine, Li Yiwen knew that Connie was engaged in optics. He said worriedly: "Our country has basically made no achievements in the field of optics, right? You must know that the optical majors of European and American powers are basically very good.

It has been with the development of astronomy since the seventh century. In comparison, we are hundreds of years behind. It is easier said than done to catch up."

Li Yiwen is telling the truth.

Lipsey of the Netherlands invented the first telescope in 1608.

Kepler published his work "Refraction" in 1611, proposed the law of illumination, and designed several new types of telescopes.

In the second half of the seventeenth century, Newton, Huygens and others advanced geometric optics into the era of wave optics.

In 1672, Newton completed the famous prism dispersion experiment, and subsequently published "Optics" in 1704 AD, proposing the theory that light is a flow of particles.

Many well-known optical companies have a long heritage. For example, the world-renowned German Zeiss Group was founded in 1846. When the First World War broke out in 1914, as a German optical giant, it was also a giant of the world's optical instruments and equipment.

Zeiss almost monopolizes the global market.

Even Japan, a newcomer in the field of optics, had already established Japan Optical Industry Co., Ltd. in 1917, which was the predecessor of Connie.

In contrast, Xia Guo's knowledge accumulation, industry foundation, and talent base are far from being able to compete with these traditional giants in the optical field.

The problems and difficulties are basically laid out in the open. If you want to surpass your opponent's hundreds of years of first-mover advantage, it means that you must pay at least equal prices and costs. Only then can you close the huge gap between them.

This cannot be achieved by patting the forehead and shouting a few slogans.

However, Lu Yiming has already thought of these problems. After all, if this thing is so easy to do, it will not be impossible to do it in a few decades with the advantages of the entire industry chain.

Compared with the numerous difficulties and dangers in later generations, now is an excellent opportunity to catch up and even overtake in corners.

"It is precisely because it is difficult that we have to pursue it. If we don't pursue it now, we won't have the chance even if we want to pursue it in the future."

How difficult is it for Xia’s semiconductor companies to buy an ASML lithography machine?

That's not even a matter of spending more money, but that the other party won't sell it to you at all. Even if it does, it will be at a very high price, sell you a product that is several generations behind, and also delay delivery.

You have paid the full price, but you may not be able to get the goods after two or three years. Just don't beep, otherwise we won't sell it to you.

Lu Yiming thought that he was not a good-tempered person, and he couldn't bear to be bullied like this no matter what.

So instead of asking for help in a low voice then, why not spend more money now and nip the trouble in the bud? After all, isn’t the money earned meant to be spent?

Li Yiwen didn't understand lithography machines, but he felt that this kind of thing that was only in the hands of developed countries must be top-notch high-tech, so Lu Yiming's actions seemed extremely crazy to him.

He said in a joking tone: "Now there are fewer countries in the world with lithography machines than countries with rockets, right? How about we build a rocket for fun? It's all money anyway, even if it bombs, it's useless.

You can hear a sound."

Lu Yiming smiled and said: "Actually, the threshold for lithography machines in the tens of nanometer era is not high. You see, ASML, which has only thirty-one people, can easily enter this industry. Even Intel, which designs chips, can make several of them on its own.

Once you try it in Taiwan, you will realize that the difficulty is not that high. It is just a matter of piecing together the high-priced parts you bought and building a piece of equipment that is slightly more difficult than a camera."

"As the 'crown jewel' of the semiconductor industry, the essence of a photolithography machine is actually similar to a projector and a camera. It uses light as a knife to project the designed circuit diagram onto the silicon wafer. Look, is this very simple?

"

After hearing this, Li Yiwen's tightened eyebrows relaxed a little, but he was still worried: "Even so, professional barriers are not so easy to break through, right?"

Needless to say, Li Yiwen is not a reborn person, nor is he a business elite cultivated in a favorable environment. The pattern is naturally not much bigger. And all he has now is just Lu Yiming leading him away.

He is now standing at a height that did not originally belong to him. Therefore, when he makes decisions on his own, he is very fussy and not grand at all.

The current lithography machine market is basically island countries versus Europe and the United States.

The Semiconductor Alliance, headed by the United States, relies on the industrial chain to work together, integrating materials and components from various countries to create the strongest products.

The technological route of the island country is based on Connie's development model. All parts and technologies are handled by oneself. Just like Apple, which has chips and operating systems, and just takes out a few lenses, it may not necessarily be able to win.

The German optical giant Zeiss was more than enough to cope with the chip manufacturing process at that time.

Now that Lu Yiming wants to develop a photolithography machine, it is equivalent to declaring that he will punch Europe and the United States, kick the island countries, and take a piece of flesh from these old predecessors.

But this is easier said than done?

Li Yiwen said: "Okay, let's take a step back and say, even if you build this lithography machine, who can you sell it to? Europe and the United States say it is a free market, but in fact it is free. Their semiconductor industry is basically free.

It is impossible to purchase your lithography machines. As for the island countries, they have a serious planned economy, and we cannot pass the test of the Federation of Industrial and Economic Cooperation."

Lu Yiming said: "Actually, to be honest, it is because of what you said that I am determined to make our own lithography machine, no matter what the price is paid - and the price paid now,

It will be the lowest in the days to come. The price will become higher and higher in the future, and it may be so big that even the whole country’s efforts will be useless. At that time, we will have no choice but to surrender.”

"As for who to sell to, that is easier to solve. I have invested in so many chip companies and semiconductor companies, and they all use them. And let me tell you, the market demand is here now, and it is not selling at all.

It’s a question to whom, as long as you build it, you don’t have to worry about selling it. What about SMIC, right? I don’t know how many companies are now clamoring for photolithography machines.”

Li Yiwen was beaming when he saw Lu Yiming talking, but he felt extremely painful. He really didn't understand that with Lu Yiming's methods and opportunities, there were so many money-making projects, and it would not be impossible to surpass Bill Gates and become the world's richest man in time.

Why is Lu Yiming wasting his precious time and opportunity on this kind of project that is extremely difficult, has a very low probability of success, and is so niche that even if it succeeds, he doesn't seem to make much money.

Lu Yiming changed the topic and said to Li Yiwen: "Have you heard of Moore's Law?"

Li Yiwen said simply: "No. Brother, I studied finance, and there is no such thing in finance."
To be continued...