In the short term of ten or twenty years, the demand for computing power in the rapidly developing Daxia will be terrible.
Projects such as artificial intelligence, driverless driving, telemedicine, and AR/VR games all require tremendous computing power.
Quantum computing, carbon-based chips, these "overtaking around the corner" projects are basically laboratory projects, or papers...
"Gene Era"
Of course, the good news is that in these projects, Daxia is not late in taking action and is basically at the forefront of the world.
Gu's plan at this time is to train tool men.
On the one hand, it will lead the Daxia semiconductor industry to upgrade and catch up to the three- and four-nanometer track. On the other hand, it will use high-performance chips to manufacture intelligent robots and complete the implementation of quantum computer projects in the future.
Although the employees in the semiconductor department and even the entire Jiuzhou Technology Company are currently very loyal, there are some things that machines can keep secret better than people and are also more loyal than people.
Moreover, chips cannot always be manufactured by friendly forces.
For the future of Jiuzhou Technology and the future of Daxia, Li You and others from the semiconductor department began a new round of hair loss journey.
In fact, there has always been a shortage of patriotic scientific researchers in Daxia. However, due to the market environment and professional specificity, some industries were unable to receive official care at the beginning of the century.
Due to the semiconductor incident at the beginning of the century, semiconductor talents can only find employment in foreign-funded companies.
In the current global semiconductor industry, Daxia has the largest proportion of scientific research talents. It can even be said that the advancement of the world's semiconductors is promoted by Daxia's top talents.
The vice president of semiconductor giant Applied Materials Corporation and the main promoter of the world's semiconductor etching technology is a native of Daxia.
The man who pioneered and promoted the immersion lithography system and brought chip lithography into the immersion era is also from Daxia. You must know that all high-end lithography machines are manufactured based on immersion optical technology.
In Gu Qing's eyes, Li You and others are the kind of people who will take semiconductor textbooks in the future.
At this moment, people in the semiconductor department are solving one problem, light sources.
Lithography machine Lithography machine can also be understood as a machine that uses light to engrave chips.
Extreme ultraviolet light source, which is the light source used by EUV lithography machines.
The manufacturing process can produce chips below 7nm, but this light source has been monopolized by the Dutch company ASML.
Gu Qing has recently been teaching the semiconductor department to develop a light source called stable micro-bunching, SS1MB light source.
The wavelength of this light source can cover from terahertz to extreme ultraviolet band, and can become a new light source technology for EUV lithography machines.
At present, there are concepts for this project at home and abroad, and some people are starting to work on it. However, if you look at the process, no matter how lucky you are, it will take three or four years to have laboratory products.
That is the next ten years. Compared with the current 18 years, it is a bit far away.
Of course, Xia Xin, a friendly businessman at this time, has done a big thing this year.
In May 2018, Xiaxin Technology ordered a set of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) equipment from the Dutch chip equipment manufacturer ASML, worth US$120 million.
And there is another manufacturer, Dajiang Memory. His first lithography machine is also from ASML. It is a 193nm immersion lithography machine, priced at US$72 million, and used for 14 nm-20 nm processes.
Look, there are actually some partners who have been working hard on this road, and they were moving forward before they were suppressed.
Because the matter was so important, the personnel in the semiconductor department not only signed a bunch of confidential documents, but some of their relatives also accepted arrangements to return to China.
However, when Gu Qing came to the department office R&D area, he didn't see anyone slacking off or looking downcast.
It is their wish to add a monument to their industry and work hard for Daxia Semiconductor.
Especially under Gu Qing's "vigorous" cultivation, his future and money path were guaranteed.
"We are all the young generation in this industry, and we all know how far-sighted the technology you proposed, Mr. Gu, is. Light source is the key technology that limits the development of our Daxia semiconductors.
So we are all working overtime on experimental deductions. We are all happy for our colleagues and the company about the success of the bionic mechanical prosthetic project, but we want to produce results as soon as possible so that the entire Daxia Semiconductor does not rely on foreign light sources. "
Li You was explaining on the side.
Although he knew that Gu Qing understood them, this kind of thing still needed to be explained.
If someone wears small shoes, wouldn't it be a loss of blood?
Gu Qing naturally understood.
After all, in the semiconductor industry, every project is protected by a patent wall, and the light source is the lifeblood, so this group of semiconductor people are so obsessed with it.
"How is the progress so far?" he asked.
Li You frowned, "It's not going very well. What we learned at the beginning was the third-generation lithography machine that uses 248nm KrF excimer laser as the light source and the fourth-generation lithography machine that uses 193nm ArF excimer laser. .
Therefore, the theory on light sources is still unfamiliar, and the instruments provided by Germany are not the most advanced ones, and the storage rings, our domestic ones are not very... "
Gu Qing expressed his understanding and sighed: "This is normal. It is not easy to reach the international advanced level, but we also have a research department that is undergoing renovation. Whether it is instruments or storage rings, they will be given to you at the end of this month.
ASML1 uses a high-energy pulse laser to bombard a liquid tin target to form a plasma and then generate an EUV light source with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers and a power of about 250 watts.
As chip process nodes continue to shrink, the requirements for EUV light source power will continue to increase, and are expected to reach the kilowatt level.
The EUV light source based on SS1MB is expected to achieve greater average power and has the potential to expand to shorter wavelengths, so the prospects of our SS1MB light source are certain.
Don’t panic. Once you’ve done your preliminary theoretical homework, the practical experiment next month will go smoothly. "
Li You nodded and smiled, "I know that our R&D personnel work overtime and study every day after the production work is completed. We work by ourselves and don't need to look at the expressions of outsiders, so everyone is very motivated."
Gu Qing originally wanted to chat for a while, but Dong Qi suddenly called.
Well, to be precise, I called the office management of the semiconductor department and found Gu Qing.
Gu Qing took the phone that was handed to him.
"What's up?"
"Mr. Gu, Brother Gu, our phone calls are almost exploding!
In addition to partners, there are also international organizations that have expressed interest in our bionic prosthetic technology and want to win some of the quotas that will be released tomorrow. "
"Follow the rules, do you still need me to teach you?"
"I know we have to follow the rules, but there are senior officials in the United States who are speaking out."
"What do they think about us?
You and Lao Huang should not go abroad in the near future. Please pay attention to safety. Tomorrow's quota will be left to our company's system. "
