...

...

Zhao Ye had just left Loongson Design Company when he thought for a moment and then asked his driver to take him to the nearby Wujiang Microelectronics Company.

"Boss, what brings you here?" Ni Guangnan asked Zhao Ye in surprise.

Zhao Ye laughed and said, "I've come to learn about the development of Wujiang Microelectronics. By the way, TSMC has been poaching people lately. How many of our employees have been poached?"

Since its establishment, TSMC has faced a severe shortage of talent, resulting in very slow progress in the construction of its wafer fabs. The company is currently recruiting worldwide.

Unfortunately, Wujiang Microelectronics beat them to the punch, poaching semiconductor talent globally long before TSMC and signing long-term contracts with them.

Changing jobs is possible, but you'll have to pay hefty penalties for breach of contract.

The higher the position, the higher the penalty for breach of contract.

Therefore, currently, very few people from Wujiang Microelectronics will switch jobs to TSMC.

Ni Guangnan laughed and said, "TSMC has poached more than a dozen employees, but their technical skills are all just average."

Zhao Ye smiled and said, "As the saying goes, 'It is impolite not to reciprocate.' Since TSMC is poaching our talent, we will also poach their talent."

“We’ve actually been working on this, but most of our employees are under contract and unwilling to come. Also, many semiconductor talents come from Taiwan and are unwilling to work on the mainland,” Ni Guangnan said with a shake of his head and a sigh.

Zhao Ye didn't care at all and said indifferently, "If you don't want to come, then don't come. There's no need to force yourself."

With the support of numerous companies in Taiwan, Europe, and the United States, TSMC is sure to secure a place in the wafer foundry industry.

"Is the new wafer fab ready? We need to start offering wafer foundry services as soon as possible!" Zhao Ye said in a deep voice.

There were no competitors before, so it was fine.

Now that TSMC has suddenly emerged, we must be wary.

Fortunately, there are currently two constraints preventing TSMC from fully developing its wafer foundry business.

On the one hand, there is a lack of semiconductor talent, which slows down the construction of wafer fabs;

On the other hand, ASML's lithography machines have not yet been delivered.

As a major shareholder of TSMC, Philips requested that TSMC purchase ASML lithography machines. ASML's lithography machines are relatively advanced in technology and not expensive, so TSMC was willing to purchase them.

However, after signing the order...

ASML has been slow to deliver the goods.

The reason is that ASML changed its lens supplier; previously it partnered with West Zeiss, but now it has switched to East Zeiss.

However, East Zeiss's optical lens technology is no worse than West Zeiss's.

After Wujiang Group took over East Zeiss, it invested heavily in upgrading equipment, ensuring lens production quality, and increasing research and development efforts.

Therefore, East Zeiss is fully capable of collaborating with ASML to develop semiconductor optical lenses.

This lens will also be used in the lithography machine of Wujiang Microelectronics.

ASML is currently unable to deliver lithography machines, mainly because it is waiting for lenses from East Zeiss.

At this point, West Zeiss was in dire straits.

In the 1980s, East Zeiss and West Zeiss were like two brothers in misfortune.

ASML's lens orders are very important.

Each lithography machine requires not just one or two lenses, but many.

TSMC has ordered more than 50 lithography machines from ASML. If West Zeiss can secure ASML's order, it will be able to recoup a significant portion of its losses.

However, fate is fickle, and the order that should have belonged to West Zeiss in the previous life became an order to East Zeiss.

The loss of ASML, a major client, to West Zeiss by East Zeiss could very well be the final straw that breaks the camel's back.

TSMC is currently just getting anxious and frustrated, frequently calling ASML to urge them to speed things up.

Of course, TSMC also understood that East Zeiss's latest semiconductor lens was more advanced, which is why they did not switch manufacturers.

In the market, besides ASML, only Nikon, Canon, and Wujiang Microelectronics' "Dawn Lithography Machine" are relatively powerful.

There aren't many partners left for TSMC to choose from.

As for the lithography machines produced in the United States, they are now completely outdated and not as advanced as the Dawning lithography machines.

"How is the progress of the immersion lithography machine?"

"There hasn't been much progress; in many areas, it's still largely limited to theoretical research..."

“Okay, take it slow. If we can develop an immersion lithography machine within three to five years, that would be a pleasant surprise…” Zhao Ye said with a wry smile. Immersion lithography machines are quite difficult to develop. Otherwise, lithography machine manufacturers wouldn’t have rushed to develop dry lithography machines. Later on, companies in related industries around the world have already invested billions of dollars in dry lithography machines. At this point, if you tell them to give up on developing dry lithography machines, how could they be willing to accept it?

They won't turn back until they hit a wall; they'll just go all the way down this path!

In a past life, someone likened Lin Benjian to someone standing in front of a moving aircraft carrier, trying to stop it—and that's certainly true.

For Wujiang Microelectronics, immersion lithography is a relatively new field, and they have to explore many aspects on their own. Therefore, it is normal for development to be slower.

When it does speak, it is sober that it is considered a great success.

Ni Guangnan smiled and said, "I believe that the immersion lithography machine is being developed under the leadership of a team led by Lin Benjian, Yang Guanglei, Jiang Shangyi, Sun Yuancheng, Liang Mengsong, and Yu Zhenhua. I am confident that these six people will bring you surprises! They are young, energetic, highly motivated, and extremely talented!"

TSMC's Six Knights?

Zhao Ye was relatively reassured that the six-person team was leading the development of the immersion lithography machine.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!