Wu Changfeng asked, "Has trial production begun?"
Huo Jiaqi nodded: "We tried it, but the results weren't very good. The pass rate was only 50%. We don't know if it was our operational error or if there was a problem with the machine."
"We haven't had enough time to find the specific reason yet. However, I believe that as we continue our research, we will definitely find the specific reason."
Wu Changfeng said reassuringly, "You should know that you are now at the forefront of the continent and on par with the world."
"I don't ask for much. If you want money, I'll give you money; if you want people, I'll give them people."
"I only have one hope: to keep up with the world and not be left behind."
Huo Jiaqi was silent for a while: "Boss, there are so many high-end parts to this lithography machine. For example, the wafer is basically sand after deoxidation, but the deoxidation step is very difficult to handle."
"It's still photoresist; even if we invest hundreds of people, we might not be able to figure it out."
"There are many things like this."
"The production of chips can be roughly divided into three main stages: upstream (equipment, materials, design, etc.), midstream (wafer manufacturing), and downstream (packaging and testing)."
"So, I wanted to ask the boss, should we follow up on everything, or..."
After hearing this, Wu Changfeng lowered his head and pondered for a long time.
It's impossible to follow up on all of them; we can only choose one or two projects for research and development.
Let Qimingxing (Morning Star) squeeze into this industry chain and become an indispensable part.
The chip manufacturing process is actually divided into: raw material wafer → wafer coating → wafer photolithography and development → etching → doping with impurities → wafer testing → packaging → testing and packaging.
It seems simple, but it requires a lot of things.
This is something that no single region or country can accomplish entirely on its own.
The fundamental reason for this, besides the fact that it did not receive enough attention during the development of lithography machines, is not that mainland China's technology is inferior.
Rather, modern chip manufacturing is the most complex and sophisticated technological achievement of humankind.
It is the result of globalization and the concerted efforts of the whole world.
This is not something that a small country can handle.
In later generations, chips were designed by the United States, raw materials were provided by island nations, technology was provided by South Korea and Taiwan, and equipment was provided by Germany and the Netherlands.
Even if you asked any one of those countries, including the US, to produce chips entirely domestically, they still wouldn't be able to make them.
In later generations, mainland China has already reached the first tier in some technologies, such as etching machines, which are just as important as lithography machines.
However, the US does not impose any blockade on the mainland in this regard, because the mainland's etching machines have already reached the 5nm level, so blocking them would be futile.
In terms of design, packaging, and testing, mainland China already had a group of top global experts.
However, this production chain is simply too long.
Leaving aside the scale of the factory, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Here are some statistics: Siemens was founded in 1847, Ericsson in 1890, Carl Zeiss in 1890, and Philips in 1891.
In other words, they have been in business since the previous dynasty.
Qimingxing was founded in 1990.
Let's talk about the US. Over the past 20 years, they have invested $900 billion.
In later generations in mainland China, the combined cost of the first and second phases was only $500.
It's already quite impressive that they were able to catch up to the level of later generations.
Chip manufacturing, with its extremely difficult and ingenious processes, is one of the most challenging mountains in many technological fields.
Wu Changfeng gritted his teeth and did not answer Huo Jiaqi's question immediately.
Instead, they began to appreciate the lithography machine production process.
Several college students operated the equipment with extreme caution.
Although unfamiliar with the subject, they were full of confidence and were not discouraged by the low pass rate.
Take a short visit.
After giving a few instructions, Wu Changfeng left the workshop directly.
After taking off his dustproof suit, Wu Changfeng breathed a sigh of relief.
Arrived at Huo Jiaqi's office.
Wu Changfeng sat on the sofa and drank tea.
Wu Changfeng looked out the window, and neither of them spoke.
Huo Jiaqi is awaiting instructions: whether to fully follow up on all processes of the lithography machine or to focus on a specific area.
Of course, Huo Jiaqi still hopes to follow up on everything.
In the eyes of people in this era, only what they have is truly theirs.
It's extremely unpleasant to have any part of the process controlled by outsiders.
But Huo Jiaqi also knew that if they followed suit, the research institute could expand several times over.
He knew from just one trip to the island nation that the air filtration unit company was quite large.
This is just one part of the process!
Wu Changfeng had already made up his mind.
It's impossible to follow up on everything.
I can't afford to play this game myself.
It's important to know that a tiny chip can drive trillions of dollars in output value across upstream and downstream industries.
This is not something I can eat.
Even if we keep up with the development stage of lithography machines, it's not enough.
This industry chain is just too long.
Beyond imagination, incredibly complex.
Thus, two thoughts came to Wu Changfeng's mind.
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