Chapter 509 You could recruit Dr. Lin (bug fix): She's too eager to advance her career.
Mr. Wang's desire to sell lithography machines was hotter than the May sun.
She even temporarily put aside her gutter oil and municipal solid waste incineration technology and personally accompanied Deputy Director Jiang and Dr. Huang Youlun, who brought him, to visit the lithography machine factory.
However, Deputy Director Jiang was still quite concerned about the issue of household waste incineration. He even took the initiative to introduce it to Dr. Huang, who was full of praise and kept saying that the idea was brilliant.
He even emphasized with great seriousness, "This is 1+1>2."
Wang Xiao was delighted by the praise, and then Deputy Director Jiang joked, "You're not going to add more later, are you?"
Wang Xiao replied seriously, "You know what, I'm actually planning to try adding a solar panel."
Deputy Director Jiang's eyebrows were practically dancing with excitement. Seriously?
"Photovoltaic power generation?"
Wang Xiao shook his head: "The cost of solar heating is too high, and I can't expect grass to grow from garbage so I can raise sheep."
Dr. Huang was completely confused. What grass? What sheep?
Even if grass grows on a garbage dump, you can't raise sheep there; sheep raised that way are inedible.
Deputy Director Jiang explained with a smile, "No, our boss Wang is building a solar power system in the desert, and then planting grass under the solar panels to raise sheep."
He also helped explain the underlying principles, which made Dr. Huang suddenly realize, "Is that really possible?"
Deputy Director Jiang nodded: "The grass has already grown."
That's why he's so concerned about Boss Wang's affairs—because Boss Wang's actions are so powerful, to the point of seeming capricious.
She said she was going to do photovoltaic power generation, and the photovoltaic panels were erected shortly afterward. At the same time, wells were dug and water pipes were laid. Power generation was indeed being tested, but the photovoltaic panels needed to be washed when they needed to be. Grass seeds soaked in water fell into the sand and grew rapidly.
Her colleagues who were working in Xinjiang took the photos and sent them to him—thanks to the invention of digital cameras, people no longer need to wait for the photos to be developed; they can take pictures instantly.
The power of technology is truly amazing; it even made him feel a little dazed.
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Boss Wang said she was going to use solar panels to raise sheep in the desert, and soon sheep would be running around under the solar panels.
Such strong mobilization capabilities are a treasure trove for any local government.
As we all know, what is the government most afraid of when attracting investment? It's the prospect of offering a bunch of preferential policies, boasting loudly when they arrive, only to start dragging their feet once they actually get the land.
Asking him or her to spend money to start doing something is like asking him or her to give up his or her life.
That would be a real disaster for the local government.
That's why the government is so enthusiastic when it encounters generous investors.
Because people are just that realistic. Being willing to spend money doesn't necessarily mean true love, but being unwilling to spend money definitely means there's no love.
Dr. Huang's gaze towards Boss Wang changed.
He originally thought that those who rose to prominence on the mainland were all nouveau riche who took advantage of the dual-track system reform to make money through connections and resources, and made a fortune.
It's almost the 21st century now, and I feel like I can't be a country bumpkin, so I'm trying my best to get into high-tech fields.
They don't even consider whether they can actually get close enough to get on board.
Why bother with solar power generation? The Three Gorges Dam is more realistic.
In the end, their combination of photovoltaic power generation and sheep farming may not be considered particularly high-tech, but the key is that they are pragmatic.
One project tackles desertification, while the other focuses on sheep farming. By bringing down the high-flying photovoltaic power generation technology and combining them, the latter, which was previously considered too expensive and unattainable, has become a reality.
Dr. Huang is called Dr. Huang because he is a genuine PhD, started his career in scientific research, then moved to a management position, and is now planning to start his own business.
His life experience made him acutely aware that there are countless scientific research projects, many of which reach the pinnacle of human wisdom, but throughout history, many of these projects have been shelved.
Why?
Because moving from the laboratory to industry is a very difficult process.
Finding a niche and enabling it to survive as an industry, even if it doesn't generate profit for three to five years, is still a huge success.
Yes, not all industries need to make money quickly.
As long as you can show investors the possibility of profitability and the prospects for development, you can successfully raise funds.
Dr. Huang works in the semiconductor industry, not as a venture capitalist.
Based on his experience dealing with investors, he believes that this photovoltaic power generation sheep farming project to combat desertification is likely to attract investors' interest.
He even thought that if Boss Wang wanted him to help connect with investors, he would be happy to lend a hand.
However, this idea vanished after he entered the lithography machine factory.
The factory area is like a forest, but there are none of the poplars and plane trees that are common in the Yangtze River Delta region, and there are no dandelions in the forest either.
These things generate pollen, which causes air pollution in another sense.
After passing through the green belt and arriving at the core area of this technology park, Dr. Huang saw a giant container-like building.
The reason for this description is that this giant building not only resembles a shipping container with a grayish-white surface, but more importantly, it has no windows.
Yes, the entire lithography machine factory has no windows.
The production environment requirements for lithography machines are extremely high; factors such as temperature, humidity, cleanliness, and micro-vibration must be strictly controlled.
Therefore, it needs to be made into a sealed capsule.
The presence of windows can act as a breach in the capsule, allowing external dust, moisture, and pollutants to enter and disrupt the clean and stable environment.
Moreover, the photoresist used in lithography machines is sensitive to light; light entering the machine is equivalent to light pollution, which will affect the precision of the lithography process.
Hollywood movies often depict sophisticated laboratories and production plants underground and sealed off, not simply for mystification, but because the environmental requirements are that stringent.
The factory building looks like a sealed shipping container, so it's perfectly normal to go through several checkpoints to get into the factory, right?
Everyone was dressed like astronauts before they were allowed to enter outer space.
Oh no, I misspoke. It's not outer space, but a precisely controlled artificial world.
Wang Xiao had hardly ever been inside the lithography machine factory.
But when she first came here, she seriously suspected that the screenwriter of "The Truman Show" had come to a similar factory and that's why he conceived of a virtual world.
Here, there is no natural light; the interior lighting is a professional low-dust fluorescent cleanroom lighting system that operates 24/7 with constant color temperature and illuminance.
The sense of time disappears under such circumstances, and everything must be controlled manually.
Those who are in this environment will not only be deprived of their sense of time, but their hearing will also be restricted.
Or rather, it is suppressed.
Because the background noise here is controlled to below 40 decibels.
The only sound you can hear is almost always the low, even white noise from the cleanroom's circulating fan.
Yes, it's the kind of white noise you play to help you fall asleep when you have insomnia.
It's no wonder that people working here get high salaries. It's not easy to stay awake and concentrate on work in such an environment.
Each of them had to be extremely careful, because they couldn't make any unusual noises.
Whether it's dropping a tool on the ground or speaking a little too loudly when you're emotional, it's not allowed here.
Mr. Wang felt fortunate that he had the self-awareness to not pursue a career in technical skills.
Otherwise, given her personality, the fact that she could survive three days here without going crazy would be a testament to her evolution.
Dr. Huang's gaze traveled from the lighting to the active damping system—where all the precision equipment was housed. This is because the nanometer-level alignment accuracy cannot be disturbed by any external vibrations.
Even the vibrations caused by a truck passing by a kilometer away are eliminated by the shock absorption system.
Seeing this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief; at least he wasn't dealing with a makeshift troupe.
They've invested real money in developing lithography machines.
Only such a production environment could convince him that they might actually be able to produce a lithography machine.
After touring the production area, the technology was demonstrated.
Over five years, the group invested a total of six hundred million US dollars, and the golden egg they finally produced was named Xuanhuang.
Yes, it's the "Xuanhuang" from "Heaven and Earth are mysterious and yellow." Why is it called Xuanhuang? Because Xuanhuang means Heaven and Earth.
But if we just call it Heaven and Earth, it feels like something is missing.
So when the lithography machine factory put the name in front of the boss, Wang Xiao checked Xuanhuang without hesitation.
Ivan also supported the idea because he felt it was full of fantasy, martial arts, and mysticism, which perfectly matched his idealistic aesthetic.
The engineer took a deep breath and, amidst the background fan noise, fed an 8-inch silicon wafer covered with photoresist into their dark yellow container.
Wang Xiao didn't know what lithography machines would look like in twenty or thirty years. Maybe she had seen pictures online, but she really couldn't remember.
All she knew was that in 1999, the lithography machine, which cost a fortune and represented the hard work of engineers from five countries, was a huge machine, 4 meters long and 3 meters wide.
There were no dazzling lights or exciting sounds, only the data and status lights jumping on the control panel, indicating that the laser was working coldly and busily.
The exposed silicon wafers are then fed into an offline testing device—a measuring electron microscope.
Microscopic images are projected in real time onto a screen in the observation room. The images clearly show rows of circuit patterns with uniform lines, sharp edges, and a spacing of 0.35 micrometers.
"Our current overlay accuracy has reached 180 nanometers. This means that we have successfully integrated the alignment system and achieved basic functionality."
Dr. Huang Youlun watched intently until the very end, when he finally asked, "180 nanometers?"
Professor Zheng, the chief engineer of the lithography plant, nodded: "We also know that in 1995, Nikon of Japan used a 248nm wavelength krypton fluoride excimer laser as the light source for its lithography machine, which advanced the process node to 180-130nm. Now Nikon, Canon, and ASML have achieved a level of about 70nm. Compared with them, we still have a long way to go. Next, we plan to push the index to the 100nm threshold by optimizing algorithms and improving mechanical stability."
Dr. Huang hesitated for a moment, but still chose to ask, "Whose technology license are you using?"
Making lithography machines is indeed very difficult. His visit today is not because he has great confidence in domestically produced lithography machines, but purely to give face to Deputy Director Jiang.
Since he plans to start a business in Shanghai, he must cultivate good relationships with the local government.
Like him, Deputy Director Jiang had overseas study experience and was a rare official with professional technical knowledge. He was naturally able to get along well with people from technical backgrounds.
It can be said that Deputy Director Jiang will be a huge source of connections for him in the government in the future.
So even though there was little hope, he still set aside his time today, just to keep the prince company while he studied.
Unexpectedly, a pleasant surprise was revealed.
Yes, yes, it is indeed a generation behind international advanced technology, but it's only a generation behind.
He originally thought that domestically produced lithography machines would lag behind by at least two to three generations.
Based on the normal technological development path, his expertise told him that purely domestically produced machines should not be able to reach this level.
Professor Zheng shook his head: "No, no one authorized us; we did it ourselves. The original technology came from the 45th Research Institute, and later German and Japanese engineers joined us."
It's no secret that the world is poaching semiconductor talent from Japan, so Dr. Huang wasn't surprised to hear this.
But he still felt it was unrealistic. After thinking for a long time, he finally asked, "Did you buy your lenses from Japan or Germany?"
This time, the factory manager of the lithography machine plant spoke first: "No, we make them ourselves. We have our own optics factory, which produces eyeglasses, telescopes, microscopes, and the like."
He spoke as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, without changing the amplitude of his voice, "The electron microscope we used for testing just now, this one, is one that we made ourselves."
These words were like a bombshell. Deputy Director Jiang wasn't a semiconductor professional, so he hadn't even realized the significance of them yet. Dr. Huang, however, gasped in shock: "You produced them yourselves?"
No, how could that be possible? Only an optics company of Zeiss caliber could do that.
Professor Zheng nodded: "Because we have our own magnetorheological polishing technology."
Now, Huang Youlun couldn't help but suspect that they were lying.
Because magnetorheological polishing technology is a revolution, a complete revolution.
When Soviet scientists first proposed the idea in 1988, Stephen Jacobs, director of the University of Rochester's Center for Optics, publicly expressed his skepticism.
I suspect it, like many of the Soviet Union's so-called great technologies, is a lie for the sake of winning.
However, after the director went to see the other person's technology, he was instantly impressed.
Then, under his leadership, as soon as the Soviet Union collapsed, the entire technical team for this project was packed up and sent to the United States.
Then, a few years later, they launched the world's first commercially available magnetorheological ultra-precision grinding machine, truly bringing magnetorheological polishing technology into the engineering application stage.
It's fair to say that right now, no one but his family can do this.
If the people present told him that they had used their own methods and various paths to break through international technological blockades and purchase magnetorheological polishing equipment, then he could reluctantly believe it.
After all, what does it matter if there's an embargo? Nobody wants to turn down money.
But if you say you actually did it, aren't you exaggerating?
A smile appeared on Wang Xiao's face, and he said meaningfully, "Sir, this technology originally belonged to the Soviet Union."
This isn't about socialism or anything like that; it's the international mainstream view.
In the semiconductor industry, the ownership of professional technical inventions acquired by engineers during their work should follow the relevant regulations for inventions made in the course of employment, and generally belong to the company.
The reason is very simple: throughout this entire process, the engineer primarily used the company's resources.
If you use your company's resources to make inventions, and the final result belongs only to you, then no company will provide resources for its employees to innovate in the future.
You have to understand that if 100 people try to invent something, maybe only one person will succeed. And the cost of the resources consumed by those who fail is borne by the organization.
The Belarusian scientists took technology from their former workplace, and the nature of their actions can hardly be described as aboveboard. If the Soviet Union hadn't collapsed, it would have been incredibly difficult to predict who would win in an intellectual property lawsuit.
Wang Xiao said softly, "We developed this jointly with Belama, a company in Belarus. It was their company that first proposed the magnetorheological polishing technology. We share the research results."
Dr. Huang was at a loss for words.
With the departure of its core technical personnel, Belama, a company in Belarus, was seen as doomed. After all, everything depends on people.
But he had lived in China for over 20 years before going abroad, and his parents were intellectuals. He knew that the model of scientific research under the socialist system was quite different from that in typical capitalist countries.
Perhaps only people from socialist countries can understand the true value of Belama, a company in Belarus that has already been abandoned.
He took a deep breath and exclaimed, "You guys are really amazing."
To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy, it's like they've already been plundered once, yet they can still extract new wealth.
Wang Xiao smiled and readily patted himself on the back: "We've always believed in win-win cooperation, we don't steal, we don't rob, and we don't hoard food."
They want to eat it but can't. In this respect, China is completely blank. Even if they directly buy the technology from Belarus, they can't find the corresponding talents to accept, absorb, evolve and sublimate it.
Why don't we stick together and support each other?
Dr. Huang, whether or not he understood the underlying logic, simply smiled and complimented, "Mr. Wang, you're really amazing. If you keep developing like this, 70 nanometers will probably be within your grasp."
Wang Xiao smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words. We will definitely be the first to supply you when the time comes."
She turned to Professor Zheng and said, "Professor Zheng, this is a rare opportunity. Huang Bo is also an expert. Why don't you show us your new gadgets?"
Professor Zheng looked troubled: "That's still in the prototype development and feasibility verification stage, and it will take at least five to ten years before it can be commercialized."
Huang Bo's curiosity was piqued, and Deputy Director Jiang pressed further, "What good stuff have you guys gotten your hands on?"
“Immersion lithography machine,” Wang Xiao explained. “In 1994, we saw a paper published by Dr. Lin Benjian at a conference, which said that when the resolution of optical lithography increases, it will encounter a depth-of-field bottleneck, and immersion technology can solve this problem. We found it very interesting and emailed Dr. Lin. He was a very kind person and provided us with more information. So we started to work on research and development in this area.”
Dr. Lin Benjian is also an industry leader, currently serving as the general manager of Leading Innovations in the United States. Dr. Huang Youlun would certainly know him.
The latter's shock lies in the fact that, just because he read an article and sent and received a few emails, he directly jumped to another path and made an immersion lithography machine.
Do they realize the risks involved? Any new path has no precedent to follow, and there's no prior experience to draw upon.
Wang Xiao laughed and said, "Anyway, we were a blank slate to begin with. Our idea at the time was to take two steps: one was to follow the international mainstream and try to narrow the gap as much as possible; the other was to simply start a new path. If we succeeded, we would soar to new heights; if we lost, we would lose."
Dr. Huang has completely forgotten about the idea of finding venture capitalists for this Mr. Wang. This is the boldness of a truly wealthy person; he throws money around without batting an eye.
He immediately made a request: "Please show us your immersion lithography machine. I have never seen an immersion lithography machine before, not even in a laboratory."
Wang Xiao laughed: "As far as I know, we're the only ones working on this. Everyone's busy investing in 157-nanometer wavelength dry lithography technology right now."
Dr. Huang asked with a smile, "Then why didn't you do it?"
Wang Xiao shrugged and bluntly said, "Anyway, we can't do it, so why not do this first? At least we'll be the first to try something new."
So, is this crab delicious or not?
The experimental machine standing in front of them was another behemoth. At first glance, it looked just like a wardrobe in a communal changing room, except that the wardrobes were stacked one on top of another, reaching a height of four or five meters.
Strictly speaking, it is not much different in appearance from the dry soaking machine that Dr. Huang saw earlier.
What truly makes people instantly realize that the two are not the same thing is the demonstration process.
A layer of transparent liquid was added to the photoresist. Under the action of this liquid, the 193-nanometer wavelength was refracted to 134 nanometers, directly skipping the 157-nanometer wavelength.
And the chip manufacturing process it can produce jumps directly to 45 nanometers.
You should know that the most advanced dry lithography machines can only achieve a maximum of 65 nanometers!
Dr. Huang Youlun felt his blood was boiling. He had witnessed a miracle, a miracle that revolutionized the development of lithography machines and ushered in a new era.
His voice trembled: "When...when will you be able to build a prototype?"
Professor Zheng sighed: "It will probably take another three to five years. There are many technical challenges to overcome."
Although a prototype is not a commercial machine, the development from an experimental machine to a prototype requires overcoming the problem of technical instability.
Currently, the project team is focusing its efforts on overcoming challenges, with the goal of producing a prototype within three years.
Even with the extended timeline, Dr. Huang Youlun remained excited, even blurting out, "Why don't you just invite Dr. Lin Benjian over?"
Wow, that's really explosive! He's currently the general manager of Leading Innovations in the US.
It seems like Leading Innovation Company isn't going to go bankrupt, is it?
Huang Youlun, however, said in a serious tone: "Really, you should recruit Dr. Lin. Since he proposed the theory, he must have thought about many issues more deeply and thoroughly than others. He may not write articles to publish these thoughts."
Wang Xiao realized that the other party had misunderstood her meaning, so she quickly explained, "We really hope to invite him over, but he has a very good career plan, and we're just afraid that he won't be interested in our small company."
Huang Youlun laughed, a hint of smugness in his voice: "Mr. Wang, you must be incredibly good at business, but you probably don't understand the mindset of people like us with technical backgrounds. Back when Taiwan was recruiting Dr. Morris Chang, he didn't even consider it, and thought Taiwan was too small and dilapidated to be worth a second glance."
"What really impressed Dr. Morris Chang later was that he saw an opportunity to achieve a breakthrough in the second half of his career in Taiwan."
"The same applies to Dr. Lin Benjian. The mainstream in the semiconductor industry now is dry lithography machines. To make immersion lithography machines would be a disruption, a huge disruption. It would be equivalent to overturning the entire system."
"I believe professionals aren't stupid. They should also know that immersion lithography machines may bring breakthroughs, but they have already invested a lot in dry lithography and have a very large system. Whether it's Nikon or Canon, their lithography machine divisions are behemoths, and touching any part of it means taking away someone else's cake."
At this point, Huang Youlun blurted out, "And since you've dealt with Japanese companies, you should know that their hierarchical system is really strict and very rigid."
After he finished speaking, he realized that there should be Japanese engineers present, so he quickly added, "The way Japanese companies operate really stifles a lot of geniuses. Sometimes I feel that Japanese companies have let down these excellent engineers."
Wang Xiao almost burst out laughing.
Listen to this, who said tech people don't understand social etiquette? They can change their minds so quickly.
Huang Youlun felt he had already smoothed things over, and continued on his own: "There aren't many companies making lithography machines to begin with, and Japan accounts for the majority. Dr. Lin's chances of successfully persuading Japanese lithography machine companies to cooperate with him in developing immersion lithography machines are slim, and it would take a lot of time and effort to do so."
He smiled at Wang Xiao, "But it's different here. With just one article and a few emails, you've already developed the experimental machine. What do you call that? You call it the friendship of Bo Ya and Zi Qi, a true confidant! A scholar will die for one who understands him."
"Besides, it's not that I'm jealous of my peers, but Dr. Lin's specialty is technology. He reached the top as general manager at Leading Innovation in the US. Going any higher is, in fact, harder than climbing to the sky."
"Coming here is a different story. If you actually manage to build an immersion lithography machine, you will definitely be remembered for all time."
Huang Youlun couldn't suppress his envy and jealousy, saying, "I wish I could have such a great opportunity."
Wang Xiao couldn't help but laugh: "Great! Then you'll be the first manufacturer in history to use an immersion lithography machine."
Hmm, it seems like we can actually hire people.
Although Dr. Lin Benjian was historically engaged in research and development at TSMC, he collaborated with ASML to develop the world's first immersion lithography machine.
But history is history. In 1999, Wang Xiao was still drinking milk.
Reality is reality, and the reality is that if she wants to hire people, she will spend a lot of money to bring them in.
What should we do? She's so eager to improve.
She's very competitive, and she doesn't like following in other people's footsteps.
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Last night, while writing this chapter, I discovered that the two sources I found contradicted each other, so I started to struggle with it. I had to figure them out, and that's how time was wasted [crying emoji]. It's no wonder my writing isn't doing well; I spend most of my energy on these kinds of things [heartbroken emoji][orange candy emoji].
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