nyslfriends Chapter 243 Ni Guangnan's Report
Chapter 243 Ni Guangnan's Report
Ni Guangnan opened his notebook. The paper was covered with dense writing, the handwriting neat and orderly.
"As of today, the center has 73 members. The project is divided into three parts: First, the design of a 1-micron embedded CPU, with the goal of completing design verification by July or August this year and striving for tape-out before the end of the year. Second, the research on the independent development of EDA tools, mainly focusing on logic synthesis and simulation, with the goal of producing a usable prototype within two years. Third, the basic research on process technology, mainly photoresist materials, thin film processes, and testing methodologies."
He looked up at Ling Yun: "The progress is faster than expected. The young people have strong learning abilities, and the older comrades are experienced and working well together. But the problems are also obvious: a lack of equipment, a lack of software, and a lack of money."
"How much are you short?" Ling Yun asked.
Ni Guangnan did some calculations on his notebook: "In terms of equipment, to build a complete 0.8-micron process pilot line, even on a small scale, the key equipment must be imported—lithography machines, etching machines, and ion implanters. Even if we buy second-hand obsolete equipment, these three items will cost more than 20 million US dollars. In terms of software, genuine EDA tools, a complete set of design, verification, and physical design, will cost about 3 million US dollars. In addition, the cost of tape-out is tens of thousands of US dollars each time, and we need to do it at least three to five times a year, let's say 500,000. Add it all up... 25 million US dollars is more than enough."
He paused, then added, "This doesn't include staff salaries, materials, utilities, and maintenance."
"Twenty-five million," Ling Yun repeated the number.
"That's right. And even if you have the money, you can't necessarily buy the equipment." Ni Guangnan closed his notebook. "The Wassenaar Arrangement is holding us back, with an embargo on advanced equipment. What we can buy are often outdated technologies that others have already phased out. But even outdated equipment is a treasure to us."
Lingyun picked up her teacup and took a sip. The tea was a little hot.
"Mr. Ni," he put down his cup, "what if what we're doing isn't just designing chips, but rather setting up the entire chip manufacturing supply chain?"
Ni Guangnan was taken aback: "The entire industry chain? What do you mean?"
"Let's start with silicon materials." Ling Yun stood up, walked to the whiteboard in the conference room, picked up a pen, and said, "Silicon materials—high-purity polycrystalline silicon, single-crystal silicon rods; wafer preparation—slicing, grinding, polishing; photolithography system—light source, lens, alignment, photoresist; etching—dry etching, wet etching; thin film deposition—CVD, PVD; ion implantation; cleaning and inspection; packaging and testing; and EDA tools—design, simulation, verification, physical design."
He wrote these words on the whiteboard, connecting each word with an arrow to form a closed loop.
"This..." Ni Guangnan also stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and stared at the words. "This is the entire semiconductor industry chain. From materials to equipment to software, it involves dozens of disciplines and hundreds of key technologies. It took the United States, Japan, and Europe thirty years to build this. We... the gap is too big."
"That's why we need to do it, because the gap is huge." Ling Yun turned around and said, "President Ni, you just said that we can do the design, but not the manufacturing. Why? Because the key equipment, materials, and processes in manufacturing are not in our hands. If they cut off our supply chain, we'll be cut off. This isn't just a problem with chip design; it's a problem with the entire industrial ecosystem."
He pointed to the whiteboard: "If we only do design, we will always be at the mercy of others. For chip fabrication, we have to find TSMC and UMC; for equipment, we have to buy Applied Materials and ASML; and for materials, we have to buy Shin-Etsu Chemical and Dow. If they cut off our supply, our entire industry will die."
Ni Guangnan remained silent. He understood this principle, of course, but…
"Mr. Ling, do you know how much this will cost? How many people will be needed?" His voice was dry. "This isn't a matter of tens of millions of dollars, it's a matter of billions, even tens of billions of dollars. And it requires top scientists and engineers, and decades of work."
"Money can be earned, people can be trained, and time can be seized." Ling Yun walked back to his seat. "But we need to have a plan and a layout first. We can't wait until others have completely closed the door before we think about building our own house."
Ni Guangnan sat back down, picked up his teacup, his hand trembling slightly. He put the teacup down, crossed his arms, and took a deep breath.
"Mr. Ling, what exactly do you want to do?"
"It's a two-step process," Ling Yun said. "The first step is assessment. We break down each link in the industrial chain and analyze the existing domestic foundation and technological level. Which companies can do it? Which are untapped areas? Which are the key bottlenecks?"
He picked up his pen again and drew a table next to the whiteboard.
The process, the current situation in China, the companies that can be supported, the breakthroughs that need to be achieved through independent research, and priorities.
"The second step is action," Ling Yun continued. "For projects that existing companies can undertake, we invest, support, and provide orders to help them achieve technological breakthroughs. For projects that are uncharted territory or that no one has undertaken before, we form our own teams and tackle them step by step, starting with basic research."
Ni Guangnan stared at the table, his mind racing. As a technical expert, he was intimately familiar with the weak links in the entire industry chain.
"Silicon materials," he began, "high-purity polycrystalline silicon. There are factories in China, but the purity is not high enough, so it can only be used for solar panels. Electronic-grade high-purity silicon is basically dependent on imports, monopolized by Shin-Etsu Chemical of Japan and Wacker Chemie of Germany."
Under the "Domestic Status Quo" section of the "Silicon Materials" category, he wrote: "There is a foundation, but it's low-end." For "Enterprises that can be supported," he wrote: "Luoyang Monocrystalline Silicon Plant, Emei Semiconductor Materials Plant." For "Breakthroughs Required," he wrote: "Electronic-grade high-purity silicon purification technology." For "Priority," he wrote: "High."
"Wafer fabrication," Ni Guangnan continued, "is about the equipment available in China for single crystal pulling, slicing, grinding, and polishing, but the precision is insufficient. 8-inch wafers have just started trial production, and the yield is low. 12-inch? No way."
He made notes in the "Wafer Preparation" section.
"The lithography system," Ni Guangnan sighed, "is the most difficult. The best lithography machine in China is the 0.35-micron stepper machine under development by Shanghai Microelectronics Equipment, which is not yet in mass production. The core technologies—the light source (excimer laser), the lens (high numerical aperture objective lens), the alignment system, and the photoresist—are all dependent on imports."
In the section on "Lithography Systems" where he emphasized the need for "self-developed breakthroughs," he wrote down in one go: light source, lens, alignment, photoresist, and control system. Priority: "Highest."
"For etching machines, AMEC is making them domestically, but they mainly focus on dielectric etching; silicon etching is still under development. For thin film deposition equipment, Naura Technology Group makes PVD, but CVD is still under development. Ion implanters are almost non-existent. Cleaning and testing equipment exists, but it's low-end. For packaging and testing, JCET Group and Huatian Technology are domestic companies that can do it, but their technology lags behind international standards by two generations. For EDA tools, Huada Jiutian is making them, but they can only do analog and a few digital back-ends; they lack front-end synthesis and verification tools."
He spoke in one breath, his pen flying across the paper. The form gradually filled up.
After finishing writing, he looked at the form with a furrowed brow.
"We have to overcome almost every hurdle," Ni Guangnan said. "And they're all tough nuts to crack."
"That's why we need to plan ahead," Ling Yun said. "Professor Ni, I have an idea. Besides continuing chip design, the center should also add a 'Supply Chain Research Department.' Its task is:"
He held up his finger:
"First, conduct research. Thoroughly understand each element in the table, including the current state of technology at home and abroad, major manufacturers, patent portfolios, and talent distribution, and compile a detailed report."
"Second, networking. Proactively reach out to promising domestic enterprises and research institutions to understand their difficulties and needs. Assess which ones can be partnered with and which ones can be invested in."
"Third, pilot projects. Select one or two relatively easy areas to break through, and invest our own resources in preliminary research. For example, photoresist, which is a chemical material, requires less investment compared to equipment, but it is also crucial."
Ni Guangnan listened and took shorthand notes in his notebook.
"How many more people do we need?" he asked.
"Let's add twenty people first. Mainly researchers and industry analysts," Ling Yun said. "I'll approve the funding. We'll allocate an additional two million US dollars annually for dedicated industry chain research and early-stage technology investment."
Ni Guangnan looked up: "President Ling, are you going to... rebuild a semiconductor industry system?"
"It's not about rebuilding, it's about completing," Ling Yun corrected. "What we need to do is lay our own foundation next to the high-rises that others have already built. We may only be able to build bungalows at first, but once the foundation is solid, we can build high-rises later."
The meeting room fell silent. The sounds of construction from a distant site drifted in through the window, thumping like a heartbeat.
Ni Guangnan looked at the table on the whiteboard, then at the key points he had just jotted down in his notebook. He suddenly remembered when he first started working in the 1970s, participating in the research and development of domestically produced computers. He also started from scratch, drawing blueprints, soldering circuits, and writing the operating system himself.
At that time, no one believed that the Chinese could build their own computers. But they did.
Now, thirty years later, the challenges are even greater, and the enemies are stronger.
But the young man in front of him, with his unwavering determination and his "doing what he knows to be impossible" spirit, reminded him of his own youth.
And then there are the young people downstairs, working overtime until late every night, just to reduce the line width by a few tenths of a micrometer.
"Okay." Ni Guangnan closed his notebook, his voice soft but firm, "I'll do it."
He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and added a row at the bottom of the table:
Overall goal: To establish an independent and controllable semiconductor industry chain technology reserve and ecosystem foundation. Timeframe: Ten years.
After finishing writing, he turned around and said, "President Ling, ten years might not be enough."
"If ten years isn't enough, then twenty." Ling Yun also stood up. "But we must start preparing now."