Chapter 360: Rub the Wafer with Bare Hands
"Xiao Liu, Xiao Zou, are you really not fooling me?" Lin Gang felt that he was a little rash as soon as he finished speaking.
Because the two people in the video came from that space base.
Take Liu Chengdong for example. He is the second-in-command of the base, and his position rank is higher than Lin Weiguo, the director of the Institute of Optoelectronics.
Lin Weiguo called the other person "Xiao Liu" because of his age and seniority.
As for the other Zou Ying, there is no need to say more. She is the head of the technical department in the base. She often cooperates and communicates with sister units such as the Institute of Optoelectronics and is very familiar with each other's situation.
Take the first virtual projection watch developed and put into production as an example, several core technologies in it adopted the technical reserves of the Institute of Optoelectronics.
After learning about the manufacturing of atomic-level precision lithography machines from these two high-ranking "acquaintances", Lin Weiguo couldn't help but feel a little skeptical.
There is no way, the atomic-level precision mentioned by these two people is really too unbelievable!
Speaking of this, we have to briefly mention the entire process of chip manufacturing: wafer processing - oxidation - photolithography - etching - thin film deposition - interconnection - testing - packaging.
The most critical technical step is photolithography.
What is photolithography?
To put it simply, the designed circuit pattern is "printed" onto the wafer through special wave light.
The mainstream lithography machines on the market can be divided into two types according to the process range: one is the DUV lithography machine that refracts 193-nanometer light source through excimer laser.
DUV lithography machines can basically only achieve 25 nanometers. The famous Intel company, for example, uses a dual-workbench modification to reduce the accuracy of the DUV lithography machine to 10 nanometers, but it cannot reach below 10 nanometers.
However, DUV lithography is a thing of the past. Another more advanced EUV lithography machine uses plasma laser emission, and the wavelength of the light source it can emit can reach 13.5 nanometers.
Within this exposure accuracy range, some advanced wafer fabs use multi-layer exposure or the superposition of multiple working platforms to greatly improve the resolution, allowing the exposure and etching circuit accuracy level to be increased several times, thereby producing 7-nanometer or even higher-level 5-nanometer chips.
However, the result of such a tricky method is that the final wafer tape-out yield is low, which in turn causes the chip manufacturing cost to increase exponentially.
This is also why the prices of high-end chips remain high.
To solve this problem, we must continuously improve the exposure accuracy of the lithography machine and improve the chip manufacturing process.
So what is the concept of 0.1 nanometer precision proposed by Chen Jue?
Given the current level of precision that humans have mastered, let alone the domestic optoelectronic institutes and those semiconductor research and development companies that have just started out, even if it is handed over to ASML, the leading company in the industry, it will take decades or even half a century to catch up.
Once we get a lithography mother machine of this level of precision, let alone 7-nanometer and 5-nanometer chips, even chips with specifications and performance improved a hundred or a thousand times can be produced in minutes.
This is why Lin Weiguo was so shocked after hearing the news. It was because the "satellite" at the base was too large.
…
"Director Lin, how dare we deceive you about such an important matter!"
"It's just that some confidential technologies are involved here, which are not convenient to talk about in the video."
"If you are worried, please bring a batch of raw materials for manufacturing photolithography mother machines as soon as possible! The more the better, because if you miss this opportunity, you will miss it forever!" Liu Chengdong said anxiously in the video call.
Because according to the attitude Chen Jue had shown before, this guy might leave the base at any time just because of a sudden thought.
Moreover, when Chen Jue left last time, he left in such a cool manner that no one could stop him.
After the last lesson, Liu Chengdong couldn't let go of his worries until he got the lithography mother machine.
Fortunately, Lin Weiguo on the other end of the video is not a pedantic person. He knows that the secrets of the second home behind the space base are shocking enough .
On this basis, it seems reasonable for the base to suddenly come up with the technology to manufacture lithography mother machines with atomic-level precision.
Therefore, after confirming several times with Zou Ying and Liu Chengdong during the call , Lin Weiguo immediately mobilized the entire staff of the Optoelectronics Institute to send a large number of components, raw materials, and a bunch of process flow information needed to manufacture lithography machines onto the Kunpeng transport plane arranged by the higher-ups.
He himself, along with a small team of a dozen people from the Institute of Optoelectronics, quickly rushed to the aerospace base in Long Province along with this batch of materials.
…
The base's cultural relics collection hall, due to the lack of clues, could not figure out how the sense of time dissonance came about, so Chen Jue simply gave up the idea of thinking about it further.
After walking around the museum and taking a quick look at the historical relics from various eras that showed signs of decay, Chen Jue muttered, "Time flies and years pass... Even these dead objects cannot resist the erosion of time, let alone the ancient kings who were made of flesh and blood... Fortunately, I have taken this crucial step, and there is plenty of time to solve these mysteries..."
After saying these words that puzzled others, Chen Jue slowly walked out of the museum under the surprised eyes of Liu Lao and other archaeological experts, and finally sat down on the steps at the entrance of the museum as if no one was there.
At this time, Liu Chengdong hurried back from a distance on a shuttle bus. Seeing that Chen Jue seemed to be an old farmer squatting on the steps of his house to pass the time, and did not look like he was leaving immediately, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Boss, the materials for manufacturing lithography machines at the Optoelectronics Institute will be delivered in half an hour. Looks like I have to trouble you again this time." Liu Chengdong said as sat down next to Chen Jue.
"Making chips is a fantasy for ordinary people, but for me it's just a piece of cake, so don't be polite." Chen Jue waved his hand and replied indifferently. He played with his smart watch and quickly projected and read the relevant process materials on chip manufacturing included in the base's qualification library.
After seeing Chen Jue's incredible reading speed, Liu Chengdong, who was sitting next to him, was also shocked and dumbfounded.
Good job!
This speed can't even be said to be reading ten lines at a glance, it's directly reading one page at a glance.
If those college students out there had this kind of reading speed and memory ability, passing CET-4 or CET-6, taking postgraduate entrance exams and studying for a doctorate would be a piece of cake for them.
Chen Jue ignored the other party's surprise, and after carefully scanning the chip manufacturing process, he stretched out his hand and poked the ground, as if grabbing tofu, and picked up a palm-sized cement board into the palm of his hand.
"Let's try wafer processing first!"
