From Almighty Scholar to Chief Scientist

Chapter 222 Investigating the silicon industry, systematically looking down on it

Magic City.

On the silicon industry, silicon wafer production plant.

Many people on the Internet think that chips are made of sand, first of all because chips are made of silicon wafers.

A major raw material for silicon wafers is sand, which can be directly mined from nature.

Very cheap.

Of course, after the processing, the price is not cheap at all.

For a 12-inch silicon wafer, the sand used may be filled in a bucket in a river dam. Although this also belongs to the ore and belongs to the country, it is obviously impossible for the country to care about you getting such a bucket, but it is processed into The price of silicon wafers that can be used as chips is directly as high as more than 600 yuan.

Of course, a 12-inch silicon wafer can be cut into four 500 yuan mobile phone SOC chips, and the price of a chip, taking Qualcomm’s Snapdragon price as an example, is basically one higher than a 12-inch silicon wafer. 200 yuan, and self-designed chips like Apple and Huawei, because they are for their own use, are completely cost price. Of course, when calculated on their products, the price represented by the soc chip is quite high.

Therefore, the more advanced the technology, the higher the profit that can be obtained.

This is why it is said that science and technology are primary productive forces.

"This year we expect to be able to produce 30 12-inch silicon wafers per month, which is 360 million for the whole year, but there is still a big gap with foreign countries, and the share is not much at all. The domestic market mainly imports foreign silicon wafers. round."

"But now the higher-ups have asked us to give you another one. The monthly output of this production line is [-] pieces, and the value is very high. Professor Lin, you can treat it well. If it doesn't work, you can call me and our company will pay to buy it again." return."

In the factory, Yu Jiancheng, the general manager of Shanghai Silicon Industry, said to the people standing beside him, with complaints and grievances in his tone.

And the person standing beside him was Lin Xiao.

After the establishment of Dingguang Technology Co., Ltd., under the leadership of the government, it reached a cooperation with the silicon industry.

Shanghai Silicon Industry took out a 12-inch wafer production line and Dingguang Technology Co., Ltd. jointly established a Dingguang Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd., and this production line is mainly used for research by Lin Xiao, which is why Lin Xiao flew here from Shanghai. come here.

As for this General Manager Yu, the grievance is here. They went to the silicon industry as the first company to break the 12-inch zero production in Huaguo. It is losing money every year, but now it is directly allocated a production line worth tens of figures, which of course hurts.

Hearing Yu Jiancheng's words, Lin Xiao just smiled and was not angry. He just said, "You won't regret it in the future."

However, there was another person next to Lin Xiao who was dissatisfied with Yu Jiancheng's words, and said directly: "Professor Lin is a top scientist. If you don't believe Professor Lin, you should report it to the higher authorities. You don't want to pay anything. How can we make progress?"

This person is called Luo Ming, who is the general manager of Dingguang Technology Company, and is mainly responsible for the company's administrative management.

Lin Xiao is the chairman of the company, but it is obviously impossible for him to manage the company, so this Luo Ming is arranged to take charge of this job.

Of course, he also has another identity, that is, Lin Xiao's loyal fan.

It is of course dissatisfied to hear someone questioning one's idol.

But when Lin Xiao heard what Luo Ming said, he stretched out his hand to stop him dumbfounded: "Luo Ming, don't say that, we and Mr. Yu are also collaborators."

"It's okay, Mr. Luo is right, if you want to improve, you have to pay."

Yu Jiancheng waved his hand and said.

If their silicon wafer technology wants to improve, they must pay. This sentence is correct, and he also knows that cooperating with Lin Xiao is to optimize their production line to see if they can improve the yield rate and production speed.

However, he can gamble with the higher-ups, but he doesn’t like to gamble. Whether the company’s management is good or not has an impact on his performance. The most important thing is that although they are state-owned enterprises, there are some private shareholders in the company. Lin Xiao has the purpose of a production line.

Therefore, it is conceivable how distraught these private shareholders will be when they learn about this matter, and they will inevitably have to talk to him. Although he is not afraid, it will always be troublesome.

Of course, in fact, it is entirely possible to hire Lin Xiao as a research expert in the name of the above-mentioned silicon industry, but because Lin Xiao said that he did not want his research to be affected by the partner, the above directly "one size fits all" and directly cut this production line to After him, the new Dingguang Semiconductor Technology Company, he also has the dominant control.

This can be regarded as the excellence of Huaguo's system. You can do anything without considering the cost, and now there is no cost loss at all, it is almost just a left hand and a right hand.

Lin Xiao said: "Let's look at it from beginning to end, and tell me what our main problem is now."

"Okay." Yu Jiancheng nodded, and then led Lin Xiao to watch from their first step.

The first step is that trucks carrying sand drive into the factory to purify and refine the sand.

After this process, large pieces of pure polysilicon will be obtained. The purity of these polysilicons has basically reached 99.999999999%. After that, these polysilicons are melted, and then a rod is slowly pulled, which is a silicon rod, and the silicon rod is polished. , cut, and then polished, it becomes a silicon wafer.

This is the entire process flow, and the details determine the yield and production efficiency.

"We still have some problems in purification, and the other is the key polishing. Our ultra-precision polishing machines are all imported from Japan, and they are not the most advanced. They don't sell us the most advanced ones, so other people's polishing machines are better than others. We were three or four times faster."

"Basically these two key questions."

"Our problems mainly arise from..."

As Yu Jiancheng talked about their key issues, they also walked from the refining room to the smelting room. In the smelting workshop, silicon rods were produced, a large rod 1.5 meters long and 12 inches in size.

Since silicon is a semi-metal, its color is the same as that of metal, but it is a little grayer.

Until finally, they came to the final polisher.

"That's it, and it's our most critical problem. If we want to process silicon wafers to the precision we want, our polishing discs are not advanced enough, so we can only grind for a while, but we also have to worry about thermal expansion of the discs after grinding for a long time. make the accuracy worse."

Yu Jiancheng said.

Lin Xiao asked: "Is your polishing fluid traditional colloidal silica?"

"Yes."

Yu Jiancheng nodded.

"I see."

Lin Xiao said no more.

"Luo Ming, go back to the hotel."

"it is good."

Luo Ming responded immediately.

"Mr. Yu, before my research begins, you can still use this production line. The wafers produced will be handed over to your company for consignment sales. It's going to stop."

"Ok."

Yu Jiancheng nodded.

However, compared with a production line they lost directly, this output can only be comforted.

So he still said: "Professor Lin, I still hope that you can succeed. If you really succeed, even if we give you half of the production line, it will be no problem at all."

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "Just wait for the good news."

If he succeeds, the output will be directly increased by three or four times. Even if the production line is given to him by half, the output of the silicon industry can still be increased by two times.

Of course, everything depends on the final result.

After that, Lin Xiao and Luo Ming left the factory. Of course, they also took away a USB flash drive, which contained all the materials of the 12-inch silicon wafer production process of Shanghai Silicon Industry.

It is obviously not enough to just come here to have a look, and perfect information is also indispensable.

Back at the hotel, Lin Xiao said, "Then go back to Beijing tomorrow."

"Okay." Luo Ming nodded, and couldn't help asking: "Then, Professor Lin, do you have any thoughts on silicon wafers?"

Lin Xiao smiled and said: "This is a question that needs more thinking. If you ask now, I have nothing to answer you."

"Oh fine."

Luo Ming could only nod his head.

Lin Xiao waved his hand and returned to his room.

Recalling the information obtained today, the first is the purification problem.

If the polishing problem is a hardware problem, the purification problem is a software problem.

Everyone in the industry understands the truth that sand is silicon dioxide, let it react with carbon to get silicon ingots, and then react silicon ingots with hydrochloric acid to form high-purity trichlorosilane, and then electrify to precipitate polysilicon.

In this process, it is tested how the process avoids impurities.

For this point, Lin Xiao can play a good role in "bringing it". He already knows how a silicon wafer factory in Japan is purified by asking for it.

The Japanese silicon wafer factory is considered the best one, and their purification method is still very good.

Of course, copying is not in Lin Xiao's character. After so many months of thinking, he has come up with a better plan, and the purification speed can be increased by about 10%.

However, when it comes to polishing the hardware problem, the principle of "bringing it" cannot be used. After all, it is not a problem for a local Japanese company to buy a top-level polishing machine.

"So I have two directions now."

"First, develop a new grinding disc material, and second, develop a new polishing fluid."

The polishing accuracy is tested by the material problem, and at the same time, both the grinding disc and the polishing liquid are indispensable.

For example, the thermal expansion coefficient of the grinding disc material must be accurate. If the grinding disc material expands due to friction and heat, it will obviously affect the final polishing accuracy.

The polishing liquid not only dissipates heat to the grinding disc, but also uses the small particles of internal polishing powder and the protrusions on the surface of the material to polish. After all, the final chip is engraved on the process of nanometers.

After a short thought, Lin Xiao finally made a choice: "Grab with both hands, and be firm with both hands."

In particular, the polishing process is not only used for polishing silicon wafers, the optical lens of the lithography machine in the future also needs to innovate the polishing process.

Under the bragging of the media in the past, carbon-based chips seem to have become a new field in which Huaguo can achieve cornering overtaking in the chip field, but obviously, the threshold of polishing technology alone is enough to keep Huaguo from thinking about engaging in carbon chips base chip.

Therefore, the polishing process is also an area where foreign countries sanction Huaguo.

A breakthrough in this field is imperative.

He opened the system panel and looked at his remaining truth points.

【283.5】

A fairly high number.

In the process of solving various problems of the lithography machine, there will definitely be some problems. If Lin Xiao really can't solve them, he will consider using truth points.

With so many truth points, of course we have to use them.

Of course, he also wants to know how many truth points are needed to solve his problem, so that he can make a mental preparation.

"The system can increase the polishing rate of silicon wafers by five times, and the combination of polishing abrasives and polishing liquid with a surface accuracy of about 1nm is stable. At the same time, the cost should not exceed twice the current cost. How many truth points are needed?"

"Based on the host's civilization level and the host's comprehensive ability, 10 truth points are needed."

Lin Xiao was taken aback for a moment: "What? Only 10 truth points?"

It's so cheap?
He now has nearly 300 truth points, and these 10 truth points are nothing at all!
"System, you actually look down on the polishing process so much?"

System: "This requirement does not require a breakthrough in finding the truth, it is just a matter of permutation and combination of various relevant knowledge of the host's civilization, so only 10 truth points are required."

Lin Xiao: "...Okay."

"Then you might as well send me off."

system;"……"

No reply yet.

Lin Xiao thought for a while, and then asked: "What about optical lens polishing disc materials and polishing fluids with an accuracy of 50-100pm-rms?"

System: "Need 11 truth points."

Lin Xiao's eyes gradually lit up.

Only 11 truth points? !

The requirements for the optical lens grinding disc of the lithography machine are obviously greater than the requirements for the grinding disc of the silicon wafer, and the result is only 11 truth points.

"System, this is the first time I found you so cute!"

Although the system does not care about the existing technologies of these earth humans, and has a completely "contemptuous" attitude, it is great news for him.

Because this means that he will be able to use a lower price to help Huaguo break through the sanctions imposed by almost all countries in the world!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help laughing out loud.

He wants Huaguo to produce their own cutting-edge chips for at least the next few years!
"Anyway, it's a breakout. From which direction is it not a breakout, let's start with the polishing process and complete the first breakout."

Afterwards, he spent 10 truth points and directly exchanged them for silicon wafer grinding disc materials and polishing liquid materials.

In the next moment, countless knowledge emerged in his mind.

(End of this chapter)