The Millennium Semiconductor Survival Guide.

Chapter 136 Several Key Nodes
Someone will ask why not put the R&D center in Huaguo and American at the same time?
In the future, ASML's R&D centers will be spread all over the world, with R&D centers in Shenhai, Wanwan, Europe and American.

This is because the Xinxin lithography machine is in its infancy. After the initial experimental model comes out, it needs to conduct a large number of tests, exchanges and verifications with the manufacturer to iteratively optimize the experimental model. The early launch can be involved in the formal production process. machine.

At this stage, all research and development efforts need to be concentrated and devoted to solving the problems that the company survives.

After achieving breakeven or close to breakeven in the future, consider the next step, setting up an R&D center overseas.

"Also, what do you think of the semiconductor agreement signed between American and Neon since 1986?" Zhou Xin changed the subject.

Guan Jianying understood Zhou Xin's meaning in seconds: "The two sides signed a five-year semiconductor agreement since 986, requiring Neon to limit the export share of semiconductor products to American, and at the same time increase the import of American semiconductors.

It is clearly stated that the share of foreign semiconductor products in the neon market is at least 20%.

In addition, American also interfered with Neon's internal industrial policies. In order to promote the sales of American semiconductor products in the Neon market, Neon agreed to take measures to improve market transparency and simplify procurement procedures so that American can supply Merchants can enter the neon market more easily.

What's more, the neon government encourages neon semiconductor companies and American semiconductor companies to conduct technical cooperation and exchanges.

The most fundamental reason why Neon Semiconductor has been squeezed from the leader in the 80s to the current market share by Wanwan and Goryeo is that this series of self-binding strategies prevents them from performing. "

The suppression that Huaguo faced later, as early as the end of the 20s, Neon suffered all over again

Later, there are many high-sounding explanations for why Goryeo and Wanwan achieved cornering overtaking in the semiconductor field:

Global competition is intensifying, and the semiconductor industries of American, Korea, and Wanwan are developing rapidly, which has created huge competitive pressure on Neon.

American has made remarkable progress in process technology, product innovation and intellectual property protection, while Gaoli and Wanwan have rapidly expanded their market share through low-cost production and government support.

During this period, semiconductor technology underwent a major change, and storage technology shifted from DRAM to higher performance SRAM and flash memory.Neon Cozy's competitiveness in these emerging markets has gradually weakened, and it cannot keep up with market changes and demands.

Some neon semiconductor companies have problems in management and strategy, such as over-reliance on specific product lines, lack of diversification, and blind pursuit of scale expansion.These problems limit the development of neon semiconductor enterprises and the ability to respond to market changes.

In the early 90s, the neon economy bubble burst, leading to a domestic recession.This had a serious negative impact on Neon's semiconductor industry, resulting in reduced capital expenditures, overcapacity and declining corporate profitability.

These are all reasons on the bright side, and there are countless reasons on the bright side. The fundamental reason behind it is that American cannot accept that semiconductor companies are not in their own hands. Most of Neon’s semiconductor companies are in the hands of Neon’s local capital. inside.

Wall Street capital participation is too low.

However, Korea and Wanwan are different. Their semiconductor industry absorbed a lot of American capital during the development stage, and American’s technology and capital later made a lot of contributions to the semiconductor development of these two regions.

To put it bluntly, American provides money and technology, while Neon and Korea provide land and engineers.

In the 80s, Neon Semiconductor only relied on American for technology, and the degree of dependence was not high.

Seeing that Guan Jianying understood what he meant, Zhou Xin said, "That's right, American still can't accept Neon as his ally, and there are advanced semiconductor companies.

How can American accept Huaguo to develop its own semiconductor company?

When we make lithography machines, it is okay when the process is behind. We are willing to give money to TSMC or Samsung Electronics, and they will help us test the effect of the experimental machine.

But when we catch up with the current international advanced manufacturing process, what they will do to stop our research and development progress is a completely uncontrollable risk. "

The brutality of semiconductor competition is no less than that of the Internet, or even worse than the Internet.

Because semiconductors are a zero-sum game that is much crueler than the Internet in a sense. Chips need a pool. If you produce one more chip, it means that I will sell one less chip.

In the Internet industry, everyone is competing for user time. If you make a good enough product that can increase the increment of user usage time, then you can get incremental user time without affecting my application’s occupation of user stock time.

In the first decade of the 21st century, the average time spent by users on the Internet was about three hours, and in the second decade of the 21st century, the average time spent by users on the Internet exceeded 8 hours.

This extra time is the increment brought by the mobile Internet.

Therefore, later generations of TSMC used various legal means to hinder the development of SMIC, from SMIC infringing on a number of their semiconductor manufacturing technology patents to SMIC poaching its employees to obtain its business secrets, etc.

Later, Zhang Rujing resigned from SMIC in 2009. On the surface, it was because of personal reasons. In fact, it was TSMC's request that Zhang Rujing resigned, and they were willing to reach a settlement agreement.

Why is TSMC suing SMIC, because the better SMIC develops, the more market share TSMC will eat up.

As for whether SMIC has used TSMC's technology, it should have. From the early days of SMIC's establishment in 2000 to 2002, SMIC hired more than 100 engineers from TSMC.

Around June 2002, TSMC approached American, an analog IC design company that placed orders with both SMIC and TSMC, to implant hidden graphics on the mask made by TSMC's silicon intellectual property platform.

By November 2003, TSMC obtained the chips sold by SMIC to this company, and found TSMC's special hidden graphics through electron microscope anti-stripping method and restoration engineering.

Why does SMIC want to use TSMC's technology instead of purchasing patent authorization? To put it bluntly, it still has no money.

As a latecomer in the field of chip foundry, SMIC needs to win the market by grabbing orders at low prices.

Buying orders at low prices determines that they do not have much room for profit, and do not have much money to purchase patents from official channels.

The first round was only 6.3 million US dollars, and a total of 7 chip processing plants were built, and there was no money to buy patents.

Moreover, TSMC purchased Shida Semiconductor at a high price of US$50 billion. To put it bluntly, it hopes to monopolize this market as much as possible, and then raise the price to obtain excess profits.

They are also unwilling to sell patents to SMIC.

Zhou Xin continued: "If there is no Xinxin lithography machine, the high probability of winning in the semiconductor field in the future is ASML.

Nikon and Canon, which do not have much American capital behind them, will gradually fall behind. As long as ASML achieves a little bit of technological leadership, from Intel to Samsung to TSMC, the usage of ASML lithography machines will be greatly increased.

Help ASML form a positive cycle of research and development-technology leadership-redevelopment. "

Zhou Xin knew that this was not a high probability, but an absolute.

From the 80s to the early 21st century, Nikon lithography machines, which have occupied more than 50% of the market share, will have a market share of less than 2020% by 5, while ASML has monopolized 90% of the market share.

EUV lithography machine is monopolized by ASML.

Zhou Xin knows that in order to survive, especially in the current environment, a whole industrial chain must be formed.

Otherwise, even if they make a lithography machine with the same precision as the mainstream products on the market, the foundry will still not choose you.

You can't enter the production process, and you never know what the lithography machine produced is like.

Accuracy and yield rate are two concepts. If the accuracy is achieved, there may be a huge difference between the yield rate.

Unless Zhou Xin is willing to continue to develop blood transfusions for lithography machines, and rely on money earned from other places to transfuse blood for lithography machines.

Wait until American begins to ban the sale of advanced semiconductor chips to China.

Then the new core lithography machine has the opportunity to enter the production process.

It's been too long, and there are a lot of uncontrollable variables.

"So we need to form a deep cooperative relationship with the chip foundry that Zhang Rujing will establish.

They are also very short of money recently, and the last thing I need is money.

I should talk to Zhang Rujing, I will give him funds, and then let our lithography machine start a lot of testing as soon as it is manufactured. "

From consumer electronics brands to chip foundries to lithography machines and analog IC design, these most important nodes have to form a joint force.

In order to drive the development of the entire industrial chain.

Guan Jianying said after listening, "Newman, I understand what you mean.

Although your money is earned from Wall Street, it is not Wall Street's money, it is your money.

So there is no Wall Street capital behind the semiconductor company you established. We either accept the entry of Wall Street capital or build a separate system.

But it is too difficult to build a system alone. "

Zhou Xin waved his hand: "First of all, I never said that we want to build a separate system.

We just do the lithography machine and analog IC design by ourselves.

In addition, it is not to build a system by itself. Neon Semiconductor is half dead, and we can form a cooperation with Neon.

We can use the technology, experience and talents that Neon has accumulated in the semiconductor field.

And I have never rejected cooperation with semiconductor companies in places like American, Korea, and Wanwan. "

Guan Jianying is a Chinese born in mainland China, not from a crooked person, so Zhou Xin can speak more bluntly.

"When our products are competitive enough, we can sell them to them, and their technologies and products can also be sold to us."

　I updated a chapter of 3k in the morning, and now I am updating a chapter of 3k. I am adjusting my schedule recently.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)