Super Copy of Great Power Technology

This is really not the big talk of Qiao Ruida. The real price of EUV lithography machines is so expensive. If they are sold cheaply, it will arouse suspicion. What's more, it's only been 12 years now, and there are still four full years until ASML's EUV lithography machine is mass-produced and launched. Having obtained the mature products of EUV lithography machines so many years in advance, whether it is exploring the next generation process technology in advance or dismantling and imitating it, there is a lot of work to be done, anyway, it will not be a loss.

"Hiss - one billion lithography machine is so much more expensive than a DUV lithography machine. Funds are limited. The two lithography machines originally planned are definitely unaffordable, and one is not enough. It is really a headache. .”

Zhou Wanda gritted his teeth when he heard Qiao Ruida's quotation for the EUV lithography machine. Is the price of 10 billion expensive? In terms of cost, it is simply expensive. No matter how precious the materials used in the entire photolithography machine are, the raw material cost is only tens of millions at best, and it cannot be higher. Equipment costing 1000 million yuan to produce is sold for 10 billion yuan. One can imagine the huge profits. But from a technical perspective, the price of 10 billion is not expensive at all. The reason is that the technical content of the EUV lithography machine is too high.

Before EUV, lithography machines were all developed iteratively. Most of the previous-generation technologies can be upgraded to next-generation products and continued to be used. In this way, R&D costs can be significantly reduced. But when it comes to EUV, due to the nature of extreme ultraviolet light, mature combination lens solutions cannot be used. Otherwise, a large amount of light will be absorbed by the lens, and a reflector optical path system can only be developed again. As a result, the previous iterative development will no longer work, and we can only tear it all down and start research and development from scratch. The technology used is completely different from the previous generation products, and the research and development expenses will naturally increase. This EUV lithography machine is an equipment that has been developed by more than ten countries, dozens of research institutes, and tens of thousands of top scientific researchers for more than ten years. No matter how expensive the price is, it is reasonable.

Qiao Ruida shrugged helplessly and said: "The price is this price. It is basically impossible to get it cheap. To give you a thorough explanation, the processing speed and processing accuracy of this EUV lithography machine are much higher than that of the DUV lithography machine. More, and it is compatible with 12-inch and 8-inch wafers. When using 12-inch wafers, the processing speed is more than three times faster than DUV lithography machines, so it is still very worthwhile to sell for 10 billion. .”

"Well, your words moved me. When I get to Decheng City and see the teacher, I will tell him about purchasing EUV lithography machines. To say that this foreigner's heart is too dark, a piece of equipment is sold One billion is simply more than grabbing money. It would be great if our domestic manufacturers could produce EUV lithography machines, and the price could be reduced. It is a pity that our scientific research institutes can even produce first-level DUV lithography machines. Not sure, let alone EUV lithography machines." Zhou Wanda sighed, feeling really sorry for the misfortune of the domestic lithography machine industry and angry at it.

"We can't blame them. After all, our domestic investment in the research and development of lithography machines is very small, and we don't have many talents. Even a clever woman can't make a meal without rice. In fact, I can get the full set of drawings of the EUV lithography machine, but we The company doesn't have that many professionals or that much money, so it can't start such a big project." Qiao Ruida reassured Zhou Wanda, then put down a bait with a hook and waited for the fish to take the bait.

"What, are you serious! Classmate Qiao Ruida, you can really get a complete set of EUV lithography machine drawings. This is such a big deal that you can't afford to be careless." Zhou Wanda exclaimed, then looked excited. He put his hand on Qiao Ruida's shoulder and asked him to find out.

"Hey, Teacher Zhou, Professor Zhou, you have to calm down, calm down, you didn't see me driving. Do you want to cause a car crash and kill everyone?" Under Zhou Wanda's pull, the Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle was on the road. Drawing a big S, Qiao Rui was so frightened that he quickly pulled over to avoid a car crash and death.

"Yes, Teacher Zhou, just keep talking and don't do anything. Ruida is still driving. For the safety of the three of us, we can't do this." Du Qingqing, who was sitting in the passenger seat, also persuaded him. .

"I'm sorry, I was impulsive and didn't pay attention to the importance. Didn't I get excited when talking about the EUV lithography machine drawings?" Zhou Wanda took back his hand and said very apologetically. At this time, the convoy behind had already caught up, and the driver's voice came from the intercom, "Mr. Qiao, is your car breaking down? Do you want us to stop and help you repair the car?"

Qiao Ruida picked up the walkie-talkie, pressed the call button and replied: "My car is fine. There was a small accident when I parked the car just now. You don't need to worry about me, just keep going. I have told you the route and destination in advance. Please drive steadily on the road and pay attention to the distance between vehicles.”

"Okay, Mr. Qiao, let's take a step forward and see you later."

After the call ended, one container truck after another drove past the Mercedes-Benz. It was not until more than ten minutes later that the convoy all passed. Now on the highway, Qiao Ruida did not dare to occupy the emergency lane for too long. After making sure that Zhou Wanda would not mess around, she started the car and followed the convoy.

"Classmate Qiao, let's continue talking about the EUV lithography machine. You can really get a complete set of drawings." After more than ten minutes, Zhou Wanda finally calmed down and continued to ask about the lithography machine drawings. Listen His tone was still somewhat eager.

"As far as I know, ASML has applied for patents for most of the technologies used in EUV lithography machines. Even if we get the drawings, it won't be easy to copy them, right?" Qiao Ruida asked.

Zhou Wanda smiled and said: "Hey, you only know one thing but not the other. EUV lithography machines have indeed applied for a lot of patents, but they applied for international patents and patents from Western countries. In order to prevent us from ASML has not applied for relevant patents in our country by using patent document reverse technology to imitate lithography machines. If our company in China can imitate EUV lithography machines based on drawings, we can apply for patents in China. Use, as long as the equipment is not exported abroad, it does not constitute patent infringement.”

"No, patents can still be used like this. Is it really not illegal to do so?" Zhou Wanda's words surprised Qiao Ruida. He had never thought that patents could be circumvented in this way.

"If it is in other fields, it is really inappropriate to do this and there are great risks. But in the field of lithography machines, you can just go ahead and do it." (End of chapter)