Super Copy of Great Power Technology

The press conference lasted for more than two hours before it ended. Then the factory director Luo Yuankai led a group of leaders and reporters to put on dust-free clothes and went deep into the front line of chip production to visit and shoot. The epoxy resin floor that can detect light, the spotless equipment and environment, the high-speed overhead crane, and the lithography machine that is constantly flashing purple light are all dizzying and eye-opening. The illusion of entering the factory of the future.

After attending the press conference, Qiao Ruida wanted to retreat and go home. As soon as she walked out of the venue, she was stopped by Mr. Hu from Loongson and Mr. He from HiSilicon.

"Hello, Mr. Qiao, I heard from Academician Wang that Rockchip also has a 7nm chip production line using EUV lithography machines. Can you take us to open our eyes?" Mr. Hu, who had half-white hair, took Qiao Ruida's hand and said, He requested extremely sincerely.

"Yes, Mr. Qiao, we are all engaged in chip design. We are very curious about the famous EUV lithography machine. Please take us to see it." Mr. He, wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses He also echoed.

Qiao Ruida admired the two seniors in front of her very much. They were able to take root in China with no technology, no talent, and no equipment. They have been deeply involved in the field of chip design for decades and led countless chip design talents. This is The magnanimity and perseverance are not possessed by ordinary people. Qiao Ruida only thought about their request briefly before agreeing.

"Okay, I can take you to visit the 7nm production line, but you two have to promise me one thing, that is, we have an EUV lithography machine and have mastered the 7nm chip processing technology. Don't publicize this for the time being. go out."

"Mr. Qiao, please rest assured. We old guys have all participated in national confidential projects. We are all professionals when it comes to confidentiality. If it weren't for the fact that the development of the next generation of Loongson requires the use of the most advanced manufacturing processes, Academician Wang You won't tell me about this either." Mr. Hu patted his chest and promised not to leak the secret.

"I, Mr. He, am not the kind of person who talks too much. You can rest assured about confidentiality." Mr. He also made a promise.

Since the 7nm chip production line was installed and trial production began, due to the need for confidentiality, the No. 66 workshop where the production line is located has strengthened security. No matter who enters the workshop, they must wear a pass. Qiao Ruida took the two of them to the door of workshop No. 66, and applied for two temporary passes for Mr. Hu and Mr. He at the guard office. Then she took them to change into dust-free clothes and enter the workshop.

"Hiss——" Mr. Hu and Mr. He are used to seeing people in big scenes. They have visited the chip production lines of SMIC, TSMC, Four Star and other companies, but the 7nm chip production line in front of them still brings them a new experience. There were so many shocks.

At the beginning of the production line, the two saw workers placing a silicon wafer that was significantly larger than an 8-inch wafer on the conveyor belt. Mr. He pointed at these wafers and asked in surprise: "This chip production line actually uses 12-inch wafers. We can't produce such large-sized wafers in China, right?"

"Yes, 8 inches is the largest size of silicon wafers produced in our country. These 12-inch wafers are imported from abroad. Compared with 12-inch wafers, 8-inch wafers have a higher cost per chip. Low, larger usable area, higher yield and many other advantages are the future development trend. Our Rockchip wafer factory plans to introduce a set of 12-inch wafer production equipment in the next step to meet its own needs." Qiao Ruida said casually After explaining a few words, in fact, the 12-inch wafers used in this production line were all copied by him through golden fingers. However, this is not a long-term solution. Qiao Ruida has already planned to add several sets of 12-inch wafer production equipment to the second phase of the Rockchip wafer factory to solve the problem of raw material sources. Halfway through the tour, the three of them met the master and apprentice, Academician Wang and Professor Zhou. Originally, at today's press conference, Academician Wang was also going to take the podium to speak on behalf of Peking University, a technical partner. However, Academician Wang did not like to face the media and flashlights, so he declined the invitation.

Mr. Hu held Academician Wang's hand and said, "Thank you, Mr. Wang, for telling me the news about this 7nm chip production line. Seeing these world's top chip production equipment with my own eyes today is really eye-opening for me. It's a worthwhile trip."

The middle-aged Mr. He walked up to Academician Wang, bowed respectfully, and said: "Teacher, I haven't seen you for many years, but you are still so energetic. And Brother Zhou, I heard that you returned to Peking University to teach after graduating from Ph.D., no wonder At first he refused to accept my invitation to work at HiSilicon."

Qiao Ruida also didn't expect that there was a master-disciple relationship between Academician Wang and Mr. He. Even Zhou Wanda and Mr. He knew each other. It seemed that the domestic chip industry was really not big.

Zhou Wanda waved her hand and said politely: "Thank you for your support, senior sister. It's really that I'm used to being lazy and can't adapt to HiSilicon's overtime culture, so I declined your invitation and returned to my alma mater to become a teacher."

Academician Wang smiled kindly and said: "In our country, there are too few people who can concentrate on chip design. You and Xiao He are the best among them. Now Rockchip has a more advanced 7nm The chip production line has equipment but no 7nm chip design drawings. Wouldn’t it be a waste of resources? I thought about it and found that you are the only two in the country who have the ability to design a 7nm chip, so I will reveal the news to you. I hope Qiao, classmate , don’t blame me for talking too much.”

Qiao Ruida quickly waved her hand and said: "It doesn't matter. Mr. Hu and Mr. He are both my seniors and people I admire. I worked hard to bring this 7nm chip production line back to China, just to produce the world's top chips. I also hope that Mr. Hu and Mr. He will support us in this regard.”

"Easy to say, as far as I know, today's mainstream EDA software does not support the design of 7nm chips, and even very few support the design of 14nm chips. Under such circumstances, it is very difficult to design a 7nm chip." Mr. He is indeed a senior chip designer and pointed out the difficulty directly. Regardless of whether domestic or foreign EDA software, they all follow the current mainstream process technology. Even if the chip design function of the next-generation process is opened, it is very good to advance one process node. From 28nm to 7nm, there is a gap of two process nodes. No EDA software will preset such a large lead time.

"We all know that the smaller the size of the transistor, the more serious the quantum tunneling effect, the easier it is to leak electricity, the easier it is to produce a chip that generates heat, the more serious the performance attenuation, and the higher the energy consumption." (End of this chapter)