blenderwars #503 - New bottleneck in chip technology
#503 - New bottleneck in chip technology
Dawn Optical Research and Technology Center.
Professor Fang Guangqi frowned deeply, facing the difficulties of the latest stepper lithography machine project.
"Professor Tu, our optical lens system still can't meet the standards. Can we solve the problem ourselves?" Professor Fang Guangqi knew that Professor Tu's team responsible for the optical part had done their best, but the precision of what they produced still couldn't meet the requirements of the new 2-micron lithography machine L-100 prototype, which was based on GCA's stepper lithography machine DSW 4800.
Ren Zhong had already provided everyone with quite sufficient design data, and the principles and their proofs had long been completed. They had even completed the development of the 3-micron prototype L50, successfully putting it into real production and raising the yield of 8080 chips to a new height, directly reducing the chip cost by an order of magnitude, from hundreds of US dollars to tens of US dollars.
Moreover, the more complex 8086 and 8088 chips were produced using the L-50 lithography machine.
However, in the process of further improvement, this system struggled to stably reach the 2-micron processing level.
According to the design of the Chip Design and Research Center, the next-generation chip 80286 needed to use new process equipment below 2 microns to be produced. According to the preliminary estimates of the design engineers, the number of transistors in the new CPU chip had expanded from 29,000 in the 8086 to a staggering 130,000 or more.
This forced the lithography machine research to further tap its potential.
"Professor Fang, from our current optical technology capabilities, it is very difficult to improve further. Although we don't want to admit it, the current optical lens is already the limit of our technology. If we want to improve further, I'm afraid we can only slowly polish and improve it over time. In this regard, compared to top optical companies like Zeiss, our starting foundation is too poor." Professor Tu was a returnee from Germany, having worked at Zeiss in Germany.
It was precisely because of the broad recruitment of talents from all over the world that the Optical Research Institute led by Fang Guangqi rapidly expanded and developed into a large research institution like the Dawn Optical Research and Technology Center with thousands of people, and began to undertake the research tasks of several generations of lithography machines from the initial research on contact lithography machines to the research on projection lithography machines. Fang Guangqi had only lived a little more than half of his life, and they had already reached the pinnacle of optical equipment research on this planet.
However, all of this relied on Ren Zhong directly enabling a cheat, taking out the most core design problems of the equipment, and then they worked hard to achieve it according to these designs.
Now that they had reached the ultimate state, some of the shortcomings they once had were revealed.
Although the manufacturing principle of lithography machine optical lenses is not complicated, it is very difficult to make ultra-high precision lithography lenses in terms of both technology and craftsmanship. In terms of technology, the technical difficulty of large numerical aperture (NA) is very high, requiring the design of a combination of about 20 lenses based on a double Gaussian structure, and also to achieve sharing of spherical aberration, balancing field curvature, and canceling distortion. In addition, in order to ensure the quality of the wafer pattern, the positional error of each lens in the lithography machine must be less than 1nm, and it must also be able to minimize the heat generated by light loss.
In terms of craftsmanship, the surface finish required by the lithography machine is very high, requiring the use of the highest precision polishing machine and the finest lens abrasive. These require not only materials but also extremely skilled masters to control, because advanced lithography machine lenses are all made by hand polishing, requiring high-purity light transmission and high polishing.
In this regard, the strongest technical master at the Dawn Optical Research and Technology Center is Professor Tu, but at Zeiss in Germany, Professor Tu could only be considered an ordinary processing technician, far from the company's top masters, not to mention that some key technologies are not taught by these top technicians.
"Professor Tu, if we want to quickly reach the design specifications, according to your idea, do we need to cooperate with optical giants like Zeiss to design and manufacture this optical lens system according to our requirements?" Professor Fang Guangqi asked after thinking for a while.
Professor Tu smiled bitterly, "I'm afraid that's the only way at present."
Professor Fang Guangqi nodded and made up his mind.
Ren Zhong unhesitatingly approved Fang Guangqi's request for international cooperation.
On a clear morning, the city of Oberkochen in Baden-Württemberg welcomed an important business reception.
As a black car slowly came to a stop, Professor Fang Guangqi of Dongda University and his entourage appeared on time in this historic town. Mr. Cabot, the president of Zeiss, had been waiting for a long time in front of the iconic office building in the city center. He was wearing a neat suit, with a smile on his face, appearing both dignified and enthusiastic.
"Professor Fang, I am very honored to welcome you to Oberkochen." President Cabot personally stepped forward, extended his hand and shook hands tightly with Professor Fang Guangqi, his voice full of sincerity and expectation. At this moment, it was not only respect for personal friendship, but also a high degree of importance to the possibility of cooperation that was about to unfold.
Behind this reception lies an extraordinary preparation process. A few days ago, a message from the national foreign affairs department excited President Cabot. Although Dongda University did not reveal the specific details of the cooperation on diplomatic occasions, the clearly expressed hope to establish a deep strategic partnership with Zeiss undoubtedly brought unprecedented opportunities for Zeiss to find new growth points. Cabot knew that Dongda's visit was not just to purchase a few telescopes, but must contain a more profound meaning and cooperation potential.
After a brief and warm greeting, Professor Fang Guangqi introduced his team to President Cabot: "Thank you very much for your warm reception, President Cabot. This is Professor Tu, who had the honor of working at Zeiss, a prestigious company, and has a deep affection and understanding of Zeiss's technology and culture." Professor Tu nodded and greeted with a smile. Cabot's smile grew even wider upon hearing this information, and he stepped forward and shook Professor Tu's hand tightly, "Welcome, Professor Tu!"
Professor Tu's past experience undoubtedly added a bit of intimacy and trust to the cooperation between the two parties.
Two days later, they reconvened in the conference room.
The atmosphere was a little subtle after the initial greetings.
"Professor Fang, Professor Tu, I hope our Baden-Württemberg wine and delicacies can slightly alleviate the fatigue of your journey." President Cabot had a slight smile on his lips.
However, in Professor Fang Guangqi's view, this almost imperceptible smile in the opening remarks carried a hint of probing.
"Our technical team, after two days of sleepless review and discussion, has concluded that the optical lens system design proposal and stringent requirements proposed by your company are feasible." Cabot changed the subject and went straight to the point.
Immediately following, his tone became somewhat sharp: "However, Professor Fang and Professor Tu, we must be frank, the investment required to realize this system is astronomical. It not only requires us to mobilize the most skilled craftsmen for manual carving, but also requires a lengthy and complex production process to meet the extremely high standards set by your side."
Fang Guangqi and Professor Tu quickly exchanged a glance, a look of tacit understanding and vigilance. Although they had anticipated such a response, the weight of it was still hard to ignore when it actually came from the other party's mouth. They seemed to foresee a tug-of-war about to unfold at the negotiating table.
"If we can reach a pleasant cooperation agreement, I think it will be an even more joyous event for both of us to celebrate," Fang Guangqi said, changing the subject from pleasantries to the main topic.
"Since there are no technical obstacles to our cooperation, we have a very good foundation for cooperation. I believe Dr. Cabot thinks so too.
The next discussion should focus on how to negotiate a reasonable price for this cooperation. For any cooperation, achieving a balance between cost and value should be our common goal, shouldn't it?"
"So, Dr. Cabot, what is your assessed price for this system after all?"
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Fang Guangqi temporarily gave the right to quote to the other party.
Cabot looked back and exchanged glances with the Zeiss experts participating in the negotiation, one of whom, a large bearded expert, nodded.
"Professor Fang, may I ask, what is the extent of your demand for such an optical objective lens system?" President Cabot did not directly quote a price, but began to inquire about the scale. "I think Professor Fang is well aware that different procurement scales will lead to different costs."
"Dr. Cabot, I understand," Professor Fang Guangqi nodded and replied, "We will purchase no less than one hundred sets each year. Of course, in terms of performance indicators, the requirements will continue to increase over time."
One hundred sets was not a large number, but it was not small either. "Professor Fang, when you say 'each year,' are you talking about one or two years or many years?" Cabot continued to press.
"Dr. Cabot, frankly speaking, if a strategic cooperation agreement is reached, our cooperation will be long-term, lasting at least ten years or more, and in terms of quantity, one hundred sets per year is also very basic. As the market opens up, we may very well add larger orders," Professor Fang Guangqi said.
Professor Fang Guangqi was not lying. As chip performance improved and computers became more widespread, the equipment for chip production naturally rose in demand and required larger quantities. Currently, Dongda had not considered selling these devices to third countries for chip production.
"Professor Fang, in that case, our initial quote is $80,000 per set," Cabot said. "This takes into account our upfront R\u0026D costs and actual processing costs. If the technical standards for processing need to be higher, the price will increase further depending on the workload."
Cabot quoted a high price to Fang Guangqi and his team. At $80,000 per set for one hundred sets, it would cost $8 million a year. In this era, this was a large sum of money. You should know that a car currently costs only a few thousand dollars, and one set of objective lens system would cost more than ten cars. The added value was amazing.
In the optical objective lens system manufactured by Dongda itself, the current cost is at most no more than 50,000. According to the current exchange rate of approximately 1:3, that is, 1 US dollar to 3 Dongda's local currency, Zeiss's initial quote is almost 5 times more expensive!
Smiling on the surface, but ruthless when making a move!
After Fang Guangqi and Professor Tu heard the quote, they exchanged glances again. Professor Tu said, "Dr. Cabot, frankly speaking, we are also doing the same work and are very clear about the processing and manufacturing costs of this optical objective lens system. Admittedly, due to the different price levels between the two countries, there are also huge differences in costs, which we can understand. Based on the premise of our long-term cooperation, the initial system's R\u0026D and process exploration costs, with a large number of orders, I think it is not worth mentioning at all."
"Your company's price of $80,000 per set is indeed too far from a reasonable cost. Considering your country's actual labor costs, we believe that $50,000 per set is a reasonable price."
Professor Tu had already calculated this price. According to the current salary comparison, the wages of workers in both countries are indeed about 5 times different, but the cost of worker wages in this system should account for about 60%. Comprehensively calculated, $50,000 is a more appropriate price.
That is, 3 times more expensive than Dongda making it themselves.
"No, no, no, Professor Tu, what you are talking about is the cost price, but our company must survive, and we must ensure a certain profit. $80,000 is a very sincere price," Cabot shook his head like a rattle at Professor Tu's counteroffer.
"Dr. Cabot, perhaps we can expand the scope of cooperation," Fang Guangqi quickly interrupted when he saw that the negotiation might be deadlocked on the price. "Our demand for lenses is not limited to objective lens systems. In addition, our cameras and telescopes also require a large number of high-quality lenses. If we reach a strategic partnership in this area, I think our annual purchase of lenses will be a huge amount of data."
Dongda could also make lenses for telescopes and cameras, but they still lacked top-quality lenses. In the past, they would purchase a batch separately from international sources and produce a batch themselves to ensure that top-quality products had the best lenses.
"Professor Fang, you are right, perhaps we can further explore the ways and scale of cooperation," Cabot said, looking at Fang Guangqi with great interest.