We are all reborn, who wants to be the richest man?

Lithography machines are known as "the crown jewel of industry".

An advanced EUV lithography machine in later generations can be sold for about 4 million US dollars, which is more expensive than the most expensive normal Boeing aircraft.

But now this thing is advanced, but it is far from that level.

This is an era where lithography machines are dancing wildly and growing wildly. A company that is willing to invest in research and development may overtake others at any time.

Shipments are small and research costs are high. These are the reasons why not many companies are willing to invest in this in this year.

Lithography machines, as the name suggests, use light to engrave, and light is the basis of everything.

Why use photolithography? Because it is fast, for chip factories that operate around the clock, time is money, and speed determines output.

In the universe we live in, light is the speed limit, and optics is extensively studied and used.

How is light controlled and carved into chips? The answer is photomask, photolithography machine and photoresist.

The photomask is the drawing of the integrated circuit. The photolithography machine emits light like a printer and projects the pattern on the photomask onto the silicon wafer. The photoresist is a colloid that can turn light and shadow into reality.

Photoresist is divided into positive resist and reverse resist.

Take plastic as an example, it is a material that dies when exposed to light.

It is strong in the dark, but becomes weak when exposed to light of a specific wavelength, and can then be dissolved and eliminated.

Negative glue is just the opposite. Using the photosensitivity of photoresist, you can use light to engrave the chip.

Take a simple example.

We first apply a layer of photoresist on the silicon wafer, and then illuminate the photoresist with light through the designed photomask. This part of the colloid will become weak and then washed away by the solution, while the remaining strong light will The engraving becomes a protective film.

Then we only need to use a solvent that can corrode silicon to etch away a layer of the area that is not protected by the photoresist. Finally, after removing the photoresist protective film, we can complete the unified carving of a large number of deep pits at the same time.

This kind of directional subtraction work on the silicon wafer is the first step of etching in chip production, and the corresponding addition process is deposition. In a narrow sense, it can be said that what photolithography etches is not the silicon wafer but the photoresist.

In addition, in order to impart electrical properties to the semiconductor silicon, ions must be implanted in specific areas, and this part also requires photolithography.

Precisely because every etching, deposition and ion implantation requires photolithography as a prerequisite, photolithography is the foundation of chip manufacturing. It also takes up the most man-hours and costs in the entire production process, and is also the reason for the large power consumption.

In the actual production of chips, at least 7 steps must be baked twice. The first is silicon wafer cleaning and surface treatment.

The cleanliness requirements of photolithography far exceed those of the most advanced operating rooms, so the silicon wafer must be bathed before photolithography, first wet cleaning and then cleaning with deionized water.

The second step is to spin the glue. Drop the photoresist in the center of the silicon wafer. Spread the photoresist through the high-speed rotation of the silicon wafer, and then rotate at a slower speed to stabilize the thickness of the colloid, which is a bit like spreading a pancake.

Most of the photoresist in this process will be thrown out and wasted, leaving only a uniform layer of colloid, which is equivalent to sticking a film on the silicon wafer.

Next is the first baking, also called pre-baking.

The purpose is to reduce the solvent content in the photoresist to make it stronger and thicker, and improve the stability of adhesion to the silicon wafer.

After the pre-baking is completed, the photolithography machine comes on stage to align and expose the silicon wafer.

After the silicon wafer comes out of the photolithography machine, it needs to be baked again, which is post-baking.

The purpose is to fully complete the photochemical reaction in the photoresist through heating, which can compensate for the problem of exposure intensity.

The sixth step is developing and rinsing, which is basically done with deionized water.

The last step is inspection and measurement.

To be honest, Luo Nianzhong knew nothing about these things. Even if Zhang Rujing had briefly introduced the process, he still seemed to be able to understand it with only a little knowledge.

Seeing Luo Nianzhong often frowning, Zhang Rujing was no longer explaining the photolithography process.

“The most important things in a photolithography machine are lenses and light sources.

Although Canon previously made camera lenses, it was far from comparable to Nikon and Zeiss in terms of precision measurement.

However, they have optical foundations and have achieved breakthroughs with our investment of funds."

Luo Nianzhong knew this. In 1976, the island country’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry formulated a VLSI plan to promote industrial upgrading.

The photolithography machine is also a part of the project, which was only started in 1978.

Originally, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry asked Nikon and Canon to copy high-end and low-end photolithography machines respectively. However, at that time, Canon and Fujifilm were discussing cooperation with Luo Nianzhong, and Luo Nianzhong forcibly stopped the matter.

Canon was not optimistic about this market, which was not very profitable yet, so it rejected MITI as an expression of sincerity to Luo Nianzhong.

A large part of the lithography machines currently being researched by Far East Semiconductor comes from Canon’s technology accumulation from ten years ago.

Seeing that Luo Nianzhong was silent, Zhang Rujing hesitated and said, "Is it possible that we have acquired Canon as a whole?"

Luo Nianzhong looked at Zhang Rujing in surprise. He didn't know why he said that. Now Far East Group holds 26.7% of Canon's shares and is Canon's largest shareholder. There is no need to worry about Canon getting stuck.

"reason".

Zhang Rujing must have a reason for saying this, and Luo Nianzhong did not rush to object.

“We spent nearly two million dollars on Canon this time to achieve breakthroughs in lens technology. They now have no demand for high-end lenses but want to share the fruits of our victory.

There will be no shortage of such situations in the future, and more and more funds will be invested.

The best way is to use orders to force them to invest in research and development or we can set up our own optical department.

The former is not possible yet. We cannot give them too many orders. After all, the annual demand is here.

As for setting up the optical department, I prefer to completely win over Canon, which will save us a lot of time than starting from scratch."

What Zhang Rujing said makes sense. What is the annual demand for photolithography machines now?

There were 42 units the year before last and only 37 units last year. Even if the mobile phone industry explodes and increases the demand for chips, the number will not exceed units in a short time."

Now, it is not 40 years later. Industrial products basically have a demand for chips. Even in that era, the annual shipment volume of lithography machines was only about units.

Therefore, even if the Far East Group's photolithography machines monopolized the market, Canon would have to consider whether to follow up with this order volume, otherwise it would not have decisively rejected the Ministry of International Trade and Industry's industrial upgrading plan for Luo Niazhong.

Then setting up an optical department or acquiring a company is the best choice.

As for acquisition companies, among the three acquisition companies, Zeiss, Nikon, and Canon, only Canon has this possibility at this stage.

Thinking of this, Luo Nianzhong shook his head and said, "Although we are Canon's major shareholders, we do not have an advantage on the board of directors, and they will not agree."

Zhang Rujing obviously has different opinions.

"I don't think so. What if this guy is separated from Far East Semiconductor? If we give the other party some shares of Far East Chip, I think this will be enough to break their alliance." As he spoke, Zhang Rujing pointed to the photolithography machine behind him.

"You mean exchanging shares?"

"That's right, benefit sharing?

It also leaves a way out for each other. After all, no one can be sure that they will never be eliminated by the market, right? "

This is a way. In fact, Luo Nianzhong can wait for the financial crisis in 97.

However, Canon's market value at that time was not the same as it is now, and it was even more inappropriate given the time cost.

“Let’s wait until the official test begins and invite people from Canon to come over and take a look.” Luo Nianzhong agreed with Zhang Rujing's plan.

Zhang Rujing smiled and nodded, skipping the topic and continued the introduction.

“Aside from the lens, the most important thing is the light source, and this is what we focus on.

However, the deep ultraviolet light source you proposed is still being studied and there are no results yet. However, we have discovered an i-line light source that is more advanced than the current h-line light source. The wavelength has been further shortened. I dare say that this is the most advanced light source now. ".

The i-line light source and the h-line light source used in other most advanced lithography machines are both mercury lamp sources. The ultraviolet light source, also known as UV, is generated by the mercury lamp.

We always hear that the UV in EUV and DUV means ultraviolet.

The deep ultraviolet or extreme ultraviolet that Luo Nianzhong asked them to study is EUV

Luo Nianzhong is not sorry that EUV has not been developed, because through recent understanding, he found that even if it is developed, there may not be a matching photoresist, and it will still not be used.

Luo Nianzhong just needs to keep Far East Semiconductor's technical team on the right path without taking detours.

Just like ASML's EUV, everyone knows that it is the most advanced, but EUV was proposed by the island country in the 80s.

As for why it was abandoned? It was because other supporting facilities at the time could not keep up and were too different that it was considered impossible to achieve.

He couldn't wait to come and learn about the latest research and development status. Luo Nianzhong also planned to leave.

He will not bring any help to the research of lithography machines here. On the contrary, he will need someone to accompany him, which will delay his time.

Luo Nianzhong sees this very clearly, so all the scientific researchers of the Far East Group praise a boss who does not dictate research and only makes occasional suggestions.

Calling him the boss who knows the most about technology, I don’t know whether it’s appreciation or irony.

"Is one month okay? If possible, schedule the test in one month." Luo Nianzhong asked Zhang Rujing's opinion.

"No problem" Zhang Rujing nodded confidently.

"I'm looking forward to its performance then."

"Don't worry, it will definitely shock everyone, just like other products of our Far East Group."