Chapter 229 Chip Layout

Author: quiet thoughts

Chapter 229 Chip Layout

After discussing with Masatoshi Shima about the subsequent physical implementation of the chip, Shirakawa Kaede went to the third floor of the SIC for a walk.

Another technology is being developed here, CD format storage technology.

"Hosono-san, changed the storage object from sound to text, image, and even video.

Is it technically possible and are the principles similar?"

Bai Chuanfeng looked at the discs on the workbench and asked curiously.

These CDs are experimental products and look exactly like ordinary music CDs.

"Technically speaking, there is no problem at all, and the CD storage method is also very close.

However, due to the diversification of storage objects, the information scanning speed and reading speed will be different.

In addition, there will be some differences in the production materials, especially the surface coating materials and information bands will be significantly different."

Emuo Hosono is a professor of chemistry at Tokyo Institute of Technology. He is currently responsible for the research and development of CD surface coating materials.

In addition, there are physics professors here who are responsible for determining the wavelength of the laser, the arrangement of the pits to be burned on the surface, etc.

The development complexity of the new CD format far exceeded Shirakawa Kaede's imagination.

He originally thought that changing the format would be an easy task, but when he actually did it, he realized that he had thought it was too simple.

It involves a combination of knowledge in multiple fields and is far from being handled by one person.

For example, if you want to find the most suitable surface coating materials, you can only try them one by one in a certain category.

These all require time, manpower and material resources to explore, and finally find the one that is relatively suitable.

"Hosono-san, don't rush when it comes to research and development. Take it step by step. We have enough time. After all, it is about the formulation of standards and we cannot afford to be careless."

This is Shirakawa Electric's first attempt to enter the field of standard setting, so it is understandable that it will take more time.

Moreover, no real music CD player has yet come out, and the extension of other formats is not on the agenda.

Therefore, the development here is just a hands-on exercise, and there will be more tasks waiting for SIC to explore and complete in the future.

After roughly walking around here for a while, Shirakawa Kaede was about to go back to Ota District.

Regarding SIC and chips, Shirakawa Kaede has actually thought about it a lot recently.

At first, when it came to making his own chips, he was more concerned about CD player services.

After all, a direct quotation of US$360 for a 16-bit chip was really unacceptable to him.

But it turns out that entering the chip field directly is a bit reckless.

It is too luxurious to develop corresponding chips for only one product.

Maybe the final chip product may be more expensive than the one you bought.

Later, after Shimamasatoshi's explanation, Shirakawa Kaede had a general understanding of the chip field.

Now that it is indeed possible to design chips, he is simply ready to open up another track.

But this track is a bit special because its future is unclear.

Whether it's a Walkman, a handheld player, or a CD player in the future, Shirakawa Kaede has a lot of confidence.

Only for the chip, Shirakawa Kaede himself was a little unsure.

This is not to say that chips have no future or market.

On the contrary, it has too much future and market.

Some governments even do not hesitate to use state power to safeguard their rights and interests.

Yes, the U.S.-Japan semiconductor war in the next few years is the best evidence.

However, this involves not only chips, but also political factors and competition at various levels of economic power.

Chips are just one of the concrete manifestations of this contest.

Although he knew that the future prospects were unclear, Shirakawa Kaede still chose to enter the chip field.

Why?

Because he must leave something sufficiently competitive for the future Baichuan Group to serve as the core driving force or moat for its survival and development.

This must be high-precision technology, and it must also have broad market prospects.

The best future life cannot be separated from it, and there is a certain threshold.

Engage in real estate?

There will indeed be huge profits for a certain period of time, but how long will it last?

And who doesn’t know how to engage in real estate? Which of those chaebol giants hasn’t gotten involved in this area?

Engage in energy?

To be honest, this part of the market cannot be interfered with by Shirakawa Kaede.

Japan's energy market is basically monopolized by political families, making it impossible for ordinary people to enter.

Moreover, energy is scarce in Japan, so people with no background are engaged in energy.

I'm afraid I'll soon have a sea view room at the bottom of Tokyo Bay.

Doing consumer electronics?

As the saying goes, without your own core technology, everything is in vain.

Moreover, there are too many people working in this industry and they are highly substitutable. Without their own characteristics, it is difficult to survive.

Engage in finance?

He is a complete outsider in this. The so-called "high risk and high reward" may be mostly high risk to him.

After thinking about it, maybe only chip is the most suitable one for him to get involved at the moment.

First, because chip technology has just developed at this time, it is completely possible to catch up with the opponents in front of you when you enter the track.

The second reason is that Bai Chuanfeng does not move forward headlong.

He participates in chips selectively and competes in the market selectively.

So far, Shirakawa Kaede's positioning of SIC has always been a chip design company, not a chip design and manufacturing company.

Although there is only a difference between two words, the meanings are completely different.

The so-called chip design company, as the name implies, only designs, not manufactures.

It is also commonly referred to as a fabless semiconductor company.

As for the reason for doing so, it is a choice based on the current environment and future expectations.

Generally, the equipment and raw material costs required for integrated circuit manufacturing are very huge, and ordinary companies simply cannot afford them.

And once the process node changes, the company may need to spend considerable costs to replace the existing process equipment, all of which require high costs.

Given SIC's current size, if it enters the field of chip manufacturing rashly, it is likely to be directly brought down.

Moreover, there are currently five semiconductor manufacturing companies in Japan, all of which are giants, and SIC is taking the lead to compete with them.

Without technology and talent, SIC has basically lost its way to semiconductor manufacturing.

Another reason why Shirakawa Kaede avoids physical manufacturing is the semiconductor dispute between the United States and Japan in the next few years.

Since then, a large number of Japanese semiconductor manufacturing companies have either died or are on the road to death.

Factories are closed, equipment is abandoned, and manufacturing processes are rendered useless. These are huge cost losses.

Tens of billions of dollars of funds were wasted at every turn. Bai Chuanfeng couldn't afford the money, and he was afraid that his heart wouldn't be able to bear it.

So from the beginning, SIC had no intention of getting involved in the manufacturing field.

Also, what does SIC do?

Processor chip is an integrated circuit with information processing, calculation, and control as its core.

What we usually call CPU and GPU are both types of it.

Which chip is currently used the most on the market, or what other Japanese semiconductor manufacturers are best at?

In other words, what chip caused the US-Japan semiconductor dispute after 1985?

The answer is memory chips, which are DRAM chips.

In 1981, the later-famous Intel's main business at this time was still DRAM memory chips.

Yes, at this time, Intel was still making memory chips.

As for processor chips, they are just a small part of the incidental business.

Several other semiconductor manufacturers in Japan are also specializing in DRAM memory chips at this time.
To be continued...