This news was undoubtedly a thunderbolt from the blue, which shocked Director Chen into a trance, and then showed an expression of disbelief.
Well, although Suiren Technology said at the press conference that it can make an extreme ultraviolet light source through its honeycomb compound eye lens technology, that is only a possibility.
With Huawei's help, Changguang Mechanical and Electrical Institute agreed to cooperate with Suiren Technology, but they didn't expect Suiren to be able to build it so quickly.
But it’s only been a few months now?
Is this how you create an extreme ultraviolet light source?
Is this cheating?
It’s not as fast as riding a rocket!
"Is this news absolutely true?"
"More real than pearls."
"..."
After hanging up the phone, Director Chen was silent for a moment, and then he lost his composure.
He directly called his assistant, "Xiao Li, hurry up and book me the last half of the tickets to Fengcheng. I'm going to Suiren Technology! Remember! You must be quick!"
"Okay!! I'll book the tickets right away!"
The assistant was frightened by Director Chen's hungry look. The director was usually calm and kind, but he didn't expect to be so anxious and excited today.
So, he hurriedly booked a ticket.
Otherwise, the director will have to eat him.
......
The other side
Vice President Hua Wei, who was relatively close, accompanied Mr. Ren to the Chongmingniao Optical Technology R&D Laboratory of Suiren Technology.
As a partner and ally of Suiren Technology, Zhang Yun also received the news from Xu Li immediately, told Mr. Ren who was still drinking tea to stay healthy, and then rushed over without stopping. p>
"Mr. Xu, is the EUV light source really successful? Can you let us take a look?"
Mr. Ren is a little impatient when he comes up.
"Of course, please."
Xu Li nodded, and then led several people into the laboratory.
The extreme ultraviolet light source shines before their eyes like a beautiful treasure.
"How is the performance?"
Mr. Ren asked.
"According to our repeated experiments, the final actual CE value is 45% and the output power is 220w."
Generally, there are two main indicators to measure the performance of EUV light sources: conversion efficiency (CE), which is the percentage of energy output within 2% bandwidth near 13.5nm to the total input energy; and output power, which is measured at the intermediate convergence point (IF)
of power.
"CE value 45%?! Are you sure?"
Zhang Yun on the side was surprised.
Although he is a manager, he also has a background in science and engineering. In addition, he has been studying from time to time over the years and keeping pace with the times, so he naturally knows the significance of this value.
You must know that the photoelectric conversion efficiency of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines is only about 0.02~0.05%.
Because extreme ultraviolet light can be absorbed by most materials, electricity must be consumed to evacuate the entire environment.
In addition, extreme ultraviolet light can also be absorbed by the lens.
Therefore, the only way to concentrate extreme ultraviolet light is through reflection. Coated mirrors made of silicon and molybdenum can be used to concentrate extreme ultraviolet light. However, every time extreme ultraviolet light is reflected, 30% of its energy will be lost.
The ultraviolet light starts from the light source and undergoes more than ten reflections. When it reaches the wafer, less than 2% of the light is left.
To obtain such high-power extreme ultraviolet light, a very large laser is required. However, such a laser will generate a lot of heat when working, and requires an excellent heat dissipation and cooling system to ensure the normal operation of the machine, which in turn requires
Consumes a lot of electricity.
It is reported that the current output power of AMSL's extreme ultraviolet lithography machine is 250w. To achieve such an output power, a power input of 0.125 million kilowatts is required to maintain it, which is equivalent to consuming 330,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a day.
It can be said that the EUV lithography machine is a giant beast that swallows electricity! It’s so terrifying!
This amount of electricity can allow friends to run the air conditioner at home for several months in the summer. Even if the air conditioner is not used, it is enough to power the home for several years.
Therefore, even if an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine is built, its terrifying power consumption will greatly shrink the wallet.
But what does he hear now?
45% conversion efficiency?
Even ASML's photolithography machine cannot achieve such conversion efficiency.
If this is installed on a top-end photolithography machine, the performance will be greatly improved, and the power consumption will not be so terrible.
If it can be matched with such an extreme ultraviolet light source, the modified lithography machine may be able to improve the chip manufacturing process to more than ten nanometers.
"That's great. Maybe we won't have to be so passive in the future. Mr. Xu, you really surprise me!"
Mr. Ren said with a smile, although he said at the press conference last time that he would develop an extreme ultraviolet light source, Mr. Ren immediately decided to cooperate with Suiren Technology, hoping to use the scientific research strength of Changguang Electromechanical Institute to jointly improve the lithography machine.
Upgraded to 14nm level.
I thought it would take a long time, but this cooperation seems to be coming true soon.
"Well, let me wait and see what happens next!"
Xu Li nodded.
Then he discussed it with Mr. Ren and decided not to release the news for the time being, but to suppress it for now.
When Director Chen comes over to formally modify the lithography machine, Chongmingniao will perfect the optical system according to the existing design and send it to Changguang Mechanical and Electrical Institute for the modification of the lithography machine.
The next day, Director Chen arrived as expected.
Xu Li took him to see the developed extreme ultraviolet light source, and then tested it according to Director Chen's request.
Director Chen was shocked for a moment, then ecstatic.
He kept holding Xu Li's hands tightly and said tremblingly: "Mr. Xu, at first I thought your progress was not that fast, but I was surprised. If this extreme ultraviolet light source is installed in our light
On the engraving machine, it’s like adding more power to a tiger.”
Although the extreme ultraviolet light source cannot catch up with the process level of ASML5nm EUV lithography machine, it can also improve the performance of domestic lithography machine a lot, which is undoubtedly a big progress.
Over the years, I don’t know how many domestic expert research teams have spent their brains and energy, but it is too difficult to make breakthroughs.
Because even in the West, lithography machines require teammates to assemble, and it cannot be easily put together in a short period of time without the help of one country.
To this end, the state has also vigorously implemented preferential policies and preferential policies for photolithography and semiconductor industry enterprises, and has also invested a lot of resources.
But still to no avail, and there are also many corporate executives who engage in financial fraud in order to defraud subsidies. These news are not uncommon.
It aroused the anger of the broad masses of people in the country and also undermined the confidence of the domestic people and the scientific community.
But now there is such a dawn, which may give the domestic semiconductor industry and even the people of the country an opportunity to boost their confidence.
"By the way, Mr. Xu, you also need to report and submit relevant non-core patents to relevant national departments as soon as possible. This also has many benefits."