Chapter 1541: The Possibility of Leading by One Body Length

With this sentence, Li Yabo's thinking became broader: "Then we can first prove the plan and seize the patent high ground. As long as we have the patent as a bargaining chip, it should be no problem to find giants such as FEI and JEOL for cooperative development..."

Chang Haonan nodded:

"However, you and I are novices in the design of precision instruments. If we want to solve this problem in a short period of time, I'm afraid we need to find someone to cooperate with us..."

He glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the screen. It was already midnight, so it would not be appropriate to call anyone.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to send an email to Academician Rao Zhihe of the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Originally, today's work should have ended here.

But just when Chang Haonan went upstairs to the office to change clothes, the red phone on the table suddenly rang.

The only person who could call at this time could be Rao Zhihe.

After the call was connected, an old but calm voice came from the other end:

"Academician Chang, I was just about to take a break when I saw your email."

Chang Haonan saw this and did not keep the topic in suspense. He went straight to the point, "Academician Rao, I have a project with a guaranteed minimum of 100 million yuan. I need you to recommend a scholar in the field of electronic imaging to cooperate with me."

Rao Zhihe on the other end of the phone almost choked on his spit. It took him a while to recover. His tone was full of confusion: "One hundred million? What project? I haven't heard of such a large new project approved in the institute recently?"

"The project application has not been submitted yet." Chang Haonan said in a relaxed tone, but with strong confidence, "But you don't have to worry about the review. Besides, at the very least, we have the Torch Laboratory to back you up... With a funding of 100 million yuan, it won't be a problem even if we raise it ourselves."

Then, in order to be more persuasive, he continued to add: "The patent ownership must be 100% owned by Torch Laboratory, but the first author of the paper produced in the process can be led by the partner and jointly signed when reporting the project completion person."

If someone else spoke like this, Rao Zhihe would hang up the phone even if he didn't curse.

Even if you are an academician, you cannot guarantee success when applying for a nine-figure funding project.

But then again, the person on the other end of the phone line was not an ordinary academician after all.

Rao Zhihe was silent.

His previous contacts with Chang Haonan were limited to academician conferences and some jointly participated projects, but any academician active in the 21st century was well aware of the other party's terrifying project pass rate.

In fact, if we exclude those joint applications that are just adding a name, the result is basically 100%.

"Okay." Rao Zhihe made up his mind, "Let me think about who is the most suitable..."

In fact, when he was struggling just now, he had already found a candidate.

Just to show how seriously I took the matter, I waited for about half a minute.

"Researcher Sun Fei from our institute's Biological Imaging Center," Rao Zhihe said. "Little Sun has been working on domestic transmission electron microscopes on Yangcheng Science Island for the past two years. They developed the first generation of commercial models of Huiju Technology. Their capabilities are absolutely top-notch!"

The name Sun Fei is really ordinary, but after hearing about Huiju Technology, Chang Haonan still had some impression of it.

This company’s application can be seen in the Seiko plan every year.

And Sun Fei should have appeared on the applicant list many times.

It’s just that Chang Haonan himself is not responsible for the application defense in the field of microstructure characterization, so I have never had direct dealings with him.

"Okay, this is exactly what we need." Chang Haonan replied.

"Then I'll inform Xiao Sun of the situation tomorrow morning." Rao Zhihe was obviously very happy that he had received a gift from heaven while sitting at home. "But he is currently hosting a high-end seminar on transmission electron microscopy in Guangzhou and will not return to Beijing until three days later..."

"He doesn't need to go back to Beijing!" Chang Haonan interrupted, "I'll fly to Guangzhou to find him!"

……

Two days later.

Guangzhou, biological island.

Inside a modern scientific research building shaded by green trees.

"Academician Chang! I've heard of your name for a long time!" Researcher Sun Fei came forward enthusiastically. "Before, I only saw your signature when you handed in the notebooks. I didn't expect to see you in person today..."

He is about the same age as Chang Haonan, probably in his thirties, with sharp eyes and a capable demeanor that only a practical man can show in his every move.

"Director Sun, you're too polite." Chang Haonan was not polite either. "Mr. Rao should have mentioned my idea to you?"

"That's right." Seeing this, Sun Fei also went straight to the point. "After receiving the call from Mr. Rao, I sorted out my thoughts overnight and formed a preliminary report. It may be a bit long..."

Chang Haonan was overjoyed by the efficiency shown by the opponent.

The young man is on the right track.

"It doesn't matter." He waved his hand, "I have plenty of time today!"

A few minutes later, Sun Fei led Chang Haonan into a quiet meeting room and turned on the projector.

"Combining your idea, I think to realize the in-situ combination of TEM and APT, at least four core problems need to be solved..."

"..."

The main points are clearly listed on the projection:

"First, there is a conflict in sample preparation. TEM requires ultra-thin (nanoscale) films or sheets, while APT requires sharp needle-like samples..."

"Second, the field of view and information source are different. TEM observes the two-dimensional projection structure of the entire needle tip (or a specific area of ​​the film), while APT collects data on the layer-by-layer evaporation of atoms at the tip of the needle. There is a fundamental misalignment in the 'position' and 'scale' of the two observations..."

"Third, APT data is distorted. The flight time of atoms is affected by the electric field and neighboring atoms. The ideal cone assumption of the needle tip shape by the position reconstruction algorithm deviates greatly from the actual shape, resulting in significant local distortion of the reconstructed three-dimensional point cloud..."

"Fourth, there is a contradiction between precision and dimension. APT can achieve atomic-level precision in the depth direction, that is, along the axis of the needle tip, but its lateral resolution, that is, perpendicular to the axis of the needle tip, is poor. TEM provides high-resolution two-dimensional images, but lacks depth information..."

"..."

Chang Haonan listened attentively, with an expression of admiration on his face becoming even more intense.

Being able to summarize four such detailed points in one night, Researcher Sun must either have extraordinary abilities or have considered similar issues before.

After thinking for a while, he said directly: "The next two problems - the three-dimensional distortion correction of APT data, and the fusion calibration of TEM two-dimensional high-resolution information and APT three-dimensional point cloud data, are exactly the areas where our Torch Laboratory is best at."

Although he had heard about Academician Chang's style from Rao Zhihe, Sun Fei had rarely seen such a clear and firm statement in the past.

I was so shocked that I didn't even have time to respond for a moment.

Chang Haonan did not wait for him to speak, but continued: "As for the first two problems, sample preparation and field of view matching, your team needs to solve them. I believe that in the engineering implementation of microstructure characterization, no one in China should be more professional than you."

Sun Fei pondered for a moment, and a sharp look flashed in his eyes:

"In terms of sample preparation, we can try to use focused ion beam (FIB) and micro-nano manipulation probe to collaboratively process and 'carve' nano-needle tips that meet APT requirements in specific areas of the film."

Obviously, Chang Haonan's guess just now was correct.

The other party did have some ideas in mind.

“As for field of view matching… there is no definite solution at present,” Sun Fei admitted frankly. “It may be necessary to design a special high-precision, multi-degree-of-freedom in-situ sample holder, combined with laser positioning and image recognition algorithms to ensure that after TEM observation, the same micro-area needle tip can be accurately sent to the APT analysis position… It is challenging, but not impossible!”

The expression of relief on Chang Haonan's face became even more intense.

Of course, a problem cannot be solved immediately, otherwise it would not be called a problem.

But that was exactly the professional response he wanted.

However, before he could give a positive evaluation, Sun Fei changed the subject and raised his final concern:

"Academician Chang, even if the above problems are solved, I am afraid there will be another problem."

"You said."

"After the equipment is integrated, there will inevitably be coupling and crosstalk between the high-voltage electron beam of the TEM and the high-intensity field evaporation pulse electric field of the APT. This will cause the intrinsic performance of both instruments to decline, and the resolution, detection efficiency, stability... will not reach the top level when used separately."

He paused, his tone heavy:

"In order to achieve this compromise performance, the R&D and manufacturing costs will be unimaginably high. Such a super instrument may not have many application scenarios..."

The conference room fell silent.

Sun Fei’s questions go straight to the core - value and sustainability.

Even if Chang Haonan can get enough funds by relying on his reputation, Sun Fei still needs to explore the commercialization route.

"Researcher Sun, you may have underestimated the pursuit of characterization methods in materials science..." Chang Haonan said with great confidence, "Believe me, as long as this instrument proves its capabilities, the world's top materials laboratories and semiconductor giants will line up to buy it... because it represents the future and the possibility of taking the lead in the materials research and development competition!"

In fact, there is no necessary connection between advanced characterization methods and advanced materials.

In most cases, the main advantages of advanced equipment are:

It can be easier to water the paper.

Even if the so-called "possibility of being one step ahead" really exists, it mainly comes from the powerful computing power of Chang Haonan and Torch Laboratory.

The equipment is only auxiliary.

But he would never admit that he was working on a big news that could subvert the entire materials science system.

So I had to change to drawing cakes.

And it just so happens that people like Sun Fei really fall for this.

He no longer hesitated and shook Chang Haonan's hand forcefully.

"Academician Chang, you've convinced me!" Sun Fei's voice was sonorous and powerful. "Technically, our Bioimaging Center will definitely go all out!"