Chapter 1622: Now and in the future, both are ours

Perhaps to provide an intuitive footnote to this discussion, Zhang Runing walked to the test platform, carefully took a wafer from the special carrier, and handed it to Luan Wenjie.

The surface of the specially treated silicon wafer is as smooth as a mirror and looks nothing special to the naked eye.

But the display screen next to it lit up, clearly showing a letter with extremely sharp edges made up of countless tiny lines.

"F".

"Due to the conditions here, we don't have a complete wafer stage and photoresist processing line, so we can't manufacture a complete chip with complex circuits." Zhang Runing pointed to the screen and explained, "But the line width of each stroke of the letter 'F' you see is strictly designed and photolithographically produced according to the characteristic size of 30nm."

He reached out and gently tapped the clear and sharp "F" on the screen, emphasizing:

“30nm has exceeded the actual precision that TSMC’s current 7nm process can achieve.”

Luan Wenjie held the small wafer in both hands as if he were holding a rare treasure.

Although it was impossible to distinguish the fine lines of 30nm, he still looked at it with great concentration.

This small space in the palm of your hand contains power that is enough to shake the global semiconductor and even the global technological landscape.

The silence lasted for a full minute.

Finally, Luan Wenjie let out a long and extremely slow breath, and gently handed the wafer back to Zhang Runing.

It seems that there is still some reluctance.

"We will preserve this wafer." Chang Haonan saw what the other party was thinking and said, "This is the starting point for us to overtake others in the field of semiconductor production. We can put it in the museum of the Industrial Construction Committee in the future."

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered the B2 fragment that is still kept in the underground warehouse.

"Forget it." Luan Wenjie sighed in a low voice, his voice sounding a little dull through the mask, "Even if this thing can be exhibited, I'm afraid we can't get it from the National Museum..."

A joke made the atmosphere more relaxed.

But soon, he changed the subject.

"When I went to Huaxin International for research, I heard their technical experts mention it." Luan Wenjie raised a more long-term question, "Under the current physical framework of silicon-based CMOS technology, the process limit is probably around 5nm or 3nm. If we calculate it based on the 107.22nm equivalent wavelength just calculated..."

"Does this mean that in the future, our ArF-1800 may also be used to produce the next generation, or even the next two generations of products through technical optimization? This is related to the length of our strategic window period!"

Zhang Runing has been waiting for this question for a long time.

“Just like the situation in the previous table, the node names such as ‘5nm’ and ‘3nm’ promoted by the industry are still aliases for process iterations and do not strictly correspond to the actual minimum physical feature size.”

He explained:

“The industry estimates that the feature size of the so-called ‘5nm’ node will actually be around 25nm, while the ‘3nm’ node may correspond to the 15-18nm range.”

Zhang Runing adjusted his goggles through his mask and continued to delve into the essence of the technology:

"For 25nm feature size, ArF-1800 can still be achieved through double exposure technology, but the yield rate will be lower than when single exposure is used to produce 30nm-level products, and the complexity of process integration will also increase, but the technical path does exist."

Despite the mask, everyone could still feel that Luan Wenjie's frown had relaxed.

But Zhang Runing's tone became cautious:

"As for feature sizes below 20nm, it will be another dimension of challenge... In fact, as chip manufacturing processes approach the physical limits of silicon materials, the quantum tunneling effect will become impossible to ignore, transistors will be difficult to turn off effectively, leakage current will increase dramatically, and at the same time, uncertainties at the microscopic level will be sharply amplified, resulting in a significant increase in the volatility of device performance."

“It is generally believed that this critical size will be around 10nm, but considering the existence of the diffraction limit and the fact that no industrial product can be truly perfect, even with EUV lithography, it will be very difficult to stably mass-produce products with feature sizes below 20nm, and the yield will be uncontrollably reduced.”

He then made a concluding judgment:

"I personally believe that as the edge effect increases, the main driving force for improving chip performance in the future will shift from relying solely on process miniaturization to relying more on chip architecture innovation, advanced packaging technology, and deep optimization of underlying driver software and algorithms..."

Zhang Runing spread his hands frankly:

"It's just that the latter few items are not something that we opticians can specialize in."

This statement made Luan Wenjie fall silent immediately. His breathing under the mask became noticeably heavier, and white mist quickly condensed and dissipated on the inside of the goggles.

Semiconductor technology is about to hit the current theoretical ceiling!

This may be frustrating for scientists who are simply pursuing technological progress, but it is an excellent opportunity for China, which is facing high external pressure at this moment and urgently needs a time window to consolidate its own industrial chain.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Luan Wenjie said "good" three times in a row. His voice was filled with suppressed excitement through the mask, but he managed to control his emotions well:

“Academician Chang, Researcher Zhang, and all the comrades fighting on the front line, your achievements and this analysis have given me and the decision-makers the confidence and clearest direction that they need most!”

He nodded vigorously, and once again glanced at the small but powerful objective lens module on the platform, as well as the wafer with the letter "F" engraved on it, as if he wanted to deeply imprint this scene in his mind...

……

After about an hour, the tour ended.

The group changed out of the airtight and uncomfortable protective clothing and returned to the outside space.

"After I return, I will quickly compile a detailed report on what I have seen and heard today, especially the measured performance data of the ArF-1800 objective system, the evaluation of mass production capabilities, and the strategic analysis of the technology limits."

After removing the restraints on his body, Luan Wenjie's tone became lighter:

"This report will serve as the core basis for decision-making and will be submitted directly to the highest level. It will provide us with the most solid support and the most powerful counterattack weapon in the upcoming, higher-level technological game!"

After saying this, he did not delay any longer, gestured to Chang Haonan, then turned around and prepared to leave with his entourage.

However, Chang Haonan's voice came from behind again:

"Director Luan, please stay."

Luan Wenjie paused and looked back in confusion.

Chang Haonan had already walked up to him, with a strange smile on his face, and his eyes were cast towards another inconspicuous door on the side wall of the clean room:

"It's still early. Since we're already here, there's a little 'thing' next door. Maybe it's worth taking a few minutes to take a look... It won't take up too much time."

Luan Wenjie's mind was now full of the report that was about to be released, but the other party's expression and tone aroused his strong curiosity.

Apart from the bottle of vitamin B mentioned earlier, the "little things" mentioned by the chief consultant are all quite extraordinary.

"Okay!" He nodded decisively, "Since you said it's worth seeing, then it must be worth seeing. Let's go!"

Accompanied by guards, the two quickly passed through the connecting passage and entered another laboratory next door.

The atmosphere here is completely different from the ultra-clean optical room just now.

There is no requirement for heavy cleanroom clothing, just protective glasses at the door.

The room was brightly lit, but seemed a bit empty and deserted, far less crowded than just now.

Only Li Yabo was there, leaning over a relatively small optical platform with full concentration, carefully adjusting the knobs on several precision adjustment stands.

He obviously noticed the person coming, but he couldn't put down the work at hand for the moment.

It was not until then that Luan Wenjie remembered that he had indeed not seen Chang Haonan's favorite student.

The main body of the platform is a stable optical breadboard, on which are mounted the laser, beam expander and collimator, several adjustment frames with special lenses, a black cylindrical light shield, and an imaging screen with a precision translation stage in the distance.

The whole installation exudes a sense of... luxurious simplicity.