Chapter 1680: To die down?

Of course, Ao Guan Hai will not actually be shot into the sun.

After all, every gram of payload in the solar orbit is extremely valuable, and no madman would add dozens of kilograms out of thin air when launching a rocket.

But he still panicked.

It can even be said that he is afraid.

Before my eyes, the three shocking blood-red curves of the Dow Jones, S&P and Nasdaq were falling all the way, almost breaking through the bottom of the screen.

Every weak rebound seemed like a last-ditch effort, and was immediately swallowed up by a more violent wave of selling.

In the small window of the news screen, the Wall Street trading hall was in chaos. The distraught faces of senior traders and the glaring word "circuit breaker" on the screen were intertwined, causing the eyes to go dark.

Ao Guanhai never thought that his opponent would be able to solve the production problems of the new generation of semiconductors in such a short time, thus achieving an all-round breakthrough and even turning the tables.

"We're in big trouble..."

A tiny voice sounded in his heart, but was immediately drowned out by a huge feeling of powerlessness.

In just two days, the situation has deteriorated to such an extent.

Throughout the day, multiple departments issued more than a dozen announcements, but none of them could prevent this bleak "Black Monday."

In fact, Ao Guanhai had already hinted before that he did not care, or even would be happy to see the Elephant Party win the election.

But that was to give people the impression that "only those supported by him can win", thereby consolidating forces and consolidating his position in the Donkey Party after his retirement.

As a result, the operation was as fierce as a tiger and directly blew up the New York Stock Exchange.

It's like digging up the roots of the United States.

What future status can we talk about?

You never know when you’ll be treated to something that will open your mind.

Just when Ao Guanhai was getting annoyed, the intercom system on the table suddenly made a low beeping sound.

The face of Security Consultant Tom Donilon appeared on the intercom screen.

His fingers were somewhat stiff as he pressed the door-opening button.

A few seconds later, Donilon appeared in the office, his face also full of fatigue, and the dark circles under his eyes were clearly visible, obviously he had not slept well in the past two days.

"Sir," Donilon's voice was hoarse. He walked to the desk and gently placed a neatly bound document that looked to be over a hundred pages long in front of Ao Guanhai. "This is the preliminary investigation report on... Huaxin International's 7nm process."

Ao Guanhai's eyes swept across the thick stack of papers. He wanted to reach out and open it, but he retracted his hand in mid-air.

He let out a long, silent sigh, as if to empty all the pent-up air in his chest.

"Tom, I don't have the energy to read this right now... Tell me the results, straight away."

Donilon nodded in understanding, speaking faster. "First, the lithography equipment mentioned in the background of the report. After image enhancement and feature comparison, we've confirmed with high confidence that its model is 'ArF-1800.' This is likely an iterative upgrade of the original ArF immersion lithography technology platform from a Chinese company like Shanghai Microelectronics Group, as you know."

"Iterative upgrade..." Ao Guanhai frowned. He didn't have a deep memory of these professional equipment models. "Isn't it EUV?"

Donilon shook his head and explained, "Although the size of its core exposure cabinet is significantly smaller than that of the ArF-1500 or ASML's NXT:1980Di, the public images are too single-angle and lack close-up details, especially clear views of key components such as the core optical lens system, workpiece stage motion system, and real-time leveling feedback. Therefore, it is impossible to identify its type based on appearance alone. However, ArF is a typical DUV light source..."

Ao Guanhai waved his hands irritably, as if to dispel the annoying smoke in front of him:

"Forget it, I don't want to hear these technical details...Tom, I just want to know how they did it?"

"Last year, just last year! Our expert team assured me that China was at least ten years behind in EUV technology. Even if they could advance to 7nm in DUV, the yield rate would definitely not reach the level of economic mass production! And now? They're even building a second production line!"

His voice rose involuntarily, filled with suppressed anger and frustration.

Donilon sensed the president's wrath and quickly jumped to the point. "Based on the intelligence clues and preliminary analysis we currently have, we can basically rule out the possibility that ASML or its core suppliers directly transferred EUV core technology to China. The chain and scale of the leak cannot support such a rapid industrialization."

He flipped open the report and pointed to a bold conclusion:

"The technical advisory group believes that the greatest possibility lies in the fact that Huaxia has achieved breakthroughs in key aspects of the DUV multiple patterning route. For example, ALD technology can precisely control the thickness and uniformity of thin film deposition at the atomic scale. This is crucial for materials used as spacers or hard masks in multiple patterning. Combined with ultra-high-precision etching technology, it is possible to reduce the negative effects of multiple patterning to an acceptable level."

"Multiple exposures?" Ao Guanhai had some impression of the term. "I remember... someone mentioned this technical approach before, but the conclusion was that it was expensive and the yield rate couldn't be guaranteed."

"Yes, sir, this is determined by innate principles." Donilon nodded, then added, "Moreover, this technology path based on DUV multiple exposure has a natural ceiling. As the process continues to shrink, such as moving towards the equivalent of 5 nanometers or more advanced nodes, pattern splitting will become extremely complex or even impossible..."

This seems to be conveying good news.

Ao Guanhai's eyes brightened for a moment, but soon dimmed again:

"The problem is that the market has now entered a state of severe irrational panic, so these details are probably no longer enough to restore the collapsed market confidence. We must first do something to calm the emotions, and then slowly recover the situation..."

In the end, even he himself had no confidence left.

Everyone now wants to save the situation, but the problem is that there are no cards to play.

Moreover, public confidence in Washington is already on the brink of collapse.

If he really publicly says that he will surrender to China, then he will be doomed.

Donilon also fell silent.

The technical "possible explanations" and "future limitations" seem so pale and powerless in the face of the huge waves in the financial market and the huge doubts that the public has about the government's capabilities.

When the myth of "invincibility" is shattered, panic itself becomes the biggest enemy.

The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the heavy breathing of the two people.

Ao Guanhai felt more isolated and helpless than ever before, as if he was standing on the edge of a cliff.

There is a bottomless abyss under his feet and a surging pursuer behind him.

After a while, Donilon took a deep breath and decided to deal with another relatively "concrete" problem first:

"Mr. President, there is one more thing I need to report to you... It's about the investigation we previously launched into TSMC."

Ao Guanhai's expression was filled with embarrassment.

The main reason for launching the investigation at that time was the strong suspicion that TSMC might have illegally manufactured regulated high-performance chips for the Chrysanthemum Factory through certain covert channels, especially products with a process of 7 nanometers and below.

However, now, China has publicly announced and demonstrated its independent 7nm mass production capabilities.

Regardless of the technical path, this fact itself has eliminated the core basis for launching the investigation. From the perspective of logic and legal procedures, the reasons for continuing this investigation are very weak and may even be interpreted as unwarranted suppression.

"Look..." Seeing that the other party remained silent for a long time, Donilon had no choice but to continue probing, "Should we withdraw the investigation team and then deal with it coldly..."

Ao Guanhai shook his head almost subconsciously.

Of course he knew that TSMC was most likely innocent, but the investigation had already started, and the interests of many parties were involved behind the investigation team, so it was not something that could be stopped just like that.

Besides, it is impossible for the White House to publicly admit its mistakes.

So after a few seconds, Ao Guanhai made a decision.

"Tom, just because China can produce 7-nanometer chips doesn't mean TSMC hasn't violated our export control regulations... Perhaps they've violated regulations in the past and we didn't catch them this time, or perhaps they still have the risk of violating regulations in the future... In short, the investigation must continue! This is a necessary measure to maintain our national security and technological advantage!"

This is of course pure stubbornness, and it is not an attitude to solve the problem.

Therefore, he quickly added:

"Of course, considering the current...complex situation, the investigation team's working methods need to be adjusted... They must strictly adhere to laws and regulations, focus on 'ensuring future compliance,' and minimize disruption to TSMC's normal production and operations, especially the progress of its new wafer fab in Arizona!"