Chapter 848 [Years of layout gradually bear fruit]

The president of ASML jumped out and made such bizarre remarks this time. In fact, he saw that New Micro Semiconductor was about to conquer ArF lithography machines.

The speed of this breakthrough was a bit fast, I was really frightened.

If this continues, is it still possible?

The lithography machine is really important to chip semiconductors, but the scale of its industry is actually not that big.

The world's semiconductor industry can only support one photolithography machine to ensure its continued success.

Because R\u0026D costs are left there, if there are too many lithography machine manufacturers and the costs cannot be amortized, all manufacturers will not be able to survive.

Because of this, ASML has gradually been left to develop photolithography machines. After other manufacturers have gradually withdrawn from the stage, no new players have entered the game.

Now a powerful force has emerged from the big Eastern country, integrating almost the best industry resources in the country to launch a new micro-semiconductor. The rapid technological progress has made ASML president Peter feel threatened. This threat is not immediate, but In the future.

The scale of this industry is not large. There is only one ASML company that can be happy, but one more company will mean that the original company will have to eat a lot less meat.

The sharp drop in revenue means that when developing a new generation of products in the future, the costs will be difficult to amortize. This is the real pain point.

Peter Bernard's latest remarks were spread back to China and caused a lot of discussion among the people. Many netizens felt comfortable after seeing it, and some even directly found out that just when the big fund was launched in the first half of the year, The president of ASML also made remarks at the time.

He was not like this at the time. He once openly and arrogantly stated in the media that he was dismissive of the research on lithography machines by companies from large Eastern countries. He even threatened that even if he gave you complete design drawings, you would not be able to build a lithography machine.

In less than half a year, Peter Bernard's attitude changed directly from "dismissive" to "angry" today. Seeing that the development progress of New Micro Semiconductor's photolithography machine greatly exceeded his expectations, it was also I can't sit still.

…

But at this moment, Fang Hong was reading the news from the ASML president. After a while, Yu Qiuqiang walked up to him, sat down next to him, and said with a smile: "There is good news. Just now, the third component vehicle of the 'Sky Mirror' project was launched via the 'Blue Arrow 5' recyclable rocket owned by Kyushu Blue Arrow."

"Successfully parked into the predetermined orbit to complete the network assembly, the last part of the Sky Mirror project was officially successfully sent into space orbit. Blue Arrow 5 also successfully recovered its booster and secondary thruster. The first commercial launch was a great success. .”

After hearing this, Fang Hong closed the webpage and said immediately: "I almost forgot about this. Okay, good job."

The scientific research team of the Sky Mirror project was able to complete the harsh conditions set by Fang Hong. Even if they failed, Fang Hong would not say anything, but it was not easy to succeed. If it were a foreign team, starting from the project From the establishment of the project to the present, it may not be possible to achieve networking in ten years.

But Ning Xingqing's team really achieved Fang Hong's request to launch it into space and build a network within three years. The next step was debugging and then starting operations. This basic scientific research project with tens of billions of investments did not go to waste.

Moreover, the Kyushu Blue Arrow recyclable rocket "Blue Arrow 5" also completed the commercial launch mission for the first time and successfully recovered the booster and secondary thruster. This is also due to the trust of the "brotherly" agencies. If Failure would mean billions of dollars of investment would be wasted, and it would also affect the progress of the "Sky Mirror" project.

Other manufacturers are still hesitant to place orders with Kyushu Blue Arrow. At this time, a breakthrough from zero to one is too much needed.

With a satisfied smile, Fang Hong nodded and said, "Okay, the investment and layout over the years have now begun to bear fruit."

The Sky Mirror project is a space laser gravitational wave detection system. The United States has launched a LIGO project on the ground, which also detects gravitational waves. The principle of the "Sky Mirror" is generally similar to LIGO, but it is definitely more sophisticated than the ground.

Not only is the distance longer, but it is also less disturbed by information from the ground environment in space, which means that the detection of gravitational waves is more sensitive and the data is more accurate.

After the network is successfully established, it will take about one or two months to debug, and then the gravitational wave detection mission can be officially launched. At this moment, the Ning Xingqing team at Xincheng University is very excited. This project is It is self-evident to the school's honor that it was delegated to Xincheng University to take the lead.

At this time, Yu Qiu couldn't help but said: "How can I say this project? Tens of billions of funds have been invested. If gravitational waves cannot be detected, it is estimated that there will be a lot of criticism later."

Fang Hong said disdainfully: "They know how to do it. I believe in Einstein's prediction a hundred years ago. Maybe we will be able to detect gravitational waves in a few months."

Not only does he believe in Einstein, but more importantly, Fang Hong remembers the top ten clearly. 2015 is the time when LIGO discovered gravitational waves. The reason why he gave Ning Xingqing’s team such a demanding three-year requirement is that We must discover gravitational waves before LIGO.

As the saying goes, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts.

In the field of scientific research, there is a huge difference between first and second. You are the first to discover it, and all the honors and achievements belong to you. The latter is called verification, and nothing will happen to you.

If the Sky Mirror project is the first to detect gravitational waves, then this scientific research result will be implemented in China, and the honor will also be in the hands of domestic scholars, and furthermore, in the hands of Xincheng University and Ning Xingqing’s team.

What happens if gravitational waves are detected?

On the surface, it is indeed like that. Gravitational waves and other things cannot be directly converted into scientific research results and be realized. They are more about honors and achievements.

But it would be a big mistake to calculate this account in this way.

This honor represents your strong scientific research strength, especially your financial strength. I can develop this equipment, I can do it, I can discover it, so I am the best!

The same is true for Xincheng University. This kind of honor is not available to all schools or institutions. The grade of the school will be different immediately. The more such honors, the more you have.

These are just intangible benefits. Are there no real benefits?

Of course!

The establishment of a "Sky Mirror" project is driven by the advancement of modern industrial technology. This project has spawned several new industries, with more than 200 participating companies, directly or indirectly supporting 200,000 to 300,000 people. , has brought tens of thousands of new high-end jobs, as well as the most important technological progress and the accumulation of scientific research strength, allowing more new generations to yearn for and plunge into the career of basic scientific research.

Because there are jobs here, and the income and benefits are not low.

In the past, there were young people who wanted to enter basic scientific research, but their family background was not very good and they had to consider survival issues. In the past, there was little investment in basic scientific research, and there were not many positions and low pay. As a result, some people who loved scientific research had to turn to Reality bows its head, which to a large extent restricts the progress of the country's overall scientific research level.

Only one project can bring such huge employment, coupled with decent income, solves the worries of these young people, and they dare to enter this industry.

Not to mention the indirect driving effect, the daily operation of the "Sky Mirror" will require the recruitment of many talents. Moreover, the expected operating life of this project is more than 20 years, which represents long-term stability.

At the end, Fang Hong said to himself contentedly: "LIGO has not been upgraded yet. Even if there is pressure from Sky Realm, it will take them half a year to speed up the progress. By that time, our Sky Mirror will have been upgraded." After three or four months of operation, the achievement of mankind's first detection of gravitational waves must be ours, and I want to see if the Nobel Prize jury will award the honor to Ning Xingqing."

…