Replay 07: Opening the Temple of Learning

Chapter 391 Chip Breakthrough
"We need to monitor the changes in the electronic state of the metal grid in real time during the production process, which requires a highly sensitive quantum detection device."

Zhao Kai frowned: "Boss Lu, I'm afraid there is no mature stock of this kind of equipment in China. It will take a long time to customize it, right?"

"We can buy time." Lu Shan looked at Zhao Kai.

"But you are responsible for integrating the existing domestic resources, transforming what can be transformed, and replacing what can be replaced. Don't wait, debug while producing."

Zhao Kai nodded and wrote it down immediately.

Zhang Lingxi added: "Mr. Lu, in addition to equipment, the chip production environment must also be improved."

"Semiconductor manufacturing requires a dust-free workshop. Our current workshop level is only Class 100, but topological semimetal chips may require Class 10 or even higher."

"This is also in the plan." Lu Shan replied, "I have asked the administrative department to start the workshop renovation. Don't worry about the budget. It must be done in one step."

He looked at everyone in the conference room and said in a steady and powerful voice: "Companion silicon memory and hard disks have allowed us to gain a foothold, but chips will determine how far we can go."

"The next task is clear - upgrade the equipment, transform the production line, and produce the first batch of prototype chips."

Everyone looked at each other, with a hint of excitement and nervousness in their eyes.

"Understood, Mr. Lu." Zhao Kai answered first, "I will contact the equipment manufacturer immediately and refine the plan."

"We are responsible for the dust-free transformation of the workshop and the debugging of testing equipment." Wang Gang followed up.

Zhang Lingxi concluded: "The chip project is our future, let's go all out."

After the meeting, everyone at BanSi started to take action.

Lu Shan stood in the conference room and watched them leave. His eyes were deep and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"The ceiling of the semiconductor industry... There is a ceiling, but it's not certain in whose hands it is." He whispered to himself.

The atmosphere in BanSi Company was warm and tense, and everyone was busy.

From equipment transformation to process optimization, every link runs closely.

Everyone knows that they are striving for an almost unimaginable goal - to build the world's most powerful topological semimetal chip.

In the first week, problems arose.

"Mr. Lu!" Zhao Kai rushed into the office, holding several test reports in his hands and looking anxious.

"There's a problem with the spraying equipment! The thickness of the sprayed conductive film is uneven, resulting in unstable distribution on the wafer surface and many crystal lattices have collapsed directly!"

Lu Shan took the report, glanced at it, and then looked up and asked, "How do you adjust the parameters of the spraying equipment?"

Zhao Kai frowned: "It was set according to our previous simulation data, but the spraying speed seems unstable."

"The equipment may not be accurate enough. The error in coating thickness is as high as 3 nanometers!"

"3 nanometers?" Lu Shan's eyes darkened. "This error directly destroys the lattice symmetry. The product will definitely fail."

He stood up, picked up a pen and drew a schematic diagram of the coating nozzle on the whiteboard: "We can't expect the existing equipment to fully meet the needs."

“The stability of the spraying requires the additional design of an airflow control device to ensure uniformity.”

"Install an airflow control device?" Zhao Kai was stunned for a moment, "But this requires customizing the parts, which will take at least two months!"

"There's no time to wait for two months." Lu Shan waved his hand directly, "Find someone to make a simple control module using existing materials, and give priority to laboratory verification of feasibility!"

Zhao Kai hesitated for a moment, but nodded in response to Lu Shan's firm tone: "Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

Two days later, the additional airflow control device came online.

The test results showed that the coating error was reduced from 3 nanometers to 0.5 nanometers, meeting the basic requirements.

"It works!" Zhao Kai came running over excitedly to report, "Although it's not perfect yet, at least it works!"

Lu Shan smiled faintly: "Continue to optimize, we don't have time to stop."

"The resonance frequency of the topological semimetallic metal grid is too low!" Wang Gang said helplessly, patting a piece of equipment.

"This frequency cannot support nanoscale grid arrangement at all and does not meet the design requirements at all!"

"What's the exact difference in accuracy?" Lu Shan asked.

"Our goal is to control it within 0.1 nanometers, but the current error is more than 2 nanometers."

Wang Gang said anxiously, "Moreover, the resonance efficiency is too slow. It takes three hours to make a metal crystal. The production efficiency cannot be improved at all!"

Lu Shan thought for a while, then opened the panel to check the device structure: "Have the frequency and power of the device been adjusted?"

"We have adjusted it, but it is already the maximum value." Wang Gang shook his head, "Our equipment capacity is limited to this."

"The equipment itself is not good enough, we need to modify it!" Lu Shan said decisively, "Replace the resonance module and adjust the plasma injection angle at the same time."

Wang Gang smiled bitterly: "This kind of accessories have to be customized, and they may not be available in China."

Lu Shan said coldly: "Contact the foreign parts suppliers. Even if it costs more money or more time, they must deliver the goods as soon as possible."

"The equipment is not available at home or abroad, so we have to find a way to produce the equipment ourselves."

At the same time, he patted Wang Gang on the shoulder and said, "In the short term, use the existing equipment to complete the test."

Three months later, under Turing's guidance and Lu Shan's personal supervision, BanSi Factory completed the equipment manufacturing on its own.

Although the performance is not perfect, the etching accuracy has been improved to 0.2 nanometers, barely meeting the requirements.

The third challenge comes from the quantum field effect tester.

Zhao Kai came to Lu Shan with the test report, and his tone was extremely frustrated: "Mr. Lu, our tester can't capture the transition state of electrons at all."

"The quantum state changes in the metal grid are too weak, and the existing detectors are not sensitive enough!"

"Detector sensitivity?" Lu Shan frowned. "Have you tried adding a signal amplifier?"

"I tried it, but once the signal is amplified, interference is introduced, and the data becomes messed up."

Zhao Kai looked worried, "We can't see the transition behavior of the grid at all, let alone optimize it."

Lu Shan was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "Is the temperature control system of the tester stable?"

"Temperature control system?" Zhao Kai was stunned for a moment. "It seems to have a little fluctuation, but the impact is not big, right?"

"No, a slight fluctuation in temperature control would destabilize the grid structure."

Lu Shan said calmly, "Take down the temperature control module of the tester, rewrap it with superconducting material, and try to reduce the temperature fluctuation to zero."

Zhao Kai slapped his forehead and said, "Yes! Temperature control affects the stability of the transition state. No wonder the data is always messed up!"

He immediately ran to arrange the transformation.

Three days later, the modified tester was put back online and finally captured a clear transition signal.

Zhao Kai ran to Lu Shan excitedly: "Success! We finally saw the transition track of the grid!"

Lu Shan nodded, his tone still calm: "This is just the first step. Next, we will use the test data for chip design to ensure that all models can be verified."

In the following weeks, the production line gradually stabilized, but occasionally there would be minor problems. For example, the circuit of the high-temperature furnace suddenly burned out due to overload, causing a whole batch of test materials to be scrapped;

Another example is the failure of the pressure regulator of the spray equipment, which results in the wafer coating thickness not meeting the standard throughout the day.

Every time a problem arises, Lu Shan is always the first to step forward and work with the team to analyze the causes and find solutions.

He almost moved his office to the workshop and worked until late at night every day.

The R&D workshop of BanSi Corporation is brightly lit and the roar of machines never stops.

Everyone was busy at their own post, their eyes were full of fatigue, but they couldn't hide their excitement.

Lu Shan stood in the control room, staring at the huge monitoring screen, which displayed the data flow of the spraying equipment, etching equipment and testers.

He kept giving instructions on the walkie-talkie in his hand, and the entire workshop was running like a precision machine.

"Is the spraying equipment ready?" Lu Shan's voice came to the workshop through the intercom, steady and calm.

Zhao Kai picked up the intercom and replied, "We are calibrating the nozzle airflow for the final time. The air pressure has been adjusted to within 0.1 Pa, and the temperature control system is also stable."

"Okay, control the spraying rate at 2.3 mm per second, and the wafer transfer speed cannot have any fluctuation." Lu Shan said.

"Understood!" Zhao Kai looked at the engineer next to the equipment and immediately urged, "Follow Mr. Lu's instructions and confirm the airflow stability! Everyone, focus!"

The sprayer started up and a low humming sound came from inside the device.

A piece of topological semi-metal slowly enters the spray chamber, and the coating begins to evenly cover the metal surface under the action of the plasma flow.

Everyone held their breath and stared at the real-time data on the screen.

"The coating thickness error is 0.2 nanometers... 0.1 nanometers... stable!" Zhao Kai shouted.

"Keep stable." Lu Shan's voice remained calm, but a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

At the same time, in front of the operating table of the etching equipment, Wang Gang stared at the etching process on the screen with sweat all over his face.

"The power of resonance has been pushed to the limit, and the injection angle is controlled at 45 degrees. The electric field strength is stable!" Wang Gang reported to Lu Shan while recording the data.

"Keep the frequency at 1.2 MHz and do not allow any arc flashes." Lu Shan instructed through the intercom.

The plasma flow inside the machine began to spray, and beams of high-energy particles accurately bombarded the metal film on the metal surface. The outline of the metal grid gradually appeared and was arranged logically.

"The grid is stable and the logic is clear!" an operator shouted excitedly.

"Don't be impatient, it's not over yet." Wang Gang reminded calmly.

"The lattice arrangement error is less than 0.05 nanometers." The data on the system screen showed a green color, which meant that the accuracy had reached an extremely high level.

Wang Gang let out a long breath, and a tired smile appeared on his face: "Boss Lu, all the equipment is running normally, and the grille has taken shape."

"Okay, continue optimizing and prepare for the next test." Lu Shan replied.

In the testing area, Zhang Lingxi was concentrating on operating a newly modified quantum field effect tester.

"The temperature control system is normal, and the detector sensitivity has been increased to 0.02 microvolts."

While adjusting the instrument parameters, she looked at her assistant and said, "Monitor the electron transition behavior in the grid in real time. There must be no error in signal capture!"

The wafer is fed into the tester, a thin laser beam is projected onto the surface of the wafer, and the reflected signal is converted into a data stream through a detector.

"The transition state curve... has been captured!" the assistant shouted.

Zhang Lingxi's eyes flashed with excitement: "The frequency fluctuation is controlled within 3Hz, and the transition behavior is stable, which is consistent with the calculation model in the paper's theory!"

"Record all data immediately and send it to the R&D department for analysis." Lu Shan's voice came from the intercom.

"Understood!" Zhang Lingxi immediately asked his assistant to start sorting the data.

In the entire workshop, three production lines are running at high speed.

Spraying, etching, testing, each step is completed in one go.

The wafer is transferred from one device to the next by a robotic arm, and each step is full of intense rhythm.

However, just when everything seemed to be going well, an unexpected accident occurred.

"Boss Lu, this is bad!" Zhao Kai suddenly rushed into the control room. "The temperature control inside the spray chamber is abnormal. The temperature suddenly soared and exceeded the preset value!"

Lu Shan's eyes turned cold and he immediately switched the screen to check the real-time data of the spray chamber.

"The feedback from the temperature control module was delayed by 0.2 seconds, and the heat could not be dissipated in time."

He quickly analyzed the situation and immediately gave the order: "Close the spray booth and check the cooling system!"

"But the topological semimetal is still in the cabin. If we stop, the entire piece of topological semimetal may be ruined!" Zhao Kai hesitated.

"If we delay any longer, the entire equipment will break down!" Lu Shan said without hesitation, "Stop first and protect the equipment!"

Soon, the spraying cabin stopped.

The staff opened the equipment to check and found that a valve in the cooling pipe was stuck.

Zhao Kai was so angry that he stamped his feet: "Who is responsible for the inspection? How could there be such a low-level problem!"

"Now is not the time to pursue responsibility." Lu Shan said coldly, "Replace the valve immediately and retest!"

An hour later, the spray chamber started again and the temperature control system returned to normal.

This time, the spraying process of topological semimetal was finally completed successfully.

A few days later, the topological semimetal completed the entire process.

Although it is not yet a finished chip, the metal grid structure has basically taken shape.

Wang Gang excitedly ran to Lu Shan with the metal grille photographed by a nanometer microscope: "Mr. Lu, look!"

"The arrangement of the metal grilles has almost no errors, and has reached the theoretical requirements!"

Lu Shan took the image and observed it carefully for a while. Finally, a smile appeared on his face: "Not bad, at least we have taken the first step."

Zhang Lingxi came over with the test report, unable to hide his excitement: "The quantum transition state of the lattice is stable, and the data is consistent with the design model."

"Boss Lu, we are one step closer to a real finished chip!"

Zhao Kai looked at the production records in his hand and said with emotion: "To be honest, I originally thought that this production line would take several months to debug before it can operate normally."

"I didn't expect that under Mr. Lu's command, we would see results so quickly."

Lu Shan looked at the machines in the workshop and said in a low but powerful voice: "This is just the beginning."

“Every step forward will be more difficult, but as long as we are heading in the right direction, we will reach the end.”

At the headquarters building of Zemeng Technology, the huge LED screen flashes brightly at night.

(End of this chapter)