Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

At the end of 2016, when Boeing and Lockheed Martin were still struggling with how to respond to China's rise, Venustech's Venus 777 cargo version was officially put into commercial operation.

Several express delivery companies purchased a total of 20 Venus 777s, which is considered a very great support.

This means that the mass production of the civil airliner version of the Venusstar 777 is getting closer.

The executives of Boeing and Airbus are so worried that their hair is turning gray.

As for the companies in the Nanshan Group, it is not just Venustech that has made major breakthroughs this year.

At Nanshan Semiconductor, Zhang Jing also came over specifically to report to Cao Yang on the research progress of the latest generation of chip technology.

"Mr. Cao, our 3-nanometer chip process has been successfully developed. We are now starting to build a new factory, which will be put into use at the beginning of the year after next."

"By then, our chip manufacturing process will continue to be the world's leading technology."

Zhang Jing is now in high spirits.

With the commissioning of four 7-nanometer process technology factories in Yangcheng, Shanghai, Capital and Chang'an, Nanshan Semiconductor's output has become the world's first.

The most important thing is that their technology is also the best.

China's annual chip imports have dropped from a peak of hundreds of billions of dollars to tens of billions of dollars.

A large portion of this import amount of tens of billions of dollars is imported by foreign-funded enterprises.

As China's semiconductor production capacity continues to expand, it is estimated that the import value of chips will fall below US$100 billion in the future.

Of course, it is impossible to make it 100% domestically produced.

Unless you can drive all those foreign-funded parts companies out of China.

Otherwise, people will eventually use manufacturers within their own system.

Just like Toyota, they will definitely give priority to using Renesas Electronics' semiconductors.

Denso will also give priority to purchasing chips from its own chip factories.

"What are the situations of Samsung, TSMC and Intel in this regard?"

Currently, there are only these three semiconductor companies that can compete with Nanshan Semiconductor in chip manufacturing.

Other companies have basically been left behind by a generation.

That's why Cao Yang is more concerned about this aspect.

“As manufacturing processes continue to approach physical limits, every small step forward requires overcoming huge technological barriers.”

"In the 3-nanometer process, the transistor density of the chip has increased significantly, which places extremely high demands on lithography technology, etching process, and material properties."

"Samsung may have encountered challenges in controlling the accuracy of lithography, and it is estimated that it may not be able to break through the 2020-nanometer technology before 3."

“And we will be able to put it into use in 2018.”

"As for TSMC and Intel, according to the information we have obtained, their progress may be even slower than Samsung."

This news from Zhang Jing is definitely great news.

Although Nanshan Semiconductor has been ahead of the industry in releasing new chip manufacturing process technologies in the past, the degree of its lead was not very high.

But things are different now.

It is directly ahead of other excellent international manufacturers by two years or even longer.

This is definitely a huge gap for the semiconductor industry.

It can be said that Nanshan Semiconductor has now completely established its advantages in the industry, and it is simply not something that other manufacturers can easily surpass.

"In this case, we should pay more attention to the investment in the new factory and strive to use the 3-nanometer process in our smartphones and autonomous driving as soon as possible."

Having finally established such an advantage, Cao Yang would definitely not be willing to give it up.

If we don't quickly shake them off before they can react, then how long are we going to wait?

So the day after Zhang Jing reported to Cao Yang, Nanshan Semiconductor officially announced that it would first build a semiconductor factory with the world's first 3-nanometer process technology in Chang'an City.

Next year, the construction of factories in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing will be started simultaneously, and large-scale mass production will be achieved between 2018 and 2019.

At the same time, Nanshan Semiconductor also announced that the company will increase its research and development of 2-nanometer process technology and strive to achieve a technological breakthrough by 2020.

After these news were released, it was like dropping an atomic bomb on the international semiconductor market.

"Pat, it hasn't been long since we made a breakthrough in 7-nanometer process technology, and Nanshan Semiconductor has already developed a 3-nanometer process chip."

"If we continue to develop at this pace, Intel will no longer be able to dominate the global chip industry."

Otellini was anxiously discussing the company's next-generation chip technology research and development with Chief CTO Pat.

Intel was once the leader in the semiconductor industry, and many manufacturers were trying to catch up with it.

Otellini never imagined that there would come a day when Intel would be left far behind.

"Nanshan Semiconductor, backed by Nanshan Equipment and a series of other local Chinese equipment manufacturers, has its own unique advantages in improving semiconductor chip manufacturing processes."

"Advanced chip manufacturing is inseparable from high-precision, high-performance production equipment."

"We are facing difficulties in debugging key production equipment, such as lithography machines. Delays in equipment delivery or problems during installation and debugging may cause the production line to fail to start on time or run stably, thus affecting chip R&D and mass production plans."

"At the same time, talent competition and technology accumulation among R&D teams are also a potential influencing factor."

"In the semiconductor industry, the competition for top talent is extremely fierce. We are already facing pressure from other competitors in attracting and retaining outstanding R&D talent, which has affected the stability and innovation capabilities of our R&D team to a certain extent."

"In addition, compared with Nanshan Semiconductor, which has accumulated deep experience in advanced process technology, Intel may have a certain gap in technology accumulation and experience in recent years, and it will take more time to make up for it and catch up."

Since it was a private conversation, Pat spoke his mind and mentioned all the problems Intel was facing.

It's not a good idea to hide it.

"The process of manufacturing 3-nanometer chips involves extremely complex lithography, etching, deposition and other steps, which need to be carried out in a highly clean environment. I am also aware of this."

"But since Nanshan Semiconductor has announced that it has mastered the 3-nanometer process chip technology, it means that it has made a breakthrough in equipment. Is it possible for us to purchase equipment directly from their equipment manufacturers?"

Otellini made a very bold proposal.

Intel has always purchased its lithography machines from ASML, but the other party is now failing to meet its expectations.

He was a little overwhelmed.

"Otellini, this is not just an equipment problem."

“As the manufacturing process continues to shrink in size, it also brings a series of challenges, such as quantum effects, scattering effects and thermal effects, which require innovative solutions to ensure the stability and reliability of the chip.”

"As transistors shrink in size, the distance electrons have to travel in the transistor becomes shorter, leading to increased resistance, which in turn generates more heat."

"This will lead to increased power consumption and heat dissipation challenges, and solving this problem requires new low-power designs and new heat dissipation technologies."

Pat gave another explanation.

Because he knew that purchasing lithography machines from Nanshan Equipment was simply an unrealistic issue.

The relevant American authorities will not approve it.

Any direct purchase of equipment or parts from Nanshan-affiliated companies is now no longer possible.

This is even more true for important and sensitive equipment such as lithography machines.

"Then what do we do?"

"Are we just going to wait?"

O'Donnell stared at Pat with unfriendly eyes.

He has already sensed the crisis and feels that if Intel cannot catch up with Nanshan Semiconductor this time, it may never have another chance in the future.

"I will communicate with the equipment manufacturer first to see how to shorten the timetable for technology upgrades."

Pat was helpless and could only express his attitude and try his best.

Samsung Electronics is also feeling as anxious as Intel.

This Korean company had various conflicts with Nanshan-affiliated companies before.

Samsung's position as the global champion in mobile phone sales has been taken away by Honor Technology since last year.

One can imagine how deep the tooth marks were on both sides.

"President, Nanshan Semiconductor's technology is advancing too fast. If we don't take some special measures, it will be difficult to catch up with them."

Li Zai Lin didn't want to say such discouraging words, but he knew that if he didn't tell the truth at this time, then Samsung's semiconductor business would really not be able to compare with Nanshan Semiconductor.

He has been in China for such a long time that he has a deep understanding of the Nanshan Group's companies.

But no matter how hard I try to understand, I still feel a little confused, and the information is always changing.

All I can say is that the other party's progress is so fast that it is hard to keep up and can't catch up.

"They officially announced that they have mastered the 3-nanometer process technology. Do you think this is a tactic, or have they really made the technology mature?"

Until now, Li Zairong still finds it hard to believe that Nanshan Semiconductor has mastered the 3-nanometer process chip technology many years earlier than Samsung.

This gap is too big.

To a certain extent, this has suppressed Li Zairong's confidence.

"From the past work style of Nanshan Group companies, everything they officially announced to the public is true and reliable."

“Even though people had some doubts at the beginning, they were proven right in the end.”

After Li Zairin said this, Li Zairong's expression became even more pessimistic.

Samsung Electronics is considered the most critical company in the Samsung Group.

But now it is facing huge challenges. If it is not careful, Samsung Electronics may be reduced to a second-rate company.

This is something Li Zairong absolutely cannot accept.

"So what exactly is this special method you mentioned?"

At this time, as long as it can solve the problem, Li Zairong is willing to try any method.

"First, we need to confirm with ASML to see when their next-generation lithography technology will be able to achieve a breakthrough."

"Secondly, we can look for some lithography machines and etching machines for the packaging and testing section from China's Modou Microelectronics and SMIC. They are both equipment suppliers for Nanshan Semiconductor, and their products are already being exported."

"Finally, we are considering easing relations with Nanshan Equipment and Nanshan Semiconductor to see if we can purchase some equipment from Nanshan Equipment."

"As long as the equipment problem is solved, the process problem is half solved."

"With our accumulated technology, I think it is possible to achieve a technological breakthrough a few years earlier and catch up with Nanshan Semiconductor as soon as possible."

After Li Zairin said this, Li Zairong was immediately silenced.

This was not the result he hoped to hear.

But he also had self-knowledge and knew that this plan was actually a good one.

The prerequisite is that Samsung is willing to implement this plan and the other party is willing to cooperate.

But Li Zairong felt that the situation might be a bit difficult, so he did not dare to make a decision easily for the moment.

Regardless of whether they make a decision or not, Samsung Electronics will definitely arrange someone to communicate with ASML.

"Peter, in just a few days, several customers have urged us to speed up the development of a new generation of lithography machines."

"Give me a definite answer. When will we be able to develop a lithography machine that can produce 3-nanometer process technology?"

Christopher didn't sleep well last night and kept thinking about this problem.

Due to the rise of Nanshan Equipment, ASML's days are far less glorious than in the same period of history.

Now we are facing another life-and-death challenge.

It would be strange if he could still sleep well every day.

"According to the current situation, we will have to wait until 2019 at the earliest to deliver the next generation of lithography machines."

Peter's answer made Christopher feel cold.

China has already mastered the technology, but it will take them several years to make a breakthrough?

When did their technological level become so far behind that of China?

This is totally unacceptable.

"Are you sure you didn't say it wrong?"

Christopher's face turned cold and he stared at Pete unkindly.

"The 3-nanometer process lithography machine and the 7-nanometer process are completely different equipment."

"Although the structures of various devices are not fundamentally different, the components inside are almost all newly developed."

"This requires many manufacturers to cooperate with us to develop it together."

"As you know, many suppliers in Europe are very slow in doing things."

"What China can accomplish in three months, they may not have finished in a year."

"As a result, the speed of upgrading our lithography machines will naturally slow down."

To be frank, Pete told everything he knew.

“What if we could push our suppliers to be more cooperative?”

Christopher didn't want to curl up, but he had no choice.

That's why I say things like this.

"It won't be much sooner. We will have to wait until 2018 at least for relevant equipment to come off the production line."

Pete's words basically shattered the hopes of Samsung, TSMC and Intel to develop 3-nanometer chip technology significantly ahead of schedule.

The equipment can't be fixed, and this is something they find difficult to help with.

Even if they each arrange engineers to help ASML, it is estimated that it may not have much effect.

In the end, several chip giants could only watch the comprehensive rise of Nanshan Semiconductor.