69novels Chapter 281 The First Chip
Chapter 281 The First Chip
When the last piece of UV filter was installed, Li Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and a relieved smile appeared on his face.
Elsewhere, the assembly of ion implanters, etc. is also in full swing.
Although these devices are not as large and sophisticated as lithography machines, their assembly requires the same rigor and concentration.
The ion implantation machine team is busy assembling the vacuum system.
This is the key to ensure the injection process and is also the core of this equipment.
Team leader Lao Zhao was holding a vacuum gauge, repeatedly testing the air tightness of the cavity.
"This flange doesn't seem to be sealed tightly. It needs to be reinstalled!" he said with a frown.
The workers in the team immediately worked together to dismantle the flange and carefully polish the sealing surface.
Li Yang nodded at the side, "When making vacuum equipment, you have to be so careful, you can't be careless at all!"
Xiao Wang, a technician of the plasma etching unit, is assembling the radio frequency power supply together with the electricians.
This is the key to controlling plasma. Without it, even the most advanced cavity is useless.
"The RF electrodes must be insulated with Teflon, and the power and impedance matching must be precise!" Xiao Wang reminded while checking the circuit diagram.
Next to them, the diffusion furnace has taken shape.
The workers are carefully installing semiconductor-grade quartz tubes, fearing that they might be damaged.
"Be gentle, be gentle! This is a quartz tube made by our factory. It is more valuable than your eyeballs!" The person in charge, Lao Liu, reminded repeatedly.
……
In the blink of an eye, a few days have passed?
With the installation of the last batch of peripheral equipment completed, the first 4-inch integrated circuit production line was finally completed at the United Technology Center!
It is composed of more than 10 key devices connected in series, with a compact yet orderly layout.
From photolithography machines to ion implantation machines, from etchers to diffusion furnaces, every inch of pipelines and every valve embodies the designer's painstaking efforts.
Standing in front of this production line, Li Yang and his comrades all had tears in their eyes.
So many days and nights, so many late nights, just for this moment!
"Comrades, let us toast to the new era of the chip industry in Xinyan Country!" Li Yang raised the teacup in his hand and said with great enthusiasm.
"Cheers to the new era!"
"Cheers to the new Yan Country!" Applause, cheers, and slogans intertwined into a passionate piece of music.
Everyone's face was filled with pride and joy.
They knew that this day would be forever engraved in the history of the development of science and technology in the New Yan Nation!
At this moment, no one was more excited than Li Yang.
As a "future messenger", he is well aware of the importance of the chip industry to a country.
In the previous life, in the 80s, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry quietly found Texas Instruments and ordered 1 million 1000KDRAM memory chips at a price of US$64 per chip.
This was a sky-high price at the time, even higher than Intel's offer, but Jiaobenji gritted his teeth and paid it.
Thanks to this transaction, the semiconductor company acquired the technology for mass production of memory chips and became the dominant player in this field in the following years.
It was not until the 90s that the Eagle Sauce Enterprise regained the crown of memory?1?8
Since 2000, Samsung has come from behind and seized the market with an investment of hundreds of billions of dollars.
It can be seen that the chip industry is related to the country's destiny!
Once you fall behind, it's hard to catch up?1?8
……
Amid the applause and cheers, Li Yang was extremely excited.
As a time traveler from the future, he is well aware of the importance of the chip industry to a country's development.
Under his leadership, the New Yan Kingdom finally ushered in a new era of chip industry.
Li Yang looked around and saw the workers and engineers involved in manufacturing chip equipment, all of them looking at the uniquely shaped machines in front of them with curiosity.
Although these devices were made by them themselves, no one present knew their specific uses.
"Engineer Li, what are these machines used for?"
"That's right, why does it look different from the ones we usually see?" Several workers gathered together in the crowd and whispered, with confusion written all over their faces.
"From the looks of it, this is definitely not an ordinary machine."
"It's most likely an electronic device. Look at those wires and circuits. They're almost as good as those in our electrical appliance factory." Several knowledgeable engineers also joined the discussion, trying to guess the function of the device.
But even if someone guessed it almost right, no one really understood the significance of this production line.
Seeing everyone talking about it, Lin Xiaoxiao, who was standing next to Li Yang, finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Engineer Li, can you tell us what these machines are used for?"
Li Yang smiled knowingly and explained to everyone in easy-to-understand language: "This equipment is used to produce something called 'chips'."
"Chips?" Lin Xiaoxiao and the workers looked at each other in confusion.
It was obviously the first time they heard this unfamiliar word.
Seeing this, Li Yang patiently explained: "A chip is an integrated circuit. It is composed of many electronic components, like a miniature circuit board. With it, we can create electronic devices with more powerful performance and richer functions."
As he spoke, he pointed to the CNC machine behind him and said earnestly: "Take CNC machine tools for example. If they are equipped with chips, their processing accuracy and efficiency will be greatly improved. Programming will be simpler, and complex graphics can be easily processed. The development prospects are limitless."
Li Yang's words shocked the engineers present. Although they only had a limited understanding of the working principle of the chip, the grand blueprint had already been laid out before their eyes.
"Oh my god, I didn't expect the chip to have such magical powers!" "Engineer Li, you are really the lucky star of our New Yan Country!" The crowd exclaimed with sincere admiration. Everyone's face was filled with excitement and yearning.
Li Yang was relieved when he saw this. He knew that for people of this era, chip technology was still too advanced. Instead of just talking about the principles, it would be better to show everyone through actual actions.
Thinking of this, he turned and walked to the operating table and ordered: "Okay, everyone, don't just stand there. Our task today is to trial-produce the first chip of the new Yan country. Come on, come and take a look."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately gathered around and surrounded Li Yang.
Everyone opened their eyes wide, afraid of missing any details.
Li Yang first picked up a small silicon wafer and held it high.
Under the illumination of fluorescent light, the crystal clear silicon wafer refracts colorful light.
"See? The chip is printed on this kind of silicon wafer." Li Yang explained while putting the silicon wafer into a box.
Then he walked to the photolithography machine and operated it skillfully.
I saw him first carefully adjust the optical path under a microscope, and then carefully put the box containing the silicon wafers into the machine.
"Photolithography is the first step in making chips," Li Yang explained as he operated.
"It's like taking a picture of the silicon chip. But it's much more precise than a camera."
With a slight "hum" sound, the lithography machine started to operate.
Ultraviolet light passes through the mask and is accurately projected onto the silicon wafer.
Everyone present held their breath and stared at the machine intently.
"After the photolithography is completed, the next step is development." Li Yang said, carefully taking out the silicon wafer and putting it into the developer.
A moment later, he put the developed silicon wafer into the ion implanter.
After a few "hissing" sounds, several ion beams were shot towards the surface of the silicon wafer.
"This is to 'inject' impurities into various areas of the chip to change their conductivity." Li Yang patiently explained each process, "Just like a doctor giving an injection to a patient."
Next comes a series of complex steps including corrosion, doping, and oxidation.
Li Yang was meticulous and completely immersed in the work. Every movement was meticulous and completed in one go.
In the silent workshop, everyone held their breath, fearing to disturb his "spell".
Time flows subtly, and every second is infinitely stretched.
Finally, when the last step was completed, Li Yang carefully picked up the silicon wafer and turned to face everyone.
Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, he slowly raised his hand and held the silicon wafer above his head.
Under the fluorescent light, a chip the size of a fingernail is clearly visible.
It is crystal clear all over, and its surface is covered with fine circuit patterns.
The delicate patterns are like the uncanny work of nature, which is breathtaking.
"Everyone, the first integrated circuit chip of New Yan Country has been born!" Li Yang shouted, trembling with excitement.
In an instant, applause broke out like thunder.
There was a burst of cheers from the crowd, and everyone's face was filled with genuine joy.
"It's incredible! Is this the legendary chip?" "Mr. Li, you are truly the pride of our nation!" Cheers rose one after another, slogans and applause intertwined into a melody of the times.
Looking at people's excited faces, Li Yang's heart was filled with great passion.
Yes, the chip industry of Xinyan Country has ushered in a new era from this moment on.
In this turbulent era, on this ancient yet young land, countless people with lofty ideals are striving for the rise of the nation.
Li Yang held the fingernail-sized chip in his hand, a proud smile on his face.
Although this is just a micron-level integrated circuit, it is a remarkable breakthrough for the New Yan Kingdom.
This chip used the most advanced 5-micron process technology at the time. Although it still looks crude decades later, it was a remarkable achievement in the 60s.
Thousands of transistors were integrated on the chip, a scale that was unimaginable at the time.
……
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