From all-round academic master to chief scientist

The "X-ray" project is advancing in an orderly manner under Lin Xiao's arrangement.

After a month, preliminary preparations have been basically completed, personnel arrangements have been basically completed, and people from relevant companies and research institutions have also gathered.

And finally, time has come to the end of mid-December. .

The first core meeting on the "X-ray" project officially began.

…

Dingguang Research Institute, in the conference room.

The conference room was full of people, all of whom had been appointed by Lin Xiao to hold key positions in the X-ray project.

He is the chief designer, and there is also a deputy chief designer, and in addition, he is the leader of other research groups.

These groups are grouped according to the structure of each part of the lithography machine, such as the optical path system, which is headed by Luo Gangxian, director of the Institute of Optoelectronics. The optical path system is mainly responsible for the X-ray source and its transmission structure, as well as the production and manufacturing of lenses, like Lin Xiao now The kind of silicon lenses that are being developed.

Then there is the mechanical structure part of the lithography machine, such as the double worktable, which is also responsible for this group. In addition, there is also the transmission structure inside the lithography machine, such as the robotic arm that controls the silicon wafer, as well as the design of the circuit, etc.

Then there are the grouping of other simple parts of the lithography machine, such as the lead plate protective layer that their lithography machine will use in the future, as well as the outer casing, and other things.

All in all, these groups are the most important, responsible for the production and design of various photolithography machine parts. Of course, they also need to coordinate with those suppliers, design their solutions, and then hand them over to those qualified suppliers. to produce related parts.

In addition to these groups, there are other departments, such as fund allocation and so on. Although the financial power is in Lin Xiao's control, he must also hand over some power to others to help.

No matter what, his main task is still in research and development matters, not in these ordinary matters.

In the conference room, Lin Xiao, who was sitting at the head of the table, glanced at everyone, and then said: "Okay, everyone, since everyone is here, let's start our first meeting."

"This meeting will first set a tone, which is the steps of our R\u0026D plan and the structure of our lithography machine."

"I think the steps of the R\u0026D plan are divided into three steps. The first step is to overcome all the technical difficulties. Currently, our two most critical technical difficulties are the lens materials that I am currently developing. Everyone should be aware of this. Everyone is basically familiar with it. I am a member of Huaxin Alliance. I have said in a meeting before that if you want to achieve the amplification and reduction of X-rays, you need a perfect crystal material. We already have some direction for this work, so you don’t have to Worried about not being able to do it.”

"Besides that, there is the double workbench. The double workbench made by Zhuohua Jingke before is still lacking in stability and precision. You need to cooperate well in this regard."

Lin Xiao looked at the leader of the mechanical structure group. This was a domestic academician in precision machinery named Chen Yuanchun. He was also an academician of the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Mechanics. He had made remarkable achievements in the research of this kind of ultra-high-precision machinery.

The research of ultra-high precision machinery requires not only cooperation in material technology, but also cooperation in basic theory. Academician Chen Yuanchun has made great achievements in both aspects.

"No problem, just don't worry, Chief Master Lin." Chen Yuanchun smiled and nodded.

Lin Xiao nodded and then continued.

"Then, our second step, after completing all the technical breakthroughs, is to assemble the various parts. During this process, all aspects need to be well coordinated to ensure that there will be no problems with our parts. Of course, this matter can be carried out directly after we determine the structure of various parts of the photolithography machine we want to build, and I won’t say more about this.”

"The third step is to assemble the photolithography machine. All parts need to be produced in ten copies as spares. All these parts need to be transported to the Dingguang Research Institute. After that, I will build a dust-free workshop in the research institute for testing. .”

Hearing Lin Xiao's words, everyone present couldn't help but sigh. The clean workshop said that it was created, how rich it was.

After all, building a dust-free workshop is very expensive.

As for why it is necessary to build a dust-free workshop, this is also because of the needs of the photolithography machine. The working environment of the photolithography machine must not be dusty.

At that time, if their photolithography machines need to be tested after they are built, they will also need to be conducted in a dust-free workshop.

"Then the fourth step is to continue debugging our lithography machine. The fifth step is to complete our mission."

"Do you have any questions?"

After speaking, Lin Xiao looked at the people present and asked.

Everyone present said nothing, and basically understood what Lin Xiao said.

"Okay." Lin Xiao nodded, and then said: "Then let's talk about the structure of our lithography machine."

Everyone present sat up straight, their eyes showing seriousness.

The previous steps are just a matter of one sentence. When it is officially implemented, it may not really be able to follow the plan.

The structure of the lithography machine is the most critical.

The reason why only Asmail can build photolithography machines is because their assembly technology is very strong.

All parts of Asmail's EUV lithography machine are produced abroad, so other companies can purchase these parts and then produce their own EUV lithography machines. However, only Asmail can combine these parts. The parts are assembled into a super instrument carved out of chips.

It's like turning something rotten into something magical.

Therefore, they are all ready to conduct a marathon of research on this issue.

But at this time, Lin Xiao said directly: "I have made a rough design about the structure of the lithography machine. Let's take a look now."

Then, he showed a structural diagram to everyone present.

This structural diagram was drawn by Lin Xiao based on the system-optimized X-ray lithography machine model in his mind.

Of course, in order to avoid shocking the world, he only made out the rough structure, such as the internal optical path, and some instrument transmission structures. As for the details, he did not make out the details, such as a screw or some The structure of precision devices, etc.

But even so, this still surprised everyone present.

Looking at the complete lithography machine structure displayed on the big screen, at first glance, they estimated that the structure seemed to be basically complete.

At the second glance, it seemed that it was already perfect.

Then I took a third look, this should be completely perfect!

Although it is a rough structure, if it is divided into a flow chart, the process from input to output and all the processes in between are basically complete.

Regardless of whether this structure can be completed or not, Lin Xiao actually completed such a large workload by himself?

No one thought that this was done by Lin Xiao in just a few days. Such a large workload, which also required the coordination of various structures, could not be completed in just a few days.

This shows that Lin Xiao has been preparing for this matter for a long time.

Everyone in the audience was secretly frightened, and looked at Lin Xiao with more respect.

They were convinced that someone had invested so much in this work and came to be their chief designer.

Then, they all looked at the structure seriously, and Lin Xiao also came to the big screen to explain to them the purpose of the structure of the lithography machine.

"First, we see the structure as a light source from above."

"X-rays require high-speed electrons to bombard metal palladium. At the same time, X-rays cannot be reflected through the lens, so after the light source is generated, we must let it shine directly on the chip."

"That's what this structure is."

"Then this is a lens and this is a double workbench. The two work together to coordinate."

"Double workbench requires..."

As Lin Xiao spoke, everyone present nodded slightly.

At least, structurally, they couldn't fault it.

But the question is, when this thing starts running, will it be successful?

No one knows, after all, it is a question of whether many things can function properly after they are designed and manufactured.

For example, a certain Asan’s Brownian motion bombs.

All in all, you have to try everything to find out.

Of course, even if you fail, can you just try again later? After all, failure is the mother of success.

In fact, for example, research on aero-engines requires experiments in high-temperature environments. If one fails, the aero-engine explodes, and some danger occurs, the person in charge will probably be demoted, dismissed, or transferred, and the successors will be Because of this outcome of the predecessors, we became too conservative in research, so conservative that even if there was no improvement, as long as there were no accidents, it would be considered a success.

Fortunately, their chief designer Lin Xiao is still very tough behind the scenes, and even if they fail a few times, it will be no problem.

However, they can only hope not to fail too many times.

…

Time passed quickly, and the structure was determined, which was to discuss the details of the structure. There were many details to discuss, so they held this meeting for several days.

But in the end, it was a happy ending.

Next, it is time for each department to go back and continue to add details while continuing to conquer key technologies.

In this way, the various branches of the "X-ray" project really started their work.

Although most people still have doubts about whether they can succeed, Lin Xiao, the chief designer, still gives them a certain degree of confidence.

Time has also passed this December and arrived at the New Year's Day of 2022.