Starting From the Chip in 1991

Chapter 55 Chengguang Institute's Request for Help

Su Xinghe and Zhang Ke laughed heartily. They had long since gotten used to treating Su Yuanshan like a mature adult, but at this moment, seeing him so excited was a rare reminder that he was still their son and nephew — still a seventeen-year-old boy after all.

Uncle Zhang stretched his voice like a seasoned old cadre and said: "Young man, don't be so impatient — it's the New Year."

"Your uncle is right. It's New Year's," Su Xinghe laughed, looking at his son. "Even if it's something big, wait until after the holidays — besides, look, there's not even a hint of any news on TV."

Su Yuanshan smiled and sat back down. He knew he had gotten overly excited. But he had good reason — he knew that soon, the "spring breeze" of reform would blow again, encouraging boldness and speed. Since he had this foreknowledge, how could he sit still?

At that moment, a knock came at the door. Opening it, they found Professor Li Gaoliang standing there with two bottles of liquor in hand, accompanied by a middle-aged man of about the same age.

The scene surprised Su Yuanshan — Li Gaoliang lived upstairs, so dropping by was no big deal, but bringing gifts? That was rare. After all, he was Su Xinghe's department head!

"What's wrong? Little Su, not going to let Uncle Li in?" Li Gaoliang joked, seeing Su Yuanshan standing there dumbfounded.

"No, no," Su Yuanshan quickly opened the door wide. "Dad, Uncle Li's here!"

Su Xinghe had already heard the noise and quickly came to greet them, laughing and welcoming them inside.

...

After a round of greetings and introductions, Su Yuanshan dragged a chair over to sit next to Uncle Zhang, a bright, uncontrollable smile on his face — and not just because he was being polite.

Zheng Zhenchuan, the man Li Gaoliang had brought, was the deputy group leader of the Optical Machine Project Team at the Chengdu Institute of Optoelectronics, also known as Chengguang Institute, and a classmate of Li Gaoliang.

The wine, naturally, was brought by Zheng Zhenchuan.

After tea was served and the women had gone back to the kitchen to chat, the men got down to business.

"Old Su, let's not stand on ceremony. My old classmate's project ran into some trouble, and we're hoping Yuanchip can help," Li Gaoliang said frankly, glancing at Su Yuanshan as he spoke.

He knew perfectly well that Yuanchip's true boss was not Su Xinghe but his ghostly clever son.

Su Xinghe smiled and said, "Engineer Zheng, go ahead."

"Alright. Our Chengguang Institute has been working on developing a domestic photolithography machine. Hardware and light sources are manageable, but the embedded system is giving us a headache," Zheng Zhenchuan said in a slightly embarrassed tone. "Right now, there's no one else domestically who could develop a suitable embedded system... except Yuanchip."

"Haha, Engineer Zheng flatters us," Su Xinghe said modestly, waving his hand before turning to look at his son. "Xiaoshan, can we spare a team?"

Su Yuanshan kept smiling, his posture relaxed.

"If Uncle Zheng is asking, even if we have to halt the EDA project, we'll help!"

Everyone laughed — this time, real laughter.

After that, Su Yuanshan asked a few detailed technical questions about the photolithography project, impressing Zheng Zhenchuan even further.

They agreed to discuss the specifics after the New Year. After another polite refusal to stay for dinner, Li Gaoliang and Zheng Zhenchuan left.

Closing the door behind them, Su Yuanshan couldn't contain his excitement. He clapped his hands and said:

"Dad, do you know what it means when someone sends you exactly the pillow you need when you're dying to sleep? This is it!"

He laughed and threw himself onto the sofa.

China's domestic photolithography machine development had started early. Back in the 1950s, they had founded the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics. In the 1970s, the Chengguang Institute had also joined the field.

Each institute had its own specialization: Changchun was the granddaddy, while Chengdu focused on optical measuring devices and integrated circuit fabrication equipment. (Skipping a few other institutes here.)

But Su Yuanshan knew the sad history — despite all the effort, their progress was painfully slow. By the early 90s, Chengguang would finally unveil China's first domestically developed G-line photolithography machine — a 1.5 to 2-micron stepper. It would be celebrated as one of the top ten technological achievements in Chinese electronics, but the actual product would have a dismal yield rate, making it practically useless.

Later they would improve it to 0.8 to 1 micron — the only self-developed machine that ever managed to produce a real chip — but even then, it was only barely functional.

The wording "managed to produce a chip" said it all — heroic yet tragic.

After that, China's photolithography ambitions would stagnate for decades.

Knowing this, Su Yuanshan saw an incredible opportunity in the current collaboration. He hadn't yet figured out how to approach them — and now, they had come knocking themselves. If this wasn't a pillow delivered to a drowsy man, what was?

...

Seeing Su Yuanshan so ecstatic, his father, by contrast, stayed calm.

"Don't get too excited yet," Su Xinghe said seriously. "A photolithography machine is an extremely complex device with tens of thousands of precision parts. To develop the embedded control system, we'll need a thorough understanding of the machine's structure."

"Do we have people who can do that?"

"Of course not," Su Yuanshan admitted, still smiling. "But we can learn from each other."

"And honestly, the hardest part of the embedded system is the alignment — synchronizing the stepper motors, torque motors, servo motors..."

He trailed off.

Zhang Ke looked puzzled: "Why'd you stop talking?"

Su Yuanshan sighed deeply: "Because our domestic motors are trash."

In fact, China's laser sources were quite competitive internationally, but in an extremely precision-demanding device like a photolithography machine, it was the weakest link that determined the outcome — the classic barrel theory.

"Our biggest problem is precision motors and precision manufacturing," Su Yuanshan said bitterly. "Even if we manage to make a half-decent system, if the motors can't perform, we're still dead in the water."

Zhang Ke shrugged: "Then import them. It'll just cost more."

Su Yuanshan smiled faintly and looked out the window at the cold winter night.

"Sure, but what if they stop selling to us one day?"

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