The End of Technology

Ning Zi's phone call was naturally to Chen Yonggang.

There is no way, this is the case for newbies in the laboratory. They don’t know who to report the results to, so they can only talk to knowledgeable people. Chen Yonggang should understand. After all, he is an old man in the education field. Even if he has never eaten pork, he must have seen pigs running away.

But in fact, Chen Yonggang didn't know much about it. After all, he never thought of such a thing before. Generally speaking, sports universities are praised for their achievements in sports. The way to report his results to the top is naturally to go to his old leader at the General Administration of Sports to report the good news.

Today's situation is different. After all, it is an achievement in the cutting-edge field of natural science, and it is also the achievement of China's key nuclear high-tech projects. Although Chen Yonggang didn't know who to report to, he was an old man in the education field after all. He knew very well that if the results were real, it would not be a matter of who to report to.

Especially in the current situation, he only needs to send the news out, and it is also feasible to change it to someone coming to the TiDa Chip R\u0026D Center to listen to the report.

Of course, the premise is that Ning Zi is not joking with him.

In fact, many people think that Ning Jie's retreat is a joke.

Whether domestic or foreign.

For example, Conan Lamar came to talk to him seriously about the complex process from chip design to manufacturing, just to convince Chen Yonggang of a conclusion, and came forward to persuade Ning Jie not to waste time on delusions, and quickly start from After coming out of the laboratory, everyone happily discussed those mathematical propositions that are the true meaning of life.

Apparently Conan Lamar doesn't quite understand the relationship between Chen Yonggang and Ning Zi.

At least when the two were chatting, Chen Yonggang smiled and said calmly that he would have a good talk with Ning Zi about this matter and try to make Ning Zi give up his far-fetched ideas as soon as possible and return to the right path. But in fact, after sending Conan Lamar out politely, Chen Yonggang put the matter behind him.

What an international joke, if Ning Zi is really willing to listen to him on everything and obey his words, then his level will not be too much, and jumping up to one or two levels will not be a problem.

Of course, there are many people who hold the same opinion, so no matter how confident Chen Yonggang is in Ning Zi, he still doesn’t think that Ning Zi alone can do the work that may require trillions of investment and thousands of top intellectual engineers. It was tinkered with in the room.

But the call he received now made Chen Yonggang doubt the world.

Is this it?

It has only been two weeks and three days since Ning Zi announced that he was going to the laboratory for seclusion that night, and now Ning Zi has told him that he made the chip alone in the laboratory?

This made Chen Yonggang not sure what to do for a while. He could only ask tentatively: "Well, Ning Zi, what do you mean by saying it seems to be done? You should know that this matter is very important, right? If we put Once this news is announced, there may be no turning back, especially in the current public opinion environment, which will trigger ridicule."

"Principal Chen, it seems that he is actually being self-effacing. I think if he said it directly, he might sound a bit proud."

Chen Yonggang swallowed subconsciously and made a "gulu" sound. This "self-effacing" made him feel very wrong. But I couldn’t explain it in detail.

"Well, Ning Zi, although you are confident, I think we should be more cautious. When you say you have made a chip, do you mean that the chip has been actually produced in the laboratory?"

"yes."

"How about this? I'll find some experts to test it first and make sure there's no problem. Then we'll report it to the boss. How about that?"

"Two questions. First, Principal Chen, do you have a good personal relationship with the chip experts from China? If you find them, can you ensure that they don't talk nonsense? Second, to tell you the truth, I am an expert in this field, and I have also It's been tested. Don't think too much about it. Just tell the management you think is appropriate. They will naturally find someone to verify it. Let's do it this way. After you report it, come directly to me in the laboratory. I'll contact the central security department. Just tell me and I'll let you in later."

"Then... I really told the boss, no joke."

"Well! Don't worry, Principal Chen, I never like to joke."

…

After hanging up the phone, Chen Yonggang stroked the table, first composed himself, then gritted his teeth and started looking for someone in his phone's address book.

To be honest, Chen Yonggang, who has been studying chip knowledge for half a month, also feels that this matter is very unscientific, but whether it is scientific or not is not his final say. Anyway, he is just a mouthpiece. And really speaking, he should cherish this rare opportunity to experience it.

Because if it turns out that the chip developed by Ning Zi is indeed reliable, then he will probably not be needed as a microphone in the future. Xiao Ning will have sufficient channels to directly raise appeals and report the situation.

So after finding the number, Chen Yonggang didn't rush to dial it. Instead, he closed his eyes, took three deep breaths, and silently brewed his emotions. Then he pressed the dial button. When he heard a "hello" from the other side, , Chen Yonggang immediately started performing with the fullest emotion.

"Hey, Liu Si, good news, very good news. Under the leadership of our outstanding student Ning Zi and with the full cooperation of the school, our Yanbei Sports University Chip R\u0026D Center has overcome many difficulties after months of hard work. After diligent research and development day and night, we have finally successfully developed a brand-new chip manufacturing technology. This technology is expected to point the way for the rapid development of Huaxia chips in the future and lay an extremely solid foundation. This is the first step forward for our chip R\u0026D center. It’s a small step, but it’s also a big step in the development milestone of China’s chip technology!”

Chen Yonggang is satisfied with the speech he just made.

At least it is very enthusiastic and the wording is very accurate. It not only highlights the individual, but also does not forget the collective...

But all he got was a confused response.

"What? Your sports university has developed a chip manufacturing technology? What is the technical principle? Or is it silicon material? Where is the innovation? Has the physical chip been produced in the laboratory? Has it been packaged and tested? How is the performance?"

Chen Yonggang suddenly realized that he had only made emotional preparations and did not expect to have so many questions to answer.

In fact, we can't blame Principal Chen for not being professional enough. The main reason is that Ning Zi was too nonchalant when she informed him of the news, and she spoke too simply, and she didn't bother to explain too much to him. And he was really too shocked just now, and he didn't even think about asking about these details. What was even more irritating was that even if he asked, he didn't know what questions to ask.

After all, no normal principal would understand something like semiconductors.

He can only answer one of the above questions... No, it seems he can answer one.

So, Chen Yonggang immediately started to show off: "No, Liu Si, I can't answer so many questions. That's it. The physical chips have been produced and tested. As for the others, you may need to come to us in person." The R\u0026D center needs to learn more about it. Well, it would be best to bring relevant experts with us."

"No, since you said so, I will definitely go. But you should make it clear first. What kind of chip is the physical chip? A general chip? A special chip? What functions can it achieve?"

"I really don't know about this. Hey, Liu Si, let me tell you the truth. Some time ago, didn't you say that Ning Zi was going to the laboratory of the chip R\u0026D center for retreat? Then he suddenly called me this morning. His original intention was It was said that he had made a new heterogeneous three-dimensional chip in the laboratory that could bypass all foreign patents at this stage. The actual product had been produced and tested. At least he was satisfied with the test results, so he informed me immediately. As for the other things, Ning Zi didn’t say anything, probably because he thought I wouldn’t understand them even if he did.”

"Yes, Chen Yonggang, you are really comfortable as the principal. Forget it, I won't tell you. I will immediately organize experts to go and have a look. We will arrive at the University in about an hour."

As soon as he finished speaking, the person on the other end hung up the phone.

Chen Yonggang was actually very unconvinced when he heard the busy tone on the phone.

Who said that he was comfortable as a principal? That was really too much. He obviously had endless things to worry about all day long.

Of course, being unconvinced only lasts a moment. As a principal, your ability to grasp key points is naturally very strong. It doesn't matter whether he is comfortable as the principal or not. What matters is that he will be here in an hour. He had to take a quick look before he could feel reassured.

In fact, he originally planned to report the situation to many leaders.

But a few questions from Liu Si, who was in charge of related technologies just now, made him give up the idea temporarily.

There is no need to rush for good news. It is better to wait for the experts to confirm it and then call him to report the good news as soon as possible.

In this way, at least if the leaders ask knowledgeable questions, he will not appear so ignorant.

…

Along with Chen Yonggang's call, countless signals began to be transmitted. Liu Si obviously knew better who to look for at this time to listen to the situation report, and to understand how true the news was.

It's not that Liu Si has more confidence in Ning Ji than Chen Yonggang, it's mainly because of Ning Ji's reputation. As the youngest mathematician and computer scientist in China, since he has given this information, he must pay more attention to it. of.

…

The first person to receive the notice was Academician You Wanzhang of the Beijing Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Academician You can be said to be one of the people with the deepest research on microelectronics and inheritance circuits at the China Official Research Institute. Twenty years ago, he worked in many world-class chip companies such as AMD, IBM, and SanDisk, working on high-performance CPUs, Flash, etc. Chip research and product development work.

Five years ago, because he received some unreasonable treatment abroad, You Wanzhang was finally invited by Huaxin International to return to China and assume the position of chief technology officer of Huaxin International at that time. However, he later disagreed with the chairman of Huaxin International on the development of Huaxia chips, so he simply switched to the Institute of Microelectronics, specializing in integrated circuit research.

During the time when the World Semiconductor Alliance was established and issued a series of rules, Academician You naturally became one of the most consulted leaders. During this period, various emergency meetings were attended almost every day. So it was not surprising that You Wanzhang received a call from the powerful director of the Department of Science and Technology early in the morning.

But after listening to Director Liu's words, You Wanzhang didn't know what to say for a while.

"No, Director Liu, what Chen Yonggang said was a new heterogeneous chip that can bypass all foreign patents at this stage? And it is a three-dimensional chip? Is he kidding?"

"Oh, Academician You, these are really not Principal Chen's original words. In his words, they are Ning Zi's original words."

"Ning Zi, I know, the young man is very good, but how long has it been since Apple assisted in building that chip R\u0026D center? I only heard about it being officially put into use last month, and was invited to visit. But now we have announced such great results. , do you really dare to believe it?”

I really can’t blame You Wanzhang for asking this question.

In fact, the more people know about semiconductor technology, the more they understand how difficult it is to design a technology that can bypass all patent blocks and produce chips.

The technology tree of chip development in this world has been set very high, and the technology moat of the silicon-based semiconductor industry is almost unbreakable. As for the descriptions of heterogeneous, three-dimensional, etc., it is even more difficult. The nature of silicon determines that it is difficult to have an outstanding design at the three-dimensional level, and FinFET gate technology has almost developed it to the extreme.

As for the new materials... that's even more of a joke.

In an era when Moore's Law is about to expire, so many materials institutes around the world hope to find alternatives to silicon. After all, the atomic radius of silicon is still larger than that of carbon. This also means that at smaller scales, silicon is more susceptible to interference with quantum laws. In fact, at the latest 7NM and lower process levels, countless engineers are already racking their brains to overcome various quantum effects at tiny scales, such as quantum Suichuan.

So if a better material than silicon can be found, those researchers will immediately become world-renowned scientists and win various scientific awards, such as the Nobel Prize. In addition, it will also be pursued by countless technology companies. Intel, IBM, AMD, Nvidia, Texas Instruments, Hynix, Samsung, etc. These big companies will never be stingy with their checks and will not hesitate to poach people like this to their own companies.

This is not to say that these companies will immediately launch heterogeneous material technology. In fact, even if there are new materials and new development directions, these companies will not immediately release this technology, but will use it as an investment in the future and treat it as their own. technology accumulation. Wait until every last drop of profit has been squeezed out of silicon-based technology before launching it to the public.

However, even though everyone knows that the future and money in this direction are boundless, and research in this area is also in full swing, so far, Yu Wanzhang has never heard of a laboratory that can provide stable and reliable materials for continuous research and development.

Until today, I suddenly heard such incredible news from Liu Si. He had been immersed in research in this field for a long time, so he refused to believe the news.

"Academician You, if you ask me, I won't believe it. If it were so easy to get a chip, we wouldn't be so unprepared during this period and have meetings every day. But since they informed us of the news early in the morning , whether it’s true or not, you have to take a look to know it, right? And Ning Zi should know that this kind of thing is not a joke, maybe there will be an unexpected surprise? "

"That's... okay. You have to go and take a look first. By the way, the R\u0026D center of the National University of Science and Technology has a very advanced chip testing center with very advanced instruments. You can also call the experts from the Institute of Semiconductors, so that you can Just do the testing and analysis over there." You Wanzhang reluctantly agreed.

If it weren't for the fact that the chip R\u0026D center built with Apple's aid to the University of Sports was advanced enough, he wouldn't have bothered to waste time on this trip. After all, if the news was true enough, he would feel like he had lived like a dog for most of his life.

After studying semiconductors for a lifetime, no one can achieve greater results in one month... Not to mention that Ning Zi's most praised achievements are currently in mathematics and algorithms.

"Don't worry, Academician You. On your side, as well as representatives from the Institute of Semiconductor and the enterprise, I plan to form an inspection team composed of six experts to go and have a look first. After all, we don't know what the situation is yet. It’s not easy to make too much of a fuss, right?”

"Well, six people are enough, but I suggest calling Academician Quan. He is unique in testing."

"It just so happens that Academician Quan Maoguo is also on my list. Are you waiting at the institute for me to send a car to pick you up?"

"convenient?"

"It's just on my way, I have to pick him up anyway."

"That's okay."

"I'll be here soon. I'll be here in twenty minutes at the latest."

"OK."

…

Twenty minutes later, You Wanli boarded the special car that came to pick him up.

There are already five experts in the car who I see every day these days.

"Old You, sit here, there is a special seat reserved for you." It was Quan Maoguo from the Semiconductor Institute who greeted You Wanli. The two were already good friends.

After sitting down, the car started, and several industry leaders also started discussing.

"Lao You, tell me, what do you think about this?"

Apparently several people had discussed it in the car before.

"How else can we see? It's only been more than ten minutes from here. I'll use my eyes to see later." You Wanli glanced at Liu Si, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, and responded casually.

"Academicians, I don't think you should be too pessimistic. Maybe there will be a surprise later?" Liu Si, who was sitting in front, turned around and said with a smile.

The words of the two also made several academicians lose the mood to continue the discussion.

Whether it's a surprise or a shock is just a matter of twenty minutes, so there's really no need to worry about it.

But after hearing Liu Si's words, You Wanli knew that the judgments of the people in the car were probably the same as his.

After all, this is really unscientific.

…

Soon the car entered the R\u0026D center after inspection.

As soon as Liu Si got out of the car, he saw Chen Yonggang who had come out to greet him.

"welcome……"

"Don't come here with these vain things. Let's be pragmatic today. Where is Ning Zi?"

"Inside, I told you to prepare all the instruments and warm them up first, so as not to delay the arrival of the expert team."

"Then just go in."

"Yeah, yeah, stop talking that nonsense."

A group of academicians behind him echoed, obviously no one wanted to continue chatting with Chen Yonggang outside.

Of course, for these academicians, President Chen is indeed not satisfied.

"Then I won't talk nonsense, everyone please."

…

Soon, six experts saw Ning Zi wearing a white coat in the laboratory.

Chen Yonggang had no choice but to make an introduction this time, because Ning Zi was alone in the laboratory, so he could only take a group of experts outside and watch the people inside busy through the spotless glass.

Fortunately, Ning Zi noticed the movement outside and walked to the table with the microphone.

"Everyone is here. The one on the left is the changing room. After changing your clothes, go straight to the air shower room. Come in and talk about it."

No one was polite, and the six academicians immediately filed into the changing room, leaving Chen Yonggang and Liu Si outside.

"Liu Si, why don't you go in with the experts and take a look?"

"I won't stir up trouble. Just wait for the news here. But Lao Chen, do you understand what's going on?"

"Liu Si, you've asked this very well. To be honest, if I can figure this thing out, can I be an academician?" Chen Yonggang pursed his lips and said.

…

Before long, several academicians had already walked into the chip testing laboratory.

They were all pragmatic people, and no one exchanged pleasantries. Instead, they gathered around Ning Zi and looked at the chips on the plate.

Yu Wanli was the first to ask: "What kind of chip is this?"

"NB-10T, narrowband chip."

"Is this Flip chip packaging technology used?" an expert from the Institute of Semiconductor asked.

"right."

"What's the manufacturing process?"

"Well, if this is based on the process level announced by Intel, it is 180nm. But because of the different structure, it should not be inferior to the current mainstream 60nm process. Of course, at this scale, the process upgrade can be very fast. Okay , it makes no sense for us to discuss these now. Everyone, the testing equipment is ready, I will go out first. So as not to affect your testing, if there are any questions, we can talk about it after the testing is completed. By the way, this chip The instruction manual is here. If you have any questions, if you are not sure, you can read the instructions first."

Ning Zi took the initiative to speak.

Several people looked at each other, and then acquiesced to Ning Zi's opinion.

After all, it would make them feel a lot more relaxed if that ridiculously young face was not there during the test.

Ning Ju left and their work began. Fortunately, Ning Zi was very considerate and left the unpackaged chip, but due to caution, several people decided to remove the packaged chip. Soon they assigned tasks and started busy.

"I... come here and take a look. Is this thing really a three-dimensional structure?"

Yes, two of the chips left by Ning Zi have begun performance testing, and two are directly used to observe the internal structure.

At this time, with the words of Academician Quan, the other five people temporarily put down their work, walked over, and stared at the internal structure magnified by the microscope displayed on the monitor.

"Huh? This design is quite novel. Is this the design of a base plus a pipe?"

Yes, what you see now is tubular silicon arranged according to a certain pattern, with densely packed transistors attached to both the inner and outer parts of the silicon tube.

"How does information exchange between these channels? Look at it from another angle."

After hearing these words, Quan Maoguo started to operate, and soon the mystery was revealed.

"This is consistent with the instructions. The circuits on the base are connected through tubes. But with this design model, it is difficult to dissipate heat in the middle part, right? It is fine for narrowband communication. If we really want to use this structure to design a CPU, When working at high frequencies, heat dissipation is a big problem."

"Wait, let me read the manual. Just now I seemed to have seen the heat dissipation part in the manual catalog... I found it. Boss, I adjusted the angle again and tilted it at a 45-degree angle... Yes, look, it's right here. You can see it on the edge. Carbon nanobeams, right? The instructions say that this design can overcome the interface thermal resistance. There are four lines on the outer wall edge and inside of the through silicon hole. Here, they are filled with carbon nanotubes. It is said that the thermal conductivity of this material is much greater than that of traditional materials. , the heat is more easily transferred out, and it belongs to a new all-carbon heat dissipation structure. It is extremely efficient."

"If it really has such high heat dissipation efficiency as stated in the instructions, then this would be amazing."

…

Several people discussed the structure diagram for a long time, and finally someone remembered that there were tests to be done, so the people gradually began to disperse. Only Yu Wanli was left in Quan Maoguo, studying the internal structure over and over again.

Until another startled voice sounded next to him: "How is this possible? How can its output noise be so small? It is more than 30% smaller than traditional silicon chips?"

You Wanli and Quan Maoguo looked at each other, and then they both couldn't sit still...