manynovel #513 - Picking up scraps can also accomplish great things
#513 - Picking up scraps can also accomplish great things
"Dean Liu, and hello to all the professors. I, Ren, have taken the liberty of coming here today, not for any other reason, but just to share an immature idea and discuss it with Dean Liu and everyone to see if it's feasible," Ren Zhong said, not wanting to beat around the bush. His time, whether in the main world or the Bright Sword world, was quite tight, and he didn't have time to waste.
"I've heard that a stalled semiconductor project in a certain area is auctioning off its equipment. The project that this semiconductor equipment was based on has been stalled for almost ten years and now has to be liquidated due to bankruptcy."
"According to the information I've obtained, this batch of semiconductor equipment technically uses an 8-inch 0.13-micron (μm) process. Once completed, it can produce 8-inch wafer chips. From the original design, they mainly provide foundry services for power control, LCD drivers, flash memory, computer, and communication chips."
"This equipment mainly includes a batch of i-line lithography machines (mainly Nikon equipment), photoresist coaters (TEL/SVG, etc.), dry etching machines (LAM, etc.), physical vapor deposition machines (AMAT, etc.), chemical vapor deposition machines (AMAT, etc.). From the equipment's condition, it's not ideal. This equipment has been neglected for years and lacks maintenance. Most of the equipment may not be directly usable. Some of the metal surfaces of the casings are even rusty. However, according to the latest technical assessment, it can still be used after refurbishment and adjustment."
"My idea is for me to invest in buying this batch of equipment, and for the School of Electronic Engineering to provide the venue and technical personnel. Together, we can build a large-scale laboratory for chip processing learning, research, and pilot production. If this model can work, our School of Electronic Engineering will essentially have its own chip foundry. For me, it's mainly that I'll need this factory to conduct pilot production of some things in the future. Also, for this equipment, I hope that our school can organize experts to conduct a comprehensive study and refurbishment, and also provide me with an electronic version of all the data."
Ren Zhong simply stated his idea.
Liu Xueren and several professors looked at each other in silence. After a moment, Professor Liu Xueren spoke, "Mr. Ren, you mentioned purchasing that batch of equipment for us to co-build a laboratory. Who will own this equipment in the future?"
"Of course, it belongs to the School of Electronic Engineering. I'll directly donate this batch of equipment to the School of Electronic Engineering," Ren Zhong said without hesitation.
The eyes of several professors lit up. Although this equipment is outdated by ten years, it's still a very good thing for the School of Electronic Engineering. Even if they haven't inquired about the value of this equipment, anything involving semiconductor processing, even with a 0.13-micron process, is a huge investment of hundreds of millions.
Even if the equipment isn't in good condition now, which of the people sitting here isn't an expert in this industry? Finding someone to refurbish it and get the production line running is entirely possible.
You have to know that for those of them who design chips, to do tape-out testing, even the cheapest ASIC tape-out costs hundreds of thousands each time if they go to an external foundry. If they have a complete production line in their own hands, the chip design tape-out costs for these professors will be greatly reduced. Based on the consumables and labor in the tape-out process, a few tens of thousands each time might be enough!
This is a great thing.
Everyone looked at Professor Liu Xueren with excitement.
"Okay, thank you, Mr. Ren, for your generosity. I personally think there's no problem with this laboratory," Professor Liu Xueren said, suppressing his excitement. "As for the requirements Mr. Ren mentioned, we have no problem at all. If Mr. Ren has any questions about chips, our School of Electronic Engineering will solve them without reservation, as long as it's within our capabilities."
Professor Liu Xueren didn't mention any issues about laboratory rooms. For him, getting hundreds of millions worth of equipment for free meant there was no reason he couldn't find a place to put it. If this matter is settled, he dares to immediately start a project with the school to turn the microelectronics processing laboratory into the largest laboratory in western universities!
Therefore, Professor Liu Xueren had no need to object to Ren Zhong's requirements at all. He couldn't wait for Ren Zhong to be even more interested in this.
"Dean Liu, if that's the case, then we have no fundamental disagreements. Next, let's discuss and determine the specific construction plan for this laboratory. I see that the auction time for this batch of equipment is basically set for November. I hope that after the equipment is bought and transported back to our School of Electronic Engineering, there will be enough manpower to refurbish and repair it, organize the relevant manuals and data, and get the equipment running as soon as possible. Later, I hope you can help me produce some chips, and of course, I'll fully reimburse the cost of consumables," Ren Zhong was very satisfied with Professor Liu Xueren's attitude.
He hoped that the two sides would cooperate more happily, after all, he would still have to rely on these old professors to get all the data of this production line as detailed as possible in the future.
At that time, Ren Zhong could guide these old professors to develop the idea of independent research and development of replacements, instead of always buying, buying, buying.
0.13 microns is a subtle technical threshold in the history of lithography machines. It is the first generation of dry DUV developed based on a 248nm wavelength KrF light source. In principle, it can be upgraded to a 65nm process. Evolving from 0.13 microns to 0.1 microns, and then further to 65nm, is a technical route.
After that, it is necessary to replace the light source and use a 193nm ArF light source with a shorter wavelength. The lithography machine that can be developed from the ArF light source in terms of light wavelength is already the highest level of Dongda University at present.
After all, the next technical route is to replace it with an immersion lithography machine, and change the refractive medium to water to change the wavelength to 134nm, only in this way can the process below 45nm be broken through, up to 7nm.
From the information Ren Zhong learned, if the School of Electronic Engineering can find a way to upgrade this 0.13-micron lithography machine to 90nm, it would already be a remarkable achievement, but this technical threshold is not completely impossible. After all, the School of Electronic Engineering is the leader in this discipline field of Dongda University. After mobilizing domestic resources to concentrate on doing things, stronger schools and research institutions support it in terms of light sources, dual-worktable systems, photoresists, and optical lens systems. If the funding supply is guaranteed, they have the ability to mobilize these resources.
However, Ren Zhong wouldn't be stupid enough to bring these things up from the beginning.
Now, taking down the equipment of this stalled project and then handing it over to the School of Electronic Engineering to thoroughly understand and run it is already a remarkable thing.
"Mr. Ren, we have no problem with what you've said. Next, we'll connect directly to finalize the equipment matters. We'll prepare the site and personnel in advance. According to the construction process for related laboratories, we'll also start applying to the school for the construction of a chip processing and manufacturing experimental center," Professor Liu Xueren said. "Mr. Ren, regarding the auction of equipment, would you like to select two professors from our college to assist you in evaluating these auctioned items? This includes assessing the condition of the equipment, its valuation, and so on. Our professors are quite knowledgeable in these areas, which will make it easier for us to bid during the auction."
Upon hearing this, the professors present all perked up their ears.
They all understood Professor Liu Xueren's intention. Whether Ren Zhong's matter was serious or not, sending two people to assist would be the best verification.
"Is this appropriate? If it doesn't interfere with the work of the professors, that would be great. To be honest, I don't really know much about chips myself, but I have a team working on this aspect, so I understand a little," Ren Zhong replied, not thinking too much about it. He was determined to succeed in this matter, so no matter the condition of the equipment, Ren Zhong would definitely bid for it.
Anyway, after seeing the valuation, he felt it was much cheaper than building a chip processing plant from scratch.
According to the information released by the mortgagor's creditor, the original total value of this batch of equipment was approximately $350 million USD. However, due to being stranded in Haiguang for ten years, some items could no longer be used directly. Fortunately, everything was packaged, so it wasn't severely damaged.
There might be some issues like rust or lack of lubrication causing some parts to be less sensitive.
Therefore, in terms of auction valuation, the creditor proposed a reference base price of 900 million local currency. Compared to the original purchase price, this is about 40% of the original value, considering the exchange rate was around 6 yuan ten years ago.
This wasn't the first auction. Since there were no bidders in the previous auction, the reserve price for this auction might be lowered further.
Because the current economic situation is different from the last auction, the overcapacity of 0.13-micron process equipment is even more obvious. Many second- and third-tier chip foundries have begun to operate below capacity. Trend-wise, investments are now focused on 65nm and above. In fact, in terms of chip foundry market share, over 68% of sales revenue is concentrated on mid-to-high-end production lines like 65nm.
Moreover, the share of advanced processes above 28nm is increasing, and processes like 65nm are basically being phased out of mainstream chip manufacturing. Only in general-purpose products like industrial control chips, power chips, and low-end memory chips is there still room for 0.13-micron processes.
Therefore, trend-wise, the value of this batch of equipment will decrease over time.
In the end, Professor Chen Shude and Professor Sun Shanhe from the School of Electronics volunteered to serve as Ren Zhong's auction consultants.
They started working promptly.
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Ren Zhong also directly transferred the auction deposit of 100 million yuan to the account of the property rights trading center.
Professor Chen Shude and Professor Sun Shanhe quickly inspected the equipment. Based on the on-site observations, the difference from the published information wasn't significant. Since they were precision electronic products, the goods were currently stored in a warehouse in Haiguang. They hadn't even cleared the import duties yet, so a portion of the auction price would be used to offset the tariffs.
Previously, in the chip boom, the major shareholder who ambitiously wanted to invest 4.6 billion to build this chip foundry actually invested less than one billion in capital. The land and factory construction were provided by the local government, nominally as a temporary lease. Once full production was reached, the chip factory was expected to produce 360,000 8-inch wafers per year, with a foundry fee as high as $1,000 USD, equivalent to an annual output value of $360 million USD. At the time, the gross profit margin was as high as 40%, meaning the entire investment could be recovered in five or six years, or even less than two years for the major shareholder!
This kind of business was practically like printing money, so at the time, many investors rushed into this field to grab profits. Of course, we now know that the era of exorbitant profits in the chip foundry industry quickly passed. What remained were industry leaders like TSMC, while the rest of the small and medium-sized foundries were basically a complete mess. Most of them disappeared or even went bankrupt before they could start production!
Three days later.
The two-person inspection team returned to Jincheng, and Sun Shanhe represented the team to meet with Ren Zhong.
"Mr. Ren, the equipment is well-packaged. Although some of the iron parts of some equipment are indeed rusty through the packaging, it will not affect our subsequent use. These problems can be solved by removing the rust and repainting after we get the equipment," Professor Sun Shanhe said to Ren Zhong.
"We have inquired about the second-hand market price of this batch of second-hand equipment through people in the industry. If it is second-hand equipment, it can now be obtained for 600-800 million, so the auctioneer's current valuation is somewhat inflated. I estimate that some potential buyers will demand a lower reserve price, otherwise the auction will fail again. However, now that an outsider like Mr. Ren has entered the scene, the auctioneer may insist on the original price without lowering the reserve price. We suggest that Mr. Ren not exceed 900 million to buy this batch of equipment, otherwise it would be too disadvantageous."
Ren Zhong was stunned for a moment and didn't quite understand Sun Shanhe's suggestion. If that were the case, wouldn't he be unable to buy it?
"It's like this, Mr. Ren. In the past few days, we have mobilized students from various majors to conduct a survey of the current low-end production lines in the industry. Even if we don't participate in this auction, we can buy similar products outside for less money. Therefore, if it is to build our chip processing and manufacturing experimental center, we don't need to fight to the death in this auction. On the one hand, we can save funds, and on the other hand, we can also form a better production line by purchasing second-hand equipment," Professor Sun Shanhe hurriedly explained when he saw Ren Zhong's surprised expression.
Ren Zhong suddenly understood. As expected of the college that has produced the most semiconductor talents in China, the network of connections is truly unmatched. In just a few days, they had thoroughly investigated the numerous products of this production line.
Ren Zhong was amazed by this execution and intelligence gathering ability.
"Thank you, Professor Sun. That's all fine, I understand," Ren Zhong said. "This time, I will use a maximum of 900 million as the upper limit. If I don't win this batch of goods, this 900 million will still pay for the second-hand equipment you purchase."
Ren Zhong felt it was OK to get this done within ten billion, but buying this complete set of auctioned equipment would be more convenient for him, after all, it would be the easiest and save a lot of time.
Although Professor Sun and the others have channels to assemble their own set of second-hand goods, Ren Zhong is afraid that they will not be able to complete this matter in two or three years because of the many people involved. After all, there are many equipment that need to be purchased, and these equipment cannot be bought anytime and anywhere.
With the Electronics College re-certifying the quality of the products, Ren Zhong felt that it was more reliable to take down this set of inventory that had been stored for more than ten years.
After all, even when picking up scraps, you have to pick up good ones. Otherwise, according to the DIY trash picker style, even if you pick up a scrapped E5 2660 chip from ten years ago, you dare to pretend that it is a current I9-level performance chip. If the chip processing production line built with tens of millions becomes a veritable scrap production line, who can bear it? (End of this chapter)