Chapter 173: nm Process

Jing Mingdong looked excited and nodded:

"Very well, Boss!"

He was a veteran practitioner in the Long Country lithography machine industry and had almost witnessed the step-by-step development of domestic lithography machines from nothing, up until the present, where they possessed 90nm ArF lithography machines.

Yet, the international lithography machine giant, ASML, had already reached the 5nm process node.

The two were separated by a full five generations!

He had originally thought that in his career, he would never see the hope of Long Country's lithography machines reaching the world's top tier.

It was only after his company was acquired by Tianqi Core Technology, a subsidiary of Tianqi Group, and he was promoted to president of Tianqi Core Technology, becoming a part of Su Xin's subordinates, that he saw a glimmer of hope.

After all.

Su Xin's miraculous nature was something almost everyone in the entire Long Country, and even the whole world, knew about.

Afterwards, as Su Xin developed one technology after another in the Photoelectric Laboratory and broke through one obstacle after another in lithography machine manufacturing, he felt that the hope for domestic lithography machines was growing greater and greater.

And now.

This precious and heavy hope was finally about to bear the fruits of victory!

This kind of heartfelt excitement and exhilaration is something that perhaps those in the Semiconductor industry who haven't experienced a series of setbacks will never understand.

At this moment, as if he had suddenly thought of something, he asked full of anticipation:

"By the way, Boss, what level has our lithography machine reached? What is the process node?"

Su Xin smiled calmly: "3nm."

"Hiss!"

It wasn't just Jing Mingdong; including Liu Qingli and several other executives, everyone couldn't help but gasp when they heard this number.

Even though most of the people present were not industry insiders, ever since Su Xin began researching lithography machines, everyone had started to pay more or less attention to some basic conditions of this industry.

Currently, the world's most advanced process node only reached 5nm, while the most advanced domestic lithography machine in Long Country was only 90nm.

Only by relying on multiple exposures could they barely achieve mass production of 22nm process chips.

And Su Xin had directly pushed the lithography machine process forward by several big steps? Surpassing ASML's most advanced EUV Lithography Machine in one fell swoop?!

What kind of god-tier research and development ability is this!

Su Xin continued to smile:

"I tried for a long time, and a few days ago I finally found a new technical route, which is why I was able to break through the existing technical limits in one go."

"Moreover, this is still taking into account that our country has too few relevant talents; if I were to bring out a process that is too advanced all at once, the supporting industrial chain wouldn't keep up, and the engineers' skill levels would be far from sufficient."

"Once everyone in the industry is familiar with the current process, I will be able to quickly research and upgrade to the next generation of new lithography machines, allowing us to always maintain the industry's most advanced technical level."

Upon hearing this, Jing Mingdong's lips trembled with excitement, and for a moment he couldn't help but have red-rimmed eyes; the next moment, hot tears streamed down his face.

His greatest wish in this life was to see the Long Country Semiconductor industry break through the blockade, achieve self-research and self-production, and catch up to the world's first tier.

And now.

Not only had they caught up to the first tier, but they had also surpassed the current leader in lithography machines in one fell swoop, becoming the new strongest king in the lithography machine manufacturing industry!

This sudden surprise truly made him ecstatic and incomparably moved!

The biggest shortcoming of the Long Country Semiconductor industry had been compensated for, and next...

The Long Country Semiconductor industry was about to rise!

The secretary sitting behind him hurriedly walked over, half-bowing, handed him a pack of tissues, and then cautiously retreated to the back.

Jing Mingdong said thank you, pulled out a tissue to wipe the corners of his eyes, and awkwardly nodded to Su Xin and the others:

"Sorry, I lost my composure a bit."

Su Xin comforted him:

"We can understand President Jing's mood."

"You calm your emotions for a while; we will set aside time later to discuss the issues regarding lithography machine manufacturing in detail."

"Alright, if no one else has anything, then let's adjourn the meeting."

Su Xin looked around, and seeing that no one else said anything, he stood up and left the conference room.

The others also left one after another.

Liu Xuewei and Jing Mingdong came to another conference room, called over a few subordinates, and discussed the recruitment examination plan together.

Liu Qingli followed in Su Xin's footsteps.

"Boss, I have a new plan recently that I would like to report to you. Do you have time to listen to it?"

"Then let's go to my office."

Su Xin nodded.

The two soon arrived at Su Xin's office and sat down on opposite sides of the desk.

Liu Qingli sent a proposal through the Tianwei Butler, and while Su Xin opened it to look, she said from the side:

"This is just the first draft of the proposal. I originally planned to report it to you after finishing it in a few days, but just now I heard you say you wanted to recruit three hundred senior engineers, so I thought I would report it in advance."

"This proposal is precisely about the training plan for the group's technical talents. I have temporarily named it the Tianke Academy Plan."

"You previously said that you wanted to have each subsidiary under the group recruit a large number of top technical talents, and that you would take time to give lectures and cultivate them, letting them become the technical backbone of the group."

"Looking at it now, this strategy is indeed quite effective. Those technical talents have solved most of the group's technical problems, not only greatly increasing the group's development speed but also allowing you more time to focus on researching the most advanced technologies without being troubled by those relatively low-end technical issues."

"But the efficiency of this kind of training is still a bit low, or rather, it doesn't quite live up to its name."

"For one, you don't have that much time to lecture frequently, and for another, everyone lacks suitable opportunities to communicate and learn from each other."

"These talents first of all already had considerable achievements in the outside world, and their strength was not weak to begin with. Added to the technical foundation of the company's products, plus your occasional guidance on key points, or even personally stepping in to optimize, and the fact that their colleagues are also excellent enough, they only then have the opportunity to make certain achievements."

"And these achievements, in fact, cannot be counted as too great of a technical breakthrough, let alone technical innovation."

"In essence, the group still relies entirely on your personal technical strength, and others are just filling in the gaps, playing a decorative role."

"Given the strength of our technical team and the funds we have invested, this performance can actually only be considered decent; it's not something to be surprised about."

"The boss previously said that your idea is to make the group a holy land for top talent in every industry. Since it is a holy land, the first priority should be the ability to cultivate top talent, and secondly, to set authoritative standards."

"The former requires being able to more systematically cultivate talent within the group and improve everyone's abilities."

"The latter requires making our grading standards recognized by the world, and even making all the world's top talent flock to us, rather than relying solely on high salaries and the boss's personal reputation to attract them."

"Only then can the holy land truly live up to its name."

Liu Qingli said this, looked at Su Xin's expression, and seeing him nod faintly, she knew Su Xin approved of this, so she continued:

"The Tianke Academy I envision is a department, or perhaps an academy, established within the group."

"First, we can establish clearer and more explicit technical grades for all technical personnel in the group, and these must be separated from their job positions."

"Regardless of position, contribution, or seniority, as long as one's technical grade meets the standard, one can enter the Tianke Academy, have the opportunity to exchange ideas with other top talent, and be qualified to receive personal instruction from the boss."

"Once this grading standard is set and gradually becomes the top standard within the industry, the status of being a member of the Tianke Academy will become a great honor, just like being an academician of the two academies."

"Once one becomes a member of the Tianke Academy, not only will there be a huge bonus in salary and benefits, but one's resume will also become incredibly impressive and highly recognized within the industry."

"In this way, it will not only give the group's technical staff more motivation to strive, but also make more people outside yearn for positions in the group; even if it is just for gilding, they will want to come to the Tianke Academy for a stint."

"With this kind of high-end industry standard, it will be easier for us to recruit top talent, and it can also satisfy the boss's vision of building the group into a holy land that top talent in all industries yearns for."