Chapter 267: The Shock of the Integrated Circuit

"So small?" someone asked in surprise.

"Yes, just this small," Li Mingyuan gestured with his hand, indicating about the size of a palm, "but on this tiny silicon wafer, we can integrate hundreds, or even thousands, of electronic components!"

A sound of gasping filled the conference room.

"That's impossible, right?" Lao Liu shook his head, "How small would that have to be..."

Li Mingyuan did not answer directly, but continued to draw on the blackboard.

This time, he drew a circular silicon wafer and then marked small squares on it one by one.

"This is a silicon wafer, about 4 inches in diameter," he explained.

"Through Photolithography Technology, we can simultaneously produce dozens or even hundreds of identical chips on it. Each chip contains a large number of transistors, resistors, capacitors, and other components."

"Transistors?" someone interrupted, "Aren't they Vacuum Tubes?"

"Transistors are a replacement for Vacuum Tubes; they are much smaller, consume much less energy, and have a much longer lifespan," Li Mingyuan explained.

"Using a special doping process, we can manufacture transistors directly on the silicon wafer without needing to package them independently like Vacuum Tubes."

He then drew a structural diagram of a transistor on the blackboard, explaining the concepts of P-type and N-type semiconductors, as well as the basic working principle of a transistor.

"Simply put, a transistor can achieve two functions: signal amplification and switch control. It can completely replace Vacuum Tubes, and its performance is even better."

Li Mingyuan saw that many people had already started scratching their heads, knowing these concepts were too advanced for the people of that time. He decided to switch to a more intuitive method.

"Let me give an example," he put down the chalk and took a matchbox out of his pocket.

"Assume this matchbox is the circuit board inside one of our current radios, with Vacuum Tubes, resistors, capacitors, and other components on it."

Then he took a small coin out of another pocket.

"And the size of this coin is equivalent to a future Integrated Circuit chip. Such a small piece can perform the same or even more complex functions."

There was an uproar in the conference room.

"Chief Engineer Li, are you saying," Lao Ma from the machine workshop widened his eyes, "that something the size of a coin can replace the electronic components of an entire matchbox?"

"Not only that," Li Mingyuan revealed a confident smile, "its performance will be better, its energy consumption lower, and its reliability higher."

The Technical Backbone of the factory began asking questions all at once.

"Chief Engineer Li, can such a circuit really be used? Can thermal stability be guaranteed?" asked Engineer Zhang from the thermal engineering group.

"Absolutely," Li Mingyuan replied, "Silicon is a very stable material, resistant to high temperatures and corrosion. Through reasonable heat dissipation design, the thermal stability of an Integrated Circuit is even better than that of traditional Vacuum Tubes."

"With such fine circuits, aren't you afraid that a single short circuit will scrap the whole thing?" asked electrical engineer Lao Wang with a frown.

"There is that risk," Li Mingyuan said truthfully.

"But we can reduce the risk through strict quality control and testing procedures. Moreover, since Integrated Circuits are mass-produced, even if some are scrapped, the overall cost will still be significantly reduced."

"The circuits are so dense, how do you test and solder them? The naked eye can't even see lines that fine, right?" the director of the Assembly Workshop raised a practical question.

Li Mingyuan nodded, "Indeed, this requires brand-new testing and packaging technologies. We will use microscopes and specialized equipment for testing, and for packaging, we will adopt special Lead Bonding Technology to connect the circuits inside the chip to the outside."

Questions came one after another; Li Mingyuan was almost fighting a hundred alone, but he was not flustered.

In fact, he enjoyed the process.

Every question gave him an opportunity to reveal another facet of this revolutionary technology, and also allowed those present to gradually understand its value.

"I must admit," Li Mingyuan concluded at last,

"The difficulty of this technology is indeed great. We need to overcome technical challenges in multiple fields such as optical systems, material purification, and precision mechanical control. However, as long as we succeed, we can make Long Country's electronic level leap forward by thirty years in one stroke!"

He paused for a moment and looked around the room, "Imagine, when Di Guo is still using bulky Vacuum Tube equipment, our tanks, aircraft, and missiles are already equipped with compact and precise Integrated Circuit Control Systems. How will their weapons compete with ours?"

The atmosphere in the conference room gradually changed.

The initial doubt and confusion were being replaced by a sense of anticipation and excitement.

"If it really can be done..." Lao Liu muttered to himself, a glimmer in his eyes, "that would truly be incredible..."

"This is simply... magic-like technology," the young technician Xiao Zhang said in disbelief, "can we really master it?"

Li Mingyuan nodded solemnly, "Yes, and we must. The enemy has already started exploring in this direction, and we must get ahead of them."

Factory Director Sun pondered for a long time before finally speaking,

"Chief Engineer Li, to be honest, this plan sounds too... advanced. By common sense, I should think it's not feasible. But..." he hesitated for a moment,

"Your previous 'crazy' ideas, such as the Steel Umbrella and the Hunter-Killer System, have all been proven right. So..."

He stood up and looked around the room, "I have decided to fully support the Lithography Machine project! Who among you is willing to join this project team?"

There was a moment of Silence in the conference room, then a hand was raised, followed by a second, a third... soon, almost everyone had raised their hands.

Li Mingyuan felt a surge of passion.

In this era of scarce resources and backward technology, being able to gain the trust and support of so many people was already a tremendous success.

"Thank you all for your trust," Li Mingyuan's voice was slightly choked, "I promise you all that in three months, we will definitely make the enemy jump in surprise!"

After the meeting ended, Li Mingyuan remained in the conference room alone, looking at the dense drawings and formulas on the blackboard, and fell into deep thought.

"I hope three months is enough time..." he whispered to himself, "the enemy won't give us too many chances."

The biting cold wind still blew across the factory roof from time to time, but the temperature inside the workshop was shockingly high.

"Adjust that quartz lens by another 0.3 degrees!" Li Mingyuan stood in front of a strange-looking piece of equipment, sweat constantly sliding down his forehead.

The white lab coat he was wearing was already soaked with sweat, and his eyes had turned bloodshot from over a dozen consecutive hours of precision calibration.

Since the "Lithography Machine project" started, the entire factory had entered a state of near-madness.

Three-shift rotations became the norm, technical personnel worked on the production line in turns, and Li Mingyuan barely slept or rested, personally supervising every key link.

"Chief Engineer Li, you've been working for 32 hours straight, why don't you take a break?" Lao Liu handed over a cup of hot tea, looking at this young Chief Engineer with concern.

"No, the optical system is the Hexin of the entire Lithography Machine; it must reach the design precision." Li Mingyuan took the teacup and drank it in one gulp,

"Just a little longer, we must finish the optical path calibration today."