[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil":3,"chapter-you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-chapter-568":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","You were told to build a tractor, but you're building a rocket?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1306358,1735,"Chapter 568 - 556: Alliance","you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-chapter-568",568,"\u003Cp>\"No, we won’t move the entire chip factory up there right away.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yongnan immediately realized that Lin Ju had misunderstood and quickly clarified:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The process from silicon wafer to finished chip is extremely complicated. It’s difficult to concentrate it in one factory, let alone move it to space, where the technology is neither realistic nor mature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, generally speaking, the more important parts of chip manufacturing can be considered to be silicon wafer, photolithography, etching, and packaging; my main focus is on the etching part.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ju instantly understood. He was familiar with these processes, and what Pan Yongnan said was not complex:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First is the foundational semiconductor of the chip, which is purified and made into cylinders. After grinding, polishing, and slicing, you get the silicon wafer. The necessary circuit patterns are then drawn onto it using a photolithography machine, and after etching and a few other processes, the wafer is cut and packaged into chips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During photolithography, there is a thin film on the surface of the silicon wafer. Etching is the process of eroding the film outside of the pattern drawn by the photolithography machine to form circuits, which is the second most critical technology after photolithography.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The field of etching has developed quite well domestically; we can basically handle the world’s most advanced processes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that Lin Ju could understand made Pan Yongnan breathe a sigh of relief, at least he wasn’t a complete layman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What I want to improve is the etching process. On Earth, due to gravity, we need to etch before we can plate with metal. But in space, we could use super-thin films that are thinner, allowing us to form deep enough trenches with photolithography alone, thereby eliminating the etching process entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, the Academy of Sciences began discussing last year how to use microgravity in chip manufacturing, but our area has been the fastest to develop. For example:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chips initially were two-dimensional with only one layer; later, three-dimensional structures and 3D packaging were developed. However, there is a limit to this on Earth, whereas in space we could theoretically stack layers indefinitely and freely etch real three-dimensional circuits;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This not only greatly improves performance while maintaining the size of the chip, but also plays a significant role in enhancing yield rates. The ultimate goal of the Academy of Sciences is to increase the cost-effectiveness of space chip manufacturing by more than 100% before considering the construction of a substantial space chip factory.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yongnan’s description of the technological advantages was one thing, but when Lin Ju heard about an increase of more than 100%, he immediately became emotionally moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To achieve such a breakthrough when silicon-based semiconductor technology was nearing its limits was nothing short of miraculous, with definite investment potential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, he immediately thought of a problem: such a promising project would typically go through the normal channels, with approval from the aerospace bureau sufficient, so why go out of the way to get involved with United Mining?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a hint of embarrassment finally appeared on Pan Yongnan’s confident face as he began to explain the process of manufacturing chips in space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned out that although the equipment needed for the first few trials was not large, when it came time to actually begin production, the entire semiconductor factory still needed to be moved to space. Even with a substantial simplification of processes, it was not a small project.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also the issue of raw materials. The chemical materials needed for chip manufacturing and the resulting waste were vast. The consumption was huge, not lessened by the small size of the chips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A production line capable of producing one million 12-inch silicon wafers a year would consume quantities of various materials that wouldn’t be lesser than a steel mill with an output of one million tons. Such a massive demand for raw materials obviously couldn’t be transported from Earth, and the only nearby economical source would be the Moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The best approach now was to prepare the basic chemical materials on the Moon, send them to space for circuit patterning and packaging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cut chips were much easier to transport. At this stage, calling them slices would be more appropriate, as they still needed to be soldered to PCB boards or undergo secondary packaging before use. This step could be easily done back on Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if one chip weighed 1 gram, 5 million slices would only weigh 5 tons. An aero-space plane on a near-Earth mission could simply carry them along, making the transportation costs rather low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even at one transport per week for a year, that would be 260 million chips, more than enough to meet high-end production capacities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the most critical part of the whole process was the initial construction phase, requiring substantial investment to establish complete facilities on the Moon for extracting raw materials and manufacturing high-purity silicon rods, as well as similarly large-scale chemical plants for supporting materials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether to invest in these for chip manufacturing alone is certainly debatable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the current situation is that United Mining plans to undertake massive infrastructure and ore smelting projects on the Moon. Despite simplifying many procedures, this still requires significant supporting factories and infrastructure. On this basis, tacking on a chip factory does not seem so excessive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The compatibility of chemical plants is very high; they can produce raw materials required by various industries. Smelters can also supply steel. Acids, bases, steel, and electricity are industrial fundamentals. With that foundation, anything else is not starting from scratch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this still required massive investment, and United Mining’s Steel Union Production Base had to consider supporting chip production from the beginning, which was not easy to do without strong confidence in the space chip factory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the prospect looked bright, the Aerospace Development Committee wouldn’t likely prepare so much for mass production from the start.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alright then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ju inwardly praised that Pan Yongnan really found the right person. To others, this might be a risky and immense investment, but he did not see it that way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A steel and rare metals smelting base, a potential high-tech chip factory – this fit perfectly with New Yuan’s strategy to expand into space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Pan Yongnan finished explaining, he waited nervously for a response, though he was just giving it a try and wouldn’t be surprised by a rejection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We can.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The straightforward response from Lin Ju almost made him think he had heard wrong, and then he continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"New Yuan can invest in this plan to accelerate the chip project, but I have a small request.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at Wang Minjiang, who was listening by his side, and winked. The latter quickly understood the implication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Minjiang: \"Professor Pan, your research is still on silicon-based chips, right? We are developing natively supported ternary silicon carbide chips. Please, also incorporate this direction into your research; Yellow River Semiconductor will provide strong support.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yongnan looked at Lin Ju, who nodded in agreement, and almost without hesitation, he agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, that’s possible, but it may involve some of your company’s trade secrets. Moreover, silicon carbide semiconductors have been in use for a long time, but only now are they beginning to see advanced processes, so the progress might not be as swift.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s okay, we can wait, and we are willing to pay.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ju adamantly pointed at Wang Minjiang:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yellow River Semiconductor and we will be co-investing, with at least 100 billion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1249,"2026-06-05T18:21:12.334Z",1,"novelbin.me","b4e271623a8cb757f1995e1cb37dd70e299876d01280da571feddceabafa4f83","you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-chapter-786","you-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-chapter-785",804,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fyou-were-told-to-build-a-tractor-but-you-re-buil-cover.jpg"]