Shockingly, a counterfeit factory has produced a 3-nanometer chip.

Chapter 252 14nm Chip Fabrication, Morris Chang's Visit

That evening, Shen Fei was lying in bed when his phone rang.

It's Zhang Shiqing.

"Xiao Fei, congratulations. You passed the inspection. Old Zhao didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

The person on the other end of the phone was all smiles.

"No. Dad, you should have said so earlier. Uncle Zhao is your friend, then we wouldn't have to worry so much."

"Hey, Old Zhao is a very straightforward person. If I told you, it would only make things worse... Also, the governor and the party secretary just came to my house."

"Oh? Aren't you in Shenzhen?"

"Yes, I'm here for a meeting, and the meeting is about you."

As industry leaders, you've suffered such a huge loss; you deserve some compensation.

"Dad, what kind of compensation?" Zhang Mingzhu suddenly perked up when she asked this question.

A burst of laughter came from the other end of the phone, but one could still detect a hint of loneliness in Zhang Shiqing's voice.

After all, she's my own little darling. It hasn't been long, and she's already turning against me.

"Currently, you have some free land, tax breaks, and talent recruitment; you should have everything else you need."

Shen Fei nodded.

Transsion is already very powerful, and it doesn't need any other support...

Finally, Zhang Shiqing added, "By the way, please pay attention to what Old Zhao told you before he left."

What I can tell you right now is that the small aircraft development is almost complete, but the engine is still subject to constraints from the Big Brother, which is not a good thing.

If you can help, then…”

Shen Fei gave a soft "hmm".

"It's good that you understand. It's getting late, Mingzhu needs to rest well, and you should all go to bed early too."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Fei pulled Zhang Mingzhu back into his arms, and she fell asleep shortly afterward.

But Shen Fei couldn't sleep at all.

He knew that the small plane had already begun test flights, and that it would begin experiments on a large flat panel next year. He also knew about Chief Engineer Luo...

This is also a pity. But since he has the engine, let's give America another surprise.

…………

While the entire group was preparing for the launch of Transsion Motors, Li Jiahui was already waiting outside Shenfei's office early in the morning on April 29th.

He was holding a report in his hand, a strange expression on his face—a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

"Boss, the preliminary test results for Line 3 are in."

Shen Fei turned to the first page of the results report.

This is in accordance with Shenyang Aircraft Corporation's previous requirements, skipping 22nm and 16nm and going directly to 14nm.

At the time, Li Jiahui said that there was a complete direction, and with the 28nm process, there was already enough experience accumulated.

The equipment, processes, and materials are already mature, so there's no need to continue working on 22nm in the same step-by-step way; otherwise, at least a year would be wasted.

Ultimately, following Shen Fei's method, they skipped directly and got to the point in one step.

There are indeed risks, but they are completely under control.

"The technology itself doesn't seem to be a problem to me, but how risky is it to start the production line?"

"Definitely," Li Jiahui answered honestly. "The process window for 14nm is much narrower than that for 28nm, so the yield ramp-up may be very slow."

In the worst-case scenario, the yield rate will be below 60%, and the cost will be even higher than that of 28nm.

"What's the best-case scenario?"

Li Jiahui smiled.

"In the best-case scenario, the yield rate can easily reach over 90%, the performance is at least 50% higher than 28nm, and the power consumption is reduced by 40%."

"I easily scored over 4 points in the Taishan 920 race."

Shen Fei signed the report directly. He believed that the technical approach provided by the system was definitely correct, and as for the bad outcome, that was just a guess.

When will the film be taped?

"Next Monday, the 14nm version of Taishan 910 will be released."

"Go ahead," Shen Fei said, looking at him. "Even if something goes wrong, there's no real danger."

The tape-out date was set for April 30th.

Early in the morning, all the engineers arrived at the Transsion chip factory.

Compared to last year, two new manufacturers, No. 2 and No. 3, have been added this year. All the equipment is brand new, and those two immersion lithography machines alone are enough to shock the world.

Most importantly, all of these devices were purchased for free.

Unless you want his system to go out and play cards or commit robbery again, the more of this kind of good stuff the better.

"Mr. Li, get ready to begin."

The head of the chip factory led them into the factory building. The group walked to the observation window and watched as a robotic arm fed a wafer into the lithography machine.

Everyone silently counted to "begin" in their hearts.

The lithography machine emits a low hum. Ultraviolet light passes through the photomask, etching layer upon layer of circuit patterns onto the wafer.

A single wafer contains hundreds of chips, and each chip contains billions of transistors.

This process can take several hours.

Li Jiahui and Yuan Guoqing did not leave. They moved a few chairs and sat in front of the observation window, staring at the wafer.

At noon, the photolithography was completed.

The etching was completed at 2 PM.

The sedimentation was completed at 4 p.m.

At 7 p.m., the last layer of metal wiring was completed.

At 9 o'clock, the first 14nm wafer finally rolled off the production line.

Li Jiahui stood in front of the testing station, watching the engineers cut the wafer into individual chips for packaging and testing.

But they all knew in their hearts that as long as even one chip was usable, it would mean success.

After all, this chip was only adjusted on the EDA stage; it wasn't fabricated before production began...

The main requirement is that it works.

"Mr. Li, the power is on."

The chip on the test bench lit up.

A line of text popped up on the screen: Taishan 910.

"Run a performance test."

The engineer clicked the mouse a few times, and numbers began to appear on the screen.

The single-core performance is 30% higher than the 28nm version of the Taishan 910, the multi-core performance is 52% higher, and the power consumption is 42.2% lower.

These figures all indicate that the 14nm process has been successfully implemented.

Li Jiahui didn't say anything. He picked up the chip and examined it for a long time, turning it over and over in his hand.

The chip surface is printed with the words "Taishan 910" and next to it is a brand new logo.

They have once again taken the lead in the world in advanced semiconductor technology.

Although the yield rate is only 18.23%, this is an excellent result for a chip that has not yet been taped out.

Meanwhile, on Taiwan, Morris Chang, after enduring so much, finally made a phone call to Shen Fei.

"Mr. Shen, I am Morris Chang from TSMC."

I'd like to meet you in Kyoto tomorrow.

Shen Fei looked at the calendar plan and thought for a moment.

"welcome."

…………

The next morning, Morris Chang's private plane landed at Guangzhou International Airport.

Morris Chang, 79, is still in good spirits.

Shen Fei received him at Transsion headquarters.

"Mr. Zhang, I've long admired you."

Morris Chang held his hand and looked him over for a long time.

He genuinely couldn't believe that a global giant capable of surpassing TSMC in semiconductor manufacturing could be in the hands of this young man.

"Mr. Shen is younger than I imagined."

"Age doesn't matter, as long as you're clear-headed. Just like Mr. Zhang, he's still leading TSMC forward."

These words were like rubbing salt into Morris Chang's wounds. After all, everyone knows he has retired twice, but when it comes to important matters, he still has to step in...