Chapter 705: Give Me 15 Months to Crack the 28nm Process! The Best Way to Respect Talent

Chen Yansen smiled. Spurred on by this “respect,” Liang Jingsong’s change in role was so swift it left Hu Ruihui, who was standing to the side, utterly dumbfounded.

The moment he opened his mouth, he was already planning to poach from his two former employers.

“Go on.”

Chen Yansen set down his teacup and assumed an expression of rapt attention.

“I know you’re worried, Mr. Chen, that the success of the Celestial Craft A100 Chip will make it a target for Qualcomm and MediaTek. After all, Qualcomm is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s largest client. If Paul Jacobs were to threaten them with their orders, TSMC would very likely terminate their foundry services for the Celestial Craft A100. So my suggestion is that before we mature our own 28-nanometer process, we first sign foundry agreements with United Microelectronics Corporation and GlobalFoundries. Both companies are already underutilizing their 28-nanometer capacity, so the cost of collaboration would be relatively low. This would allow us to avoid direct competition with TSMC and Qualcomm, while also leveraging the price advantages of these second-tier manufacturers.”

Liang Jingsong continued.

His words not only demonstrated his formidable technical expertise but also showcased his profound understanding of the global semiconductor competitive landscape and his personal strengths in resource integration.

Liang Jingsong’s subtext was clear: his strengths didn’t just lie in surmounting technical hurdles. He also had his finger on the pulse of every movement in the upstream and downstream supply chain.

“Six months ago, I approached both United Microelectronics Corporation and GlobalFoundries. UMC rejected me outright, and GlobalFoundries’ quote was too high,” Chen Yansen said.

“I can get it done,” Liang Jingsong replied confidently.

He had been in the semiconductor industry for decades. Most of his former subordinates, superiors, colleagues, and friends now held key positions in the industry’s top- and second-tier companies.

Call it academic cliques or call it personal connections.

This was the underlying value of hiring him.

For collaborations others couldn’t secure, he could step in and figure out the other party’s true position with just a few words.

For deals where others reached a stalemate, he could leverage his network and reputation to find the key person and break the impasse.

Take United Microelectronics Corporation and GlobalFoundries, for example. Tiangong Technology had hit a wall when it approached them, but if it were Liang Jingsong making the call, a single phone call might be all it takes to bring them back to the negotiating table.

In the semiconductor world, his name alone was a gold-plated brand. The executives who had once worked with him would, to some extent, show him deference.

This was the confidence that came with being an industry veteran!

He was familiar with the internal factions of every major company, knew who could call the shots and who was just watching from the sidelines, and he even knew his rivals’ weak spots.

Even when faced with a seemingly intractable supply chain problem, he could leverage his old network of resources to bypass dead ends and forge a new path.

To Chen Yansen, the high salary wasn’t just for Liang’s technical and managerial skills. More importantly, he was buying the “implicit all-access pass” that Liang had earned from decades steeped in the industry—a pass that would help the new company avoid countless pitfalls during its startup phase.

It was just like Chen Yansen’s own status in the venture capital world; any new project with his name attached to it would have VC firms throwing half a billion or a billion at it, no questions asked.

“If you put me in charge of this project, in Q4 2013, we’ll start by purchasing the IP license for the HKMG architecture from ARM. Then, we’ll acquire secondhand NXT 1950i lithography machines and the associated etching and deposition equipment from second-tier manufacturers. There’s no need to buy new; the price is too steep.”

“Besides, ASML is planning to release an upgraded version of the NXT 1950i. It might not compare to the NXE 3300B, but it will definitely be capable of producing 14-nanometer chips.”

“By Q2 2014, we’ll complete equipment acquisition, talent recruitment and training, and the construction of the production workshop. In Q3 2014, we’ll begin trial production and tape-out, completing tests on the first 28-nanometer chip. And by Q4 2014, we’ll raise the yield rate to over 80%.”

Liang Jingsong laid out his plan with confident eloquence.

The implication was clear: as long as the funding was fully disbursed on time, the key equipment arrived as scheduled, and the core team was successfully assembled, he could crack the tough nut of mass-producing 28nm chips in just 15 months.

The first three months would be for building the team, streamlining the process flow, and completing the cleanroom renovations for the fab.

The next six months would be dedicated to equipment calibration and process validation, with repeated optimization of parameters for key steps like lithography and etching.

The final six months would be the trial production phase, where they would use massive amounts of testing to increase the yield rate until it consistently met mass-production standards.

‘Well-reasoned and logically sound!’

He then went on to share his proposed process in greater detail.

For instance, he prioritized the Gate-last HKMG approach over Gate-first. Although the Gate-first process flow was simpler, Gate-last offered a more significant advantage in performance uniformity, reducing Vt fluctuation by 30%.

Vt, the threshold voltage, is the minimum gate voltage required for a transistor to turn on.

The more stable the Vt value, the better the chip’s power consumption and performance.

He also discussed metal gate integration structures, strategies for improving the process window, pathways for increasing yield, and contingency plans for technical risks.

Beyond the technical details, Liang Jingsong also shared his own insights and experience regarding organizational structure and talent development systems.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly.

It had to be said, Liang Jingsong’s talent was truly worth the five-million-US-dollar annual salary.

First, he had led TSMC to its throne as the world’s largest wafer foundry. Then he joined Mountain Star, helping them perfect their 28nm and 14nm process technologies in succession.

If not for Chen Yansen’s intervention, he would have joined Huaxin International three years from now and helped it achieve a process transformation, realizing a breakthrough to an equivalent 7nm process.

At this thought, Chen Yansen abruptly stood up, extended his right hand, and said, “President Liang, welcome to Xingyuan Technology.”

‘Xingyuan Technology?’

‘Don’t tell me you just made that name up on the spot?’

Liang Jingsong grumbled to himself.

But for the sake of a five-million-US-dollar annual salary, he still shot to his feet and replied solemnly, “Mr. Chen… Boss, thank you for your trust in me.”

It was their first time meeting, and in less than an hour, Liang Jingsong had agreed to come on board.

He couldn’t help it; the other party placed far too much ‘importance’ on him. A kindred spirit is a rare find, and a true patron is even rarer.

Afterwards, Chen Yansen switched to wine glasses and began exchanging toasts with Liang Jingsong and Hu Ruihui.

The three didn’t drink much—just one glass each before stopping.

At one point, Hu Ruihui mentioned the academician nominations for Zeng Jiweng and two others, saying with a look of resignation, “The opposition is too strong. Getting nominated is no problem, but actually getting elected will be incredibly difficult.”

The selections were held once every two years, and countless universities, research institutes, and laboratories across the country had their eyes on that prize.

Chen Yansen let out a soft sigh but didn’t dwell on it.

The dinner party broke up at nine o’clock. Chen Yansen and Liang Jingsong exchanged contact information.

Right before getting into his car, Liang Jingsong suddenly remembered something. He was about to call out to Chen Yansen, but he saw the man’s car had already merged into the flow of traffic.

“Welcome back to the country, Liang,” Hu Ruihui said with a smile.

“It looks like I’ll be doing my part for Hua Country’s semiconductor industry after all.”

A smile played on Liang Jingsong’s lips as he spoke, half-joking.

「Meanwhile.」

News that Senlian Capital was about to enter the chip manufacturing industry with a three-year, 30-billion investment plan spread like wildfire.

Hu City, Su Cheng, Luzhou, Shencheng City, Jinling, and other regions instantly took notice.

Chen Yansen’s business acumen was legendary; he was practically a Living God of Wealth.

From the talent he displayed building a shopping guide platform in his early years to the outstanding returns from his investments in Pinbei, Orange, and Tiangong Technology, the Central Bureaus of various regions saw tangible increases in employment, tax revenue, and GDP.

Moreover, this new venture was in the bottlenecked chip manufacturing sector. An infusion of 30 billion in hard cash would not only stimulate the upstream and downstream supply chains but could also fill their own local gaps in semiconductor manufacturing.

And so, investment attraction teams from all over the country mobilized overnight.

They held emergency meetings, made swift decisions, and drafted enticing incentive packages.

On top of offering funds and land, Su Cheng promised to provide access to local equipment suppliers and talent reserves.

Shencheng City offered an industrial synergy package on par with what companies like Huawei and ZTE received, and was willing to provide a three-billion, low-interest loan.

Hu City put a core plot in the Lingang New Area on the table, along with tax exemption policies, a talent acquisition plan, and a two-billion, low-interest loan.

Jinling and Luzhou rolled out similar incentive packages, and investment attraction representatives from all over began flocking to Xucheng.

Meanwhile, Chen Yansen was still in Yanjing. He didn’t return to Xucheng by private jet until the afternoon of October 27th.