Chapter 407 Three Major Battles and the EDA Operation to Save the Panda
Li Xiaofan smiled and said: "That was a joke between my two uncles and I. I earned all my wealth by myself..."
Because Li Xiaofan was his boss at the moment, Yang Feiyan didn't say anything after hearing this, but she was a little puzzled in her heart. Li Xiaofan usually felt very reliable, but why was the conversation with the two uncles so unreliable and just a lie?
…
After arriving in Shanghai in the afternoon, Li Xiaofan reported to Academician Ni about his trip to the United States and his meeting with Dr. Zhang Rujing of TI Texas Instruments.
"Director Li, your suggestion is very good. I really want to find an opportunity to go to the United States to inspect the current development level of integrated circuit chips in their big TI companies. I also want to have a chat with Dr. Zhang in person. If he is interested, It has always been a great thing for our domestic chip industry to create a foundry similar to TSMC!”
After listening to Li Xiaofan's report, Academician Ni was very excited, "Then I will draft an application to the Institute of Computer Science to apply for a research report on business trips abroad!"
"Great, Academician Ni. The cost of this overseas inspection can be fully borne by Lianhai Microelectronics Design Center or our Donghai Investment Company. There is no need for the Chinese Academy of Sciences to pay for it, saving the country some precious foreign exchange!"
After talking about his trip to the United States and overseas inspections, Li Xiaofan asked:
"Academician Ni, I would like to ask you, what is the current gap between our domestic integrated circuit chip level and that of the United States and other Western countries?"
Two years ago, in 1994, Ni Guangnan was selected as the first academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, affiliated with the Department of Information and Electronic Engineering. He once served as a visiting researcher at the Canadian National Research Institute. He is one of the leading computer experts in the country and has a good understanding of the development process of China's computer industry.
When this topic was brought up, Academician Ni was very familiar with it, and he explained:
"In 1958, Jack Kilby, Dr. Zhang Rujing's boss, developed the world's first integrated circuit at Texas Instruments. In July 1959 of the next year, the American Fairchild Company broke through the planar manufacturing process of integrated circuits and provided a The foundation was laid for large-scale industrial mass production. At this time, Silicon Valley on the other side of the ocean began to take shape, and a number of future chip giant companies such as Fairchild, Intel, and AMD were successively established in the 1950s and 1960s..."
"During this period, corresponding to the United States, our mainland also established a large number of research institutions represented by the Institute of Semiconductors of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1960, and built dozens of electronics factories across the country, initially establishing the R&D of the new China's semiconductor industry. + Production system. This system was initially able to catch up with the United States and other Western countries, thanks to a group of overseas students returning to New China. Under their leadership, China’s semiconductor talents, such as Huang Kun, Xie Xide, Wang Shouwu and other senior masters, have made two huge contributions to the faltering semiconductor industry in mainland China: First, they have ensured a number of major projects such as two bombs and one satellite. Electronic and computing supporting scientific research and military projects; second, establishing a semiconductor talent training system across institutes and universities for New China!”
Hearing this, Li Xiaofan interjected: "According to this, our domestic computer level was not lagging behind in the 1960s, right?"
Academician Ni explained: "We are indeed not lagging behind in cutting-edge scientific research, but what is lagging behind is the entire industrialization system."
"I still remember that I was already working in computers in 1977. In July of that year, a symposium was held in the Great Hall of the People. My senior academician Wang Shouwu, the soul of our country's semiconductor industry, spoke at this meeting and said: There are more than 600 people in our country. Home Semiconductor Student However, the total amount of integrated circuits produced in a year is only one-tenth of the monthly output of a large Japanese factory! This sentence by Academician Wang is very vivid. This sentence changes the achievements and wealth of our domestic semiconductor industry. , it’s pretty much summed up..."
Li Xiaofan was surprised: "In the 1970s, we had more than 600 semiconductor production factories across the country?"
"Yes, but these are all products of our special national conditions. In the early years, due to the blockade of Western countries, our unique domestic industry-university-research model was born: to break through a certain stuck technology through a movement-style concentrated research method . In the past, this centralized approach was effective in the field of military scientific research that did not consider cost and yield, such as two bombs and one satellite, and it made a huge contribution! "
"But this centralized approach to research is extremely expensive, and we have done very poorly in terms of industrialization and civilianization. The integrated circuit academic community has produced many results that have reached international standards, but they only have the function of display and acceptance: once the expert review meeting After passing, it was left to rust and gather dust, and rarely entered the market. Therefore, after the reform and opening up in the 1980s and the opening of the country, semiconductors were included. Our electronics industry began to suffer violent external impacts. A large number of state-owned electronics companies began to have difficulties in operating and were unable to generate enough profits to support research and development. Most of the production lines imported from abroad were outdated and obsolete second-hand goods. , our mainland’s semiconductor industry not only lags far behind the United States and Japan, but is also gradually surpassed by South Korea and Taiwan..."
Li Xiaofan asked curiously: "Then didn't we find a way to catch up?"
"Yes! It is precisely because of the reform and opening up that our leaders went abroad and inspected developed countries. They saw the backwardness of our domestic integrated circuit chip industry, so they were very anxious! In order to solve this situation, the relevant domestic ministries and commissions have organized three major campaigns. They are the 531 Strategy in 1986, the 908 Project in 1990, and the 909 Project in 1995 last year!”
"The result of the 531 strategy is the construction of many integrated circuit manufacturing bases in many places across the country. From 1986 to 1995, Wuxi Huajing, Shaoxing Huayue, Shanghai Belling, Shanghai Philips, and Shougang NEC were successively born. is an integrated circuit company, but the level gap between it and Western developed countries is still very large..."
"In the 908 project launched in 1990, we wanted to make a breakthrough in very large-scale integrated circuits. The project was undertaken by Wuxi Huajing, and the chip technology was purchased from Lucent of the United States. However, the current result is that it took two years for administrative approval, and it took a long time to introduce technology. It has been in production for 3 years and is currently under construction. It is expected to be put into production next year. The Wuxi Huajing project of the project is still stuck at 0.8 micron, and there are still many uncertainties about whether it can be successfully put into production next year. The current overseas mainstream process has reached 0.18 micron. Even if it is successfully put into production next year, it will be five years behind others. , the gap between us and Western countries is getting wider and wider.”
"So, last year, we launched the 909 project in the mainland, planning to invest tens of billions of yuan, which will be borne by Shanghai Huahong, and cooperate with Japan's NEC to build an 8-inch wafer integrated circuit production line starting from 0.5 micron process technology..."
Li Xiaofan is already very familiar with Project 909.
Li Xiaofan continued to ask:
"Academician Ni, it stands to reason that we can currently invest the whole country in the integrated circuit chip industry, but at present, the results seem not to be ideal. Why is our chip industry always so passive?"
"Director Li, this issue is too complex and involves all aspects. In my personal opinion, some projects have failed to achieve the expected success. There are several deep-seated reasons: First, when we invested in projects in the early stages, we lacked unified planning; Production lines that have been obsolete from abroad are being introduced in droves. Driven by Moore's Law, these equipments have become outdated and obsolete at an extraordinary speed. Products. The chip industry is updating too fast, and processes are being upgraded at a rapid pace. The previous inconsistent toothpaste-like investment in China will fall into a vicious cycle of "introduction-factory construction-putting into production-falling behind-re-introduction", and the effect is very poor. Second, the domestic semiconductor-related talents are too weak and cannot fully understand the imported technology, let alone independent research and development..."
"At the same time, Western countries have successively used the Batumi and Wassenaar agreements to restrict the export of the most advanced high-tech equipment to our mainland. The technologies agreed to be approved for export are usually two generations later than the most advanced ones. Coupled with the delays and implementation, basically The technology available in the superior mainland is almost three generations behind. This limitation has been fully reflected in the previous projects mentioned above!”
Finally, Academician Ni said:
"Director Li, if we can persuade Dr. Zhang Rujing to leave TI as soon as possible and come to China to build a chip foundry like TSMC, you can also set up offshore incubators and accelerators in Silicon Valley and Singapore to avoid the consequences of the Batumi and Wassenaar agreements. restrictions, and at the same time invest in some very promising semiconductor design and R&D projects and semiconductor equipment companies like ASML. Your layout is perfect!”
After Li Xiaofan's initial layout idea was affirmed by Academician Ni, he became more confident in laying out the chip industry through financial means!
"Academician Ni, please hurry up and complete the formalities for going abroad on business. We will try to visit Dr. Zhang Rujing in the United States as soon as possible!"
"Yes, I know, but the approval procedures for traveling abroad on business are relatively complicated. Our computer institute does not have the authority to approve it. It will eventually have to be reported to the headquarters of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for approval. The fastest, I estimate, will take a month."
"Oh, if you think about it this way, maybe we can catch up with the official IPO listing ceremony of my Pacific Online Bookstore project on the NASDAQ market in the United States. It would be the best if we can catch up, Academician Ni, then I will Please go to Times Square and ring the bell together!”
"Haha, if I have the chance, I would love to see the legendary Nasdaq market and witness your highlight moment, Director Li!"
…
In the evening, Li Xiaofan, Yang Feiyan and other colleagues from Donghai Technology Investment Company had an appointment with Wang Shuqiang and other key members of the Lianhai Microelectronics project chaired by Academician Ni for dinner.
After Li Xiaofan entered the box, Wang Shuqiang introduced a new person to Li Xiaofan:
"Director Li, let me introduce you. This is our new colleague - Dr. Jiang Lixin. He used to work at the Integrated Circuit Design Center in Beijing. Dr. Jiang once participated in the research and development of the Panda ICCAD system. The Panda ICCAD system is the first to adopt Self-developed and integrated software engineering methods, a large-scale ICCAD system with completely independent intellectual property rights and complete functions..."
Before Wang Shuqiang could finish speaking, Dr. Jiang Lixin interrupted Wang Shuqiang’s introduction:
"Dr. Wang, we can't bear to look back on the past, these are things of the past!"
Although Li Xiaofan didn't quite understand what the Panda ICCAD system was, Wang Shuqiang seemed to be very noble when he introduced it, so he said curiously:
"Dr. Jiang, I feel great that this research of yours is successful. Why do you say that the past is too painful to look back on? And may I ask, what is the Panda ICCAD system used for?"
Dr. Jiang Lixin explained: "Director Li, do you know EDA software?"
"Oh, you said EDA, I probably know it. Is EDA the abbreviation of Electronic Design Automation in English, a kind of chip design assistance software?"
"Yes, Director Li, you are very knowledgeable. Four years ago, the Panda ICCAD system I participated in the development of was the first EDA tool in China with independent intellectual property rights."
"That's awesome!"
"Well, after we successfully developed the Panda ICCAD system in 1992, we were very proud that we finally broke through the blockade of high-end EDA software like ours by Western countries! But the good times did not last long. Just two years later, Western developed countries saw that we had developed After successfully developing EDA software, the blockade on my country's EDA tools was suddenly lifted. Two years ago, Cadence in the United States. DesignSystems, the world's largest EDA software company, entered our Chinese market. Then last year, two other major foreign EDA manufacturers, Synopsys and Mentor Graphics, also quietly entered our China..."
Dr. Jiang Lixin continued to explain: "These American EDA companies started earlier than us, have richer technology accumulation, and are more mature in commercialization. When these EDA giants came to the country to seize the market, they used more mature technologies and ultra-low prices in our mainland. Due to market dumping, our mainland chip design manufacturers will naturally choose high-quality and low-priced American software. Therefore, our domestic integrated circuit chip design EDA market is basically dominated by Cadence, Synopsys and Mentor. The three giants of Graphics have divided up the domestic Panda ICCAD system market that we have worked so hard to develop..."
Wang Shuqiang said: "These Western companies are so bad! EDA software is a shadow. I feel that this kind of story is constantly happening. In short, we are choked by the West in a certain field, and then we concentrate our human and financial resources, After the breakthrough in material resources, Western countries such as Laos and the United States suddenly lifted the ban , then our private manufacturers will still choose high-quality and low-priced foreign products and technologies. Although everyone knows that this is a sweet trap of the United States, and they are profit-oriented enterprises, our domestic manufacturers will still make mistakes. The most advantageous choice, this seems to form an endless loop..."
The words of Dr. Jiang Lixin and Dr. Wang Shuqiang reminded Li Xiaofan of an event from his previous life:
Huawei HiSilicon's Kirin 9000 chip was once out of print due to Western blockade. This happened mainly because HiSilicon is only a design company. It can only design but not produce. Another important reason is that the design software EDA used by Huawei at the time was from an American company.
The current Panda domestic EDA software was blocked in the cradle by the three American EDA giants. As a result, all Chinese chip design companies like HiSilicon later used foreign EDA software, thus being controlled by others...
Li Xiaofan concluded: "So, only if we are strong enough to allow us Chinese to master the world's leading core technologies can we ensure that we are not controlled by others in the future! Dr. Jiang, please help me contact your old employer. I want to invest in this Panda EDA software project!”