Microcircuits are mass-produced on silicon wafers. It is not easy to make transistors, resistors and capacitors in a small area and connect them into circuits as required, but it is even more difficult to make chips with consistent performance in a certain area of silicon wafer. The production of integrated circuits mostly begins with the preparation of silicon wafers, which requires special equipment and strict production conditions. The manufacturing process of integrated circuits is more complicated, which requires a lot of expensive equipment to ensure the quality of the process. In mask aligner, for example, it costs 20 million dollars to buy a mask aligner from abroad, while upgrading the model of mask aligner, for example, from 5,000 to 6,000, will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Moreover, the production of integrated circuits has high requirements for the temperature, humidity and air cleanliness of the production workshop. The production of integrated circuits is generally carried out in ultra-clean workshops, and the capital investment of such workshops is much higher than that of ordinary workshops. Compared with the investment of $200 million to build a 0.25 micron 6 inch production line, it takes 10 to1500 million to build a 0.25 micron 8 inch production line.

The manufacturing technology and equipment of integrated circuits are not only very complicated and expensive, but also need constant innovation. Recently, Intel announced that it will invest $7.5 billion to transform its current 0. 18 micron production technology and equipment, adopt the 0. 13 micron manufacturing process, and adopt copper wire technology instead of the current aluminum wire technology on the integrated circuit chips manufactured by this process, because copper wire technology can make the chips run faster, lower the cost and lower the temperature rise during use.

When we go beyond the technology blockade and equipment embargo to a certain extent, what hinders us is that there is still a considerable gap in the foundation of China's science and technology industry. For example, the development of mask aligner needs knowledge of optics, precision instruments, machinery, computer control and other disciplines. Although we can clearly understand the prototype instrument and principle of mask aligner, after a series of links from materials, processing to production, we just can't make this machine for mass production. We can buy mask aligner from the United States and etching machine from Italy. , but it is difficult for us to configure these devices together. There is no big breakthrough in the research of integrated circuit technology in China. Integrated circuit technology is the bridge and foundation of design and equipment. If design and technology are not combined, design can't be made, and equipment can't be made.

It is also worth pointing out that technology introduction is not equal to the promotion of independent technology. With China's opening to the outside world and the increasingly relaxed economic environment, technology, capital and equipment are now imported in complete sets, which has a certain positive effect on promoting China's equipment and materials, but it has little impact on other aspects, because this introduction has not changed the technical industrial base of China's integrated circuits, nor has it shortened the gap between our core technology level and the advanced level.

Tell a story about our personal experience. Shougang N EC initially introduced 6-inch, 0.5 micron (0.35 micron in part) production technology, and began to manage production and product sales. In good times, we offered to cooperate with them in R&D, but it was ignored. However, a few years later, the technology they introduced was backward, and the foreign side also asked them to do "OEM", but what can they do without technical support? Later, they asked us for cooperation; Recently, we also heard the news of Hua Hong's huge loss of N EC, so someone asked: If its loss is due to the decline in world semiconductor demand and the sharp drop in the price of D RAM, as introduced by the people of N EC in Hua Hong, can we do something else if D RAM cannot be sold? We don't have such development ability, and it is impossible to carry out product transformation.