The Millennium Semiconductor Survival Guide.

Chapter 57 The Key Eagle

MOSFETs are arguably the most common transistors and require little input current to control load current.

There are many kinds of MOSFETs, but they can basically be divided into two categories, enhancement mode and depletion mode.

These two types can then be used as n-channel or p-channel.

MOSFET is a planar transistor, while the FinFET architecture invented by Hu Zhengming is a 3D transistor. The 3D transistor can overcome the short channel effect that the transistor itself may encounter.

Simply put, FinFET can achieve higher performance indicators at a lower cost. The design of finFET is mainly to break through the 25nm process and solve the tunneling effect of mosFET due to the shrinking process.

Of course, the FinFET architecture was proposed by Hu Zhengming in 2000, and Hu Zhengming joined TSMC as the chief expert in 2001. TSMC did not come up with the first real FinFET transistor until December 2002.

And it was not until 2012 that commercial 22nm FinFET architecture transistors came out.

This is a very long process.

What Zhou Xin wants to talk about is a certain kind of optimization of the MOSFET architecture.

There is a little FinFET architecture idea in it.

But thinking along this road will lead to detours.

".We can find that when there is no voltage at one end, the channel will show the maximum conductance. When the voltage at both ends is both positive or both negative, the conductance of the channel will decrease.

We try to turn off the non-conducting region and make the ohmic region act as an amplifier while the MOSFET operates in that region.

The IDS of the MOSFET is constant in the saturation region, although VDS increases and occurs once VDS exceeds the value of the pinch-off voltage VP.

In this case, the device will act like a closed switch through which the saturated I DS value flows.

Therefore, whenever the MOSFET is required to perform switching operations, this region of operation is selected.
This allows us to run the MOSFET at a lower voltage with higher efficiency. "

After Zhou Xin's thesis was finished, there was polite applause from the background.

Because the content of Zhou Xin is a pure model, that is, it tells a better MOSFET architecture from a theoretical level, but lacks experimental data.

The models of many things are perfectly designed, but it does not mean that they are really so perfect when they are reproduced in the laboratory.

The real world cannot be as perfect as theoretical deduction.

However, purely from the content point of view, Zhou Xin's MOSFET architecture gave the researchers present a lot of thinking.

Zhou Xin also answered some follow-up questions about the content of the paper itself without finding any faults.

After the questioning session, the applause present was much more sincere.

The paper itself can prove part of it, and the questioning session can further verify Zhou Xin's own strength.

We are all researchers, and wealth and assets are just additional items. Your own strength in scientific research will make the researchers present feel close.

This kid is with us all the way.

"Very good, if you weren't my student, I would have thought you were a veteran who had come here many times.

You have acted very mature, and basically everyone will be familiar with you when you come a few more times in the future. If you want to do something in the future, getting to know this group of people will be very beneficial to you.

Maybe they won't go back to China with you, but you can set up your R&D center in Silicon Valley or Europa.

It couldn't be easier for you. "Hu Zhengming said in Chinese while applauding after waiting for Zhou Xin to come down from the stage.

"In the future, I will take you to meet one by one. I think some researchers who have more promising research directions in the field of integrated circuits.

Do you still want to return to China to start a business in the field of integrated circuits? " Hu Zhengming then asked.

People's ideas are constantly changing.

Zhou Xin had achieved financial freedom in American, and Hu Zhengming was worried that the other party's mind had changed, so he asked one more question.

Zhou Xin nodded and said: "Yes, Huaguo is too backward in the field of integrated circuits.

I still want to go back and cultivate a group of talents.

According to my observations, foreign giants in the semiconductor field have established very few branches in China.

Even if there is a branch company, the established branch company will do some assembly, packaging and testing relatively low-end work with no technical content. "

"Taking Intel as an example, Intel established a R&D center in Yanjing last year, but the R&D center mainly focuses on software-level R&D, not hardware."

"A large part of the reason is that Huaguo has not yet joined the WTO.

Manufacturing in China has advantages in terms of labor costs, but tariffs will offset this part of the advantage.

At the same time, Huaguo lacks engineers in the semiconductor field, and many things need to be cultivated from scratch.

I predict that after Huaguo joins the WTO, companies in the field of integrated circuits will gradually enter Huaguo to set up factories.

It's the same as these companies going to Neon, Korea, and Wanwan to set up foundries.

This is an opportunity for Huaguo to use these integrated circuit companies to set up factories to train Huaguo's engineers.

These engineers will contribute to the independent research and development and independent innovation of Huaguo's semiconductor industry.

We don't need to worry too much. "Said a young man with a yellow face sitting behind Zhou Xin.

Hu Zhengming looked back and saw that they were already chatting in Chinese to avoid suspicion, but there were too many acquaintances at ISSCC, and there were also a large number of Chinese who came to participate.

"Old Guan, you should say hello first when you interrupt!" Hu Zhengming said displeased.

Zhou Xin looked back and recognized the other party, Guan Jianying, the crooked man.

Basically, Hu Zhengming knows everything in the field of integrated circuits.

Being active until 2020, knowing Hu Zhengming is equivalent to knowing Zhou Xin. Various academic conferences take him to meet friends everywhere.

This is also why Zhou Xin came to study as a graduate student of Hu Zhengming back in 1998, because of his personal connections.

Zhou Xin heard that Hu Zhengming teased the other party in private as the key eagle, because Hu Zhengming believed that the other party's sense of smell was extremely sensitive, and he could see opportunities that others could not see, and he could also see crises that others could not see.

Guan Jianying later went back and forth to start a business and established a company called Alchip Semiconductor. At the beginning, it mainly designed dedicated chips for Sony's game consoles.

From PS2 to PS5, a large number of chip designs and foundries come from Alchip.

With the help of this start, Alchip focuses on the design and foundry of various large chips such as CPU/GPU/NETWORKING/AI. In 2021, it will be the second largest integrated circuit design service company in the global market share.

Later, Alchip provided a large number of chips and even chip design services to Tianjin Feiteng, a company in Huaguo that was rumored to be related to the military industry.

Phytium has been Alchip's most important partner for a long time. Since 2018, Alchip has gradually reduced its dependence on Phytium.

Sure enough, in 2021, American blacklisted Feiteng, prohibiting semiconductor companies from selling chips to Feiteng.Even if Alchip intends to reduce its dependence on Phytium, Phytium still accounts for 39% of Alchip's revenue at this point in time.

Because of the relationship between Guan Jianying and Hu Zhengming, Guan Jianying regarded Zhou Xin as a junior, and privately advised Zhou Xin not to go to ZTE several times.

(End of this chapter)