Fang Haosi stared at He Yongwen, "To improve the chip precision to a tenth of a nanometer, significantly increase chip manufacturing speed, and reduce the energy required for engraving chips, are you sure Jing Mingqiu really said this? You're not joking, are you?"
He Yongwen nodded quickly, "Mentor, he did say that, I'm really not joking!"
After receiving his disciple's affirmative reply, Fang Haosi took a deep breath. Recalling that Jing Mingqiu had previously built a small lithography machine capable of engraving chips with 2-nanometer precision, he managed to suppress his emotions.
Meanwhile, Wei Deze on the other side had a completely different reaction.
After listening to Zhao Daniu's words and finding that Jing Mingqiu's modification plan conflicted with his professional knowledge, Wei Deze unhesitatingly rushed into the high-temperature workshop.
After a quick inspection, Wei Deze found Jing Mingqiu operating the ultra-high temperature magnetization furnace. Amidst the deafening roar of the blower, he shouted,
"Jing Mingqiu, this modification won't work, do you know that? Our current materials can't meet your construction requirements at all."
"I know," Jing Mingqiu replied unhurriedly. He fed the molten alloy into the pre-configured heavy oil cooling system, then casually turned off the blower before walking up to Wei Deze and calmly answering.
"The materials currently stored in the warehouse indeed cannot meet the requirements for modifying the lithography machine, so I specially adjusted the furnace and prepared to refine some suitable materials."
As he spoke, the alloy finished cooling, its temperature dropped, and Jing Mingqiu operated the robotic arm to take them out and send them to the rolling mill for the next stage of cutting.
Hearing Jing Mingqiu's words, Wei Deze was speechless. What did he mean by 'specially adjusted the furnace and prepared to refine some new alloys'!
Every new alloy was the result of tens of millions of trials. Even with astonishing talent, it would take a long time to create an alloy that could meet his modification plan.
As Wei Deze was about to offer a word of caution, he noticed Jing Mingqiu was extremely excited. He had already grabbed a hammer and wrench and rushed forward, working with the robotic arm to process the newly refined alloy into various parts.
Seeing Jing Mingqiu's confident demeanor, Wei Deze pondered for a moment and swallowed the words that had reached his throat.
Forget it. Jing Mingqiu had always been smooth sailing. It wouldn't hurt him to face a little setback. It was just a batch of alloys, and a loss of a few million yuan was acceptable.
With that thought, Wei Deze stopped questioning and turned to call out to his disciple, "Da Niu, stop standing there like an idiot. Hurry up and help!"
"Okay, okay!"
Zhao Daniu scratched his head, gave a simple laugh, and along with other researchers from the Mechanical Research Institute, ran to Jing Mingqiu's side to assist him.
A large, high-tech machine composed of tens of thousands of parts. When modifying it, the first thing to be modified was not the lens or the bearings, but the main frame.
A tall building starts from the ground. Without a solid foundation, no matter how exquisite the upper structure, it would only be a castle in the air.
Under Jing Mingqiu's command, everyone processed the alloy cut by the rolling mill one by one according to the blueprints into various sizes.
Jing Mingqiu continued to operate the ultra-high temperature magnetization furnace, adding large amounts of metal raw materials, including the lithography machine's original frame, into the furnace to refine them into high-quality alloys.
Unknowingly, a week had passed.
The floor of the high-temperature workshop was covered with all sorts of parts, including not only the main frame but also the machine casing, the main control bearings, and mechanical arms of different specifications.
These were the skeletons of the lithography machine. For it to operate perfectly, it would still require various electronic components to form functional systems for its drive.
Specialization was key. The Mechanical Research Institute was not very familiar with these electronic tasks. However, this was not a problem at all.
The Chip Research Institute next door, which specialized in this field, had been eagerly waiting for a long time.
Although they couldn't understand alloy smelting or mechanical forging, they could clearly feel that as more and more cast metal parts were produced, the gazes of the people from the Mechanical Research Institute towards Jing Mingqiu grew more and more admiring.
Jing Mingqiu turned to the students from the Chip Research Institute, "He Yongwen, it's your turn. Put in some extra effort today and assemble the lens group directly!"
"Alright!" He Yongwen nodded vigorously and agreed loudly.
Polarizing mirrors, rainbow mirrors, refraction mirrors, splitting mirrors...
Under Jing Mingqiu's guidance, the lenses required for the lithography machine were completed one by one and arranged in a neat row on the table!
During the assembly process, the students from the Chip Research Institute occasionally raised questions.
Jing Mingqiu, without reservation, patiently explained. For some particularly complex ones, he specially made a few spare lenses and provided on-site practical teaching.
Melting alloys required waiting for metals to heat up, and casting parts required multiple hammerings and bending. These were all time-consuming tasks. Even with the help of the entire Mechanical Research Institute, the speed could not be significantly increased.
Assembling parts and compiling systems, however, was completely different.
From morning until late at night, with everyone's efforts, all the parts and functional systems required for a large lithography machine were completed. The only remaining step was to install them all onto the main frame.
Jing Mingqiu looked up and noticed everyone's faces were weary, their eyes bloodshot.
"He Yongwen, Zhao Da Niu, go back and rest today. We'll come back tomorrow to complete the final assembly."
"No way, Brother Jing!" Zhao Da Niu, having worked together for over a week, had become familiar with Jing Mingqiu. "We're so close to finishing. If we don't complete it tonight, I won't be able to sleep."
He Yongwen took a big gulp of the extremely bitter pure coffee and added in agreement, "I'm full of energy right now, not tired at all. Let's strike while the iron is hot and assemble it tonight."
Jing Mingqiu was also curious. What rewards would the system give after it upgraded again? Seeing everyone's fighting spirit, he went with the flow and agreed.
"Since everyone is so curious, let's go all out and assemble this large lithography machine. Those who are sleepy can go wash their faces to refresh themselves."
The base, the beams, the control console, the mask stage, and the mechanical arms at various positions...
As more and more parts were installed, the lithography machine gradually took shape.
Now, only the core component, the lens, was missing.
Unlike traditional lithography machines that used a single ray, the lithography machine under Jing Mingqiu's control could use multiple different light sources as engraving tools.
To prevent interference between light sources and ensure engraving precision, Jing Mingqiu did not dare to entrust the installation of the lens to others and had to do it himself.
"Creak! Creak!"
Jing Mingqiu stepped on the ladder and tightened the last screw connecting the polarizing lens to the main body of the lithography machine.
Thus, the large lithography machine of Long Country's Shuimu Chip Research Institute was completely modified by Jing Mingqiu!
Before Jing Mingqiu could even get down from the ladder, the system prompt appeared impatiently.
[Congratulations to the host for completing the advancement task.]
[The system is upgrading.]
[Please wait...]