pjbooks Chapter 134 Entire Line Shakes
Chapter 134 Entire Line Shakes
2020 8 Month 27 Day.
The day after the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's MEMS symposium concluded, the news began to spread within the industry.
The news was first reported by 36Kr – an exclusive report titled "Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is preparing a major national MEMS project, and Hongyuan Intelligent may become a core driver" was published at 10:00 AM.
The article cites an "informed source" as saying that Zheng Weiguo, deputy director of the Electronic Information Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, personally chaired a high-level symposium, which was attended by Academician Zhou Jianhua of the Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and nearly eighty representatives from academia and industry participated in the discussion.
The article has three main points:
First, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plans to establish a national major project for MEMS sensors, with an initial scale of over 5 million yuan.
Second, a national joint research team for MEMS sensors will be established, led by the Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Third, Hongyuan Microsystems' production line will serve as the industrialization verification base for the joint research team.
This report garnered over 80 views within an hour.
Following closely, Huxiu, CBN, Xinhua News Agency, and The Paper all reported on the story.
In the afternoon, CCTV's financial channel dedicated a full minute and a half to reporting on this matter in its "Economic Information Broadcast."
"It is understood that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is promoting the establishment of a national major project for MEMS sensors. This project will integrate top research forces from institutions such as the Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, and the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, and collaborate with industry players such as Goertek, AAC Technologies, and Hongyuan Intelligent to jointly tackle key technological challenges in MEMS inertial sensors."
"It is worth noting that Su Chen, the founder of Shenzhen Hongyuan Intelligent Technology, pledged at the symposium to invest all of the company's operating profits in the independent research and development of MEMS, until China has its own independently controllable high-precision MEMS sensors."
Academician Zhou Jianhua of the Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, stated that he will postpone his retirement plans and personally lead the academic work of the joint research team.
After this news was broadcast, the two hashtags "All profits invested in MEMS" and "Academician Zhou postpones retirement" almost simultaneously became trending topics on Weibo.
……
On Zhihu, a question titled "How to evaluate Hongyuan's announcement that all profits will be invested in MEMS R&D" received thousands of answers within two hours.
The top-ranked answer comes from a user verified as a "semiconductor industry professional":
"To be honest, I was stunned when I saw this news."
A company with annual revenue of hundreds of millions announces that it will pour all its profits into MEMS R&D—this is practically suicidal from a business perspective. MEMS self-sufficiency is a bottomless pit; the money invested may never see any return.
But upon closer examination, Su Chen's move was actually a gamble on something—a resonance at the national level.
He used all his profits as a pledge of loyalty, securing a major project from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, a joint research team led by Academician Zhou, and a special fund of 5 million yuan. If only one company were to work alone, the self-sufficiency of MEMS technology would be virtually impossible. But if national and industrial forces combine—
This is different.
This reminds me of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" project. The scale is obviously incomparable, but the logic is the same—concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks.
However, it must be said that the difficulty of achieving self-sufficiency in MEMS is far greater than most people imagine. A high-precision MEMS gyroscope is not simply a chip design issue; it involves the entire chain of materials, processes, packaging, and testing. If any link in this chain fails, the entire product is rendered unusable.
Therefore, my attitude is—cautiously optimistic.
It's comparable to the Bosch BMI270, no problem. But surpassing the Murata SCR1100—to be honest, I can't guarantee that.
But at least someone has taken this step.
This answer received 1.2 likes.
However, among the later responses, there were also quite a few dissenting voices—
"One hundred million yuan to achieve MEMS self-sufficiency? How much does Bosch invest in MEMS R&D annually? 3.5 million euros. STMicroelectronics' MEMS division invests 2 million euros a year. Your one hundred million yuan is less than a fraction of theirs. Isn't this a joke?"
"All profits invested? How much can the Flying Bird platform earn each month? At most, a little over ten million. One or two hundred million a year, what can that buy? Buying a single DRIE etching machine costs several million US dollars."
"Impression is one thing, business is another. I don't doubt Su Chen's determination, but can determination replace technological gaps? The core know-how of MEMS inertial sensors is entirely in the hands of Bosch, ST, and Murata. Even if you invited all the professors in China, it wouldn't make a difference—because this know-how isn't in the papers."
The discussions on Weibo were even more emotional—
"Su Chen is awesome! A 26-year-old young man made decisions that many CEOs of listed companies wouldn't dare to make!"
"Support Hongyuan! Buying Feibiao modules is supporting domestically produced MEMS!"
"To be honest, I think it's unlikely. MEMS isn't something you can develop just by shouting slogans."
"Can the person upstairs stop being so discouraging? They've invested all their profits, what have you put in?"
The debate raged on, but one thing everyone agreed on—
Finally, someone is seriously working on the autonomy of MEMS.
……
While the domestic shock was still unfolding, international reactions began.
Reuters published a brief report: "China plans national MEMS program, Hongyuan to lead industrialization."
Bloomberg, however, reported with a more direct headline: "Chinese drone maker bets all profits on MEMS self-sufficiency."
These two reports have attracted considerable attention in the global semiconductor industry.
After seeing the report, Mathieu Collins, Vice President of MEMS at STMicroelectronics, downplayed the issue when interviewed by Reuters:
"I noticed this news. Forming a task force and setting up a special fund—these are good startes. But MEMS breakthroughs can't be achieved simply through policy and determination. STMicroelectronics has accumulated 25 years of process experience in the MEMS field; this isn't something that 5 million RMB can buy."
"Of course, I admire Mr. Su Chen's courage. I hope that two years from now he won't have to travel from Shenzhen to Geneva to invite me for tea."
Colin's response was quickly translated and reprinted by domestic media, sparking another wave of discussion.
But this time, netizens' reactions were much calmer than before.
With the endorsement of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's major project and Academician Zhou's joint research team, people's confidence is much stronger than before.
On Zhihu, someone replied to Colin's comment: "25 years of technological experience is remarkable. But the Chinese have something they don't—the ability to concentrate resources to accomplish major tasks. The atomic and hydrogen bombs and satellites were developed when we had absolutely nothing."
This comment received 8000 likes.
……
However, outside of the public's excitement and debate, some people are acting quietly.
Tokyo, August 28, 2020.
In a conference room at Murata Manufacturing's headquarters, Kazuhiko Yamada, the head of the MEMS business division, was having a video call with two people.
One is He Zhiqiang from Hangxindatong Technology.
The other is Chen Jiaming from DJI's Corporate Strategy Department.
"The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's MEMS project is progressing faster than we expected." He Zhiqiang's voice was calm, but his tone carried a hint of urgency. "If Hongyuan's joint research team can really get running, their MEMS production line capabilities will undergo a qualitative leap in a year."
"Therefore, the second phase must be accelerated," Chen Jiaming said.
Kazuhiko Yamada nodded: "I've already confirmed with the European side. The Oxford Instruments DRIE equipment—we can do some research on that."
"How do we do it?" He Zhiqiang asked.
"Export controls," said Kazuhiko Yamada. "The PlasmaPro 100 Estrelas that Hongyuan purchased, although not on the controlled list, can be submitted to the UK Export Control Board through certain channels as a 'letter of concern'—pointing out that the end use of this equipment may involve MEMS inertial navigation systems in the military field."
"Once a 'letter of concern' is submitted, the Export Control Commission must initiate an investigation. During the investigation, equipment deliveries will be automatically frozen."
"How long will the review take?" Chen Jiaming asked.
"The normal process takes three to six months. If we continue to provide 'supplementary materials' during the review process—it can drag on for more than a year."
He Zhiqiang's lips curled into a slight smile: "One year. That's enough."
"What about SÜSS's lithography machine?" Chen Jiaming pressed.
"SÜSS is a German company, and its export control flexibility is not as good as that of the UK. But we can work on the supply chain—some of the core optical components of the SÜSS MA200 come from Nikon in Japan. We can get Nikon to delay the delivery of these optical components, which will naturally delay the delivery of the complete SÜSS camera."
"How long is the delay expected?" He Zhiqiang asked.
"Three to four months should be fine."
"Three to four months, plus DRIE's one-year freeze—" He Zhiqiang calculated in his mind, "is enough to completely halt Hongyuan's production line upgrade plan."
"Without DRIE and new lithography machines, their SOI hybrid process route is just a castle in the air," said Kazuhiko Yamada. "They can't even compete with Bosch's BMI270, let alone surpass Murata."
"Perfect," He Zhiqiang said. "I'm in charge of monitoring their alternative procurement channels. If they try to purchase similar equipment from other suppliers, I'll notify you immediately."
Chen Jiaming added, "At DJI, the second generation of the FlightCore module has entered the testing phase. If Hongyuan's Flying Bird S1 experiences shipping delays due to MEMS issues, we will seize this window of opportunity to accelerate the promotion of FlightCore 2.0—directly poaching their end customers."
"Alright," said Yamada Kazuhiko, "then let's proceed according to plan."
After the video call ended, Kazuhiko Yamada leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
He didn't like this approach.
But business is business.
Murata's leading position in the MEMS field is the result of thirty years of accumulation. If the Chinese were to catch up within one or two years—that would be a real disaster.
Therefore, he must ensure that Hongyuan's MEMS production line remains in the "upgrading" state forever.
……
Meanwhile, at the Beijing headquarters of Hangxindatong Technology.
After hanging up the video call, He Zhiqiang picked up his phone and sent a message to Liu Boyuan:
"The certification process for LDCL 3.0 is accelerating. While Hongyuan is busy with MEMS, we'll try to capture another share of H-Link 2.0's market share."
Liu Boyuan replied instantly: "Received. The LDCL 3.0 white paper will be released next week, and a new round of licensee recruitment will begin simultaneously."
He Zhiqiang looked at his phone screen and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Fighting on two fronts.
The disruption of the MEMS equipment supply chain by a leading company brought Hongyuan's self-reliance process to a standstill.
Another initiative is to take advantage of the window of opportunity when Hongyuan is distracted by MEMS, and use LDCL 3.0 to gradually erode the market share of the Feibiao platform.
When Hongyuan came to his senses—
The MEMS production line was abandoned, and the market was lost.
By then, even if Su Chen had three heads and six arms, he would be powerless to reverse the situation.
"Su Chen, Su Chen," He Zhiqiang thought to himself, "the moment you invested all your profits into MEMS, you already exposed your back to me."
……