487: Chapter 487 New "Open Source" Plans

Half an hour later, the two had already arrived at Shen Fei's home.

After briefly listening to Zhou Mingyuan's report, he did not immediately express his stance, but instead called Professor Li Jiahui over first.

Thus, the four of them held a brief meeting.

"Lee Jae-yong has just taken power and needs a victory to establish his authority."

After hearing this, Professor Li Jiahui understood the current situation.

Zhou Mingyuan nodded; after all, that was roughly the gist of it.

"According to our investigation, he was the driving force behind the panel lawsuit, but he lost. So, he wants to make up for it in semiconductors."

Shen Fei added...

"TSMC is also panicking. Their 22nm yield has indeed improved, but our foundry prices have gone down. Currently, we are only 20% more expensive than them... The gap is actually very small, and many core clients are already in contact to switch orders. It is normal for the two of them to join forces."

Factory Manager Yuan Guoqing frowned and pushed the report back over.

"Should we just refuse directly and strengthen internal security? After all, they are targeting our Quadruple Patterning Technology. This... this is our core technology, and the risk is too great if it leaks."

The three of them nodded subconsciously:

"If we refuse this time, there will be a next time. They won't give up and will always find other ways. Instead of passive defense, it's better to set a trap and teach them a profound lesson."

"Then how do we turn the tables? We have thought about this question a lot, but the risk of technology leakage is truly too great."

"It's fine!" Shen Fei looked at Zhou Mingyuan, but all three could see a hint of playfulness in Shen Fei's eyes.

"Mingyuan, I need you to play a part this time. We will give them a set of technology—a set that can only run on our production line, but will cause major problems if placed on theirs."

Factory Manager Yuan Guoqing immediately replied: "That's easy to handle. I think we can use a yield optimization algorithm."

"Currently, this technology is deeply bound to our self-developed lithography control system, domestic photoresist, and customized calibration for masks, which is equivalent to a tailored suit."

"If we modify this algorithm, remove the adaptive verification module, and put it on Samsung's production line... They are currently using the original ASML control system, plus a Japanese material system."

"I can guarantee that there won't be any big problems in the early stages, and it might even briefly increase the yield, but after running for a while, the accumulated error of the optical parameters will become larger and larger."

"Eventually, this will lead to overlay precision drift and the entire wafer will fail. In serious cases, it will even damage the projection objective lens of the Lithography Machine."

"That is indeed a good idea!"

The four of them showed a hint of well-wishing for Samsung on their faces, but Shen Fei thought for a moment.

This problem is a serious technical failure!

"Factory Manager Yuan Guoqing, based on your experience, how long would it take to fix this problem? I need an accurate number," Shen Fei said.

"If they can't find the core problem and only rely on troubleshooting equipment and changing materials, it will take at least 6 months to resume production. If the equipment is completely damaged, it will take at least a year or so."

Factory Manager Yuan Guoqing was already laughing, and the other two were already applauding.

"As for whether it will be cracked? We have used encryption and obfuscation for this algorithm. Even if they want to reverse-engineer it, they won't figure out the underlying logic for a year or so. By the time they figure it out, their chip production line will have long since died."

Professor Li Jiahui was shocked after hearing this.

This move was truly ruthless; it could not only cause Samsung heavy losses but also steal their clients, killing two birds with one stone.

Zhou Mingyuan immediately understood that to make this plan successful, he had to show enough sincerity.

"General Manager Shen, I know what to do. I will pretend to be interested, bargain with them, then release some peripheral parameters to let them verify the effect, and then slowly throw out a bit of core technology to dispel their doubts."

"Good." Shen Fei slapped the table and agreed to this plan.

"The three of you will lead this matter. The technical team will work overnight to create a plan to ensure nothing goes wrong. Mingyuan, pay attention to your safety and keep us updated at all times. After the matter is accomplished, I will record a first-class merit for you all."

After the discussion, Shen Fei returned to his bed, but as soon as he got into bed, he found that Zhang Mingzhu, who had been asleep, was looking at him with a worried face.

"What's wrong? Did the United States make a move again? Is that why you are so anxious?"

She thought something had gone wrong in England again.

Shen Fei also gently rubbed her head: "Don't worry, it's not a big deal!"

"It's just that someone is about to have bad luck. Your man knows what he's doing."

"Good!"

After saying this, Zhang Mingzhu blushed and whispered something in his ear, and then... the whole room instantly...

The next morning, Shen Fei returned to his office with dark circles under his eyes.

The prepared plan was already laid out on his desk.

Over the next half month, Zhou Mingyuan played his part flawlessly. He first pretended to hesitate, saying the risk was too great and he was afraid of being held accountable by Transsion.

But under the repeated persuasion of the headhunter, he began to gradually relent.

After all, for the first cooperation, regardless of what the technology was, to express the sincerity of both sides, the other party was willing to give 20 million as a sign of good faith.

This completely got rid of the shabbiness of the cooperation with South Korea; after all, this was enough to buy a quarter of a Morning Star series Lithography Machine.

Thus, Zhou Mingyuan released a set of peripheral environmental calibration parameters.

After receiving it, Samsung immediately tested it on the experimental production line. This technology could be used not only on 22nm but also on 20nm.

Most importantly, after a week of testing, the yield actually increased by four percentage points.

This made the technical team at Samsung Semiconductor believe it completely.

They had originally felt that Transsion's yield optimization relied on algorithmic tuning and had a very high technical barrier.

Now that they had obtained the parameters and verified their effectiveness, they were even more convinced.

Thus, after receiving the feedback, the headhunter knocked on the door of Lee Jae-yong's office once again.

"Boss, after debugging on the experimental line, we have confirmed that the algorithm is effective. It is estimated that it can save us 2 billion in funds annually! We request to further penetrate!"

"Is that really so?" Lee Jae-yong stared at him intently. As the other party was about to answer, he said again, "Wait, it might be a smokescreen from Transsion. Perhaps their algorithm has some hidden damage to our production line? Test it more!"

"Boss, we have already tested it on the experimental line, and it can increase it by 4%... If we adapt it, it might be even higher, but our engineers cannot handle this algorithm for the time being."

"Don't worry, as long as more funds can be approved, I can definitely take down Zhou Mingyuan. After all, the other party has already become a mole; once they go down this path, they can't turn back."

Although the expression on Lee Jae-yong's face did not change, he was also very clear about the situation, so he made the final decision in just a split second.

"I give you maximum authority. As long as you can secure the Quadruple Patterning Technology within 2 billion, not only will I not hold you accountable, but I will also highly praise you!"