141: Chapter 141: One person created a high-end 45nm lens?

The observation room was silent. Lan Bowen and the others stared intently at the laboratory, their gazes filled with gravity.

In the corridor outside the laboratory, several researchers happened to be passing by. Their eyes caught a glimpse of the situation inside the lab through the window glass.

"Huh? Why are the directors here? Is some team conducting an experiment?"

They peered curiously into the lab and quickly realized something was wrong; there was only one young man operating the equipment inside. Moreover, they didn't recognize him.

"Why is there only one person? He doesn't seem to be from our research institute. Doing an experiment alone, and the directors are all watching?"

"Good grief, it looks like that guy is making a lens? What's going on!!"

"He wants to make a high-end lens all by himself?"

"Where did this big shot come from? He's so young, is he just messing around?"

"..."

Voices echoed in the corridor. With surprised and slightly skeptical gazes, they leaned against the window to look into the laboratory.

It was almost lunchtime, and their behavior attracted the attention of quite a few researchers who were preparing to head to lunch.

Soon, a crowd gathered in the corridor outside the laboratory. Whispered discussions broke out, filled with confusion, as they all leaned against the window to look inside.

"Cutting error 0.1nm... The equipment is still a bit lacking. I hope it won't affect the final product!" Zhou Fan whispered to himself.

The laser cutting equipment inside the laboratory flashed with light. At the center, the Transparent Ceramic Crystal Material shimmered along with the flashes, emitting a strange glow that gave off an immersive, sci-fi feeling.

Beside it, Zhou Fan's gaze shifted back and forth between the machine and the Transparent Ceramic Crystal Material, carefully observing the parameters on the equipment. Every cut of the laser traced lines in his mind, and the resulting model of the crystal material became increasingly perfect.

The entire lens cutting process was smooth and seamless, possessing a unique aesthetic. As time passed, the light emitted by the Transparent Ceramic Crystal Material became increasingly clear, shining like a brilliant crystal.

"It looks like he's actually going to make it..." Inside the observation room, He Xingwei watched the lens, which was already taking shape inside the cutting machine, and the light in his eyes grew brighter.

"Based on the current progress, making the finished product shouldn't be a problem, but it's very difficult for the parameters to meet the requirements..." Lan Bowen said in a deep voice.

Both of them knew very well that making a lens wasn't actually difficult; the real difficulty was that this lens had to meet the requirements for use in a 45nm Lithography Machine. This was the true problem that had been stalling their Institute of Optics and Mechanics. It had a lot to do with the materials, as well as the manufacturing process; most of the equipment in this laboratory could only barely meet the 45nm precision requirements.

Moreover, he didn't know the specific parameters of that Transparent Ceramic Crystal Material or if it met the requirements for making high-end lenses. As far as he knew, such a material didn't exist in the country yet. These issues were all constraining the success rate.

Accompanied by their whispered discussion, the machines in the laboratory stopped running. The lens inside the laser cutting equipment returned to its original state, crystal clear and refracting a brilliant light.

"Did it work?" He Xingwei's eyes lit up.

"Next is the testing!" Lan Bowen couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, though his tone remained serious.

Inside the lab, Zhou Fan became busy again, carefully transferring the lens into the testing equipment and inputting some data. Immediately, a detection port began to scan the small lens. Item by item, data appeared on the screen of the testing equipment.

"NA: 0.85..."

"Surface roughness: 0.02 nm..."

"Objective lens temperature fluctuation: 0.01°C, air pressure: 85kPa..."

"..."

As the data appeared, a glimmer of light also appeared in Zhou Fan's eyes. It was done! Although it was laboratory data, he had finally made a high-end lens that met the requirements for a 45nm Lithography Machine. The next step was to figure out how to mass-produce it. Regardless, he had taken the first step, and now he would focus on light source technology.

In the observation room. As the experimental data from Zhou Fan's side came out, the data simultaneously appeared on a large screen in the laboratory. Lan Bowen and the others looked over immediately, and then the entire observation room fell into silence.

"This data... it seems to have reached the requirements for a 45nm Lithography Machine?" Lan Bowen stared blankly at the data, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"How is this possible? Did it really work?" He Xingwei was also stunned, his eyes staring blankly. He was all too familiar with that data; he had even dreamed of achieving such parameters, but he had never been able to succeed.

He never imagined that Zhou Fan would succeed on the very first try, when they had previously thought it was completely impossible. It was a slap in the face. But then, a sharp gleam erupted in his eyes, and irrepressible excitement rose from within him; he didn't care about being slapped in the face anymore.

As a researcher, nothing was more important than achieving a breakthrough in research. No matter how much he couldn't believe it, the facts were right in front of him, and they were the best proof. He and Lan Bowen exchanged a glance, their excitement impossible to suppress.

With the high-end lens, the possibility of developing light source technology emerged. Both of them knew very well what this represented; a breakthrough in domestic 45nm Lithography Machine technology was now possible, starting from this moment!

"This young man is incredible!" Lan Bowen muttered to himself. Looking at Zhou Fan inside the laboratory, his gaze was incredibly intense, as if he were looking at a peerless treasure.

The corridor outside the laboratory was also abuzz with activity. Although they couldn't see the specific values of the experiment, just by looking at the expressions of the two directors, the researchers clearly realized something.

"They didn't actually do it, did they?"

"Someone made a high-end lens all by themselves?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. The last time I saw the two directors this excited, I think it was when the lens for the 90nm lithography machine was made?"

"Could it be that this lens can be used for a 45nm Lithography Machine?? How is that possible!!"

"It's unimaginable. A lens for a 45nm Lithography Machine? Wouldn't that mean our research could make huge progress!!!"

"..."

The researchers' eyes were filled with disbelief, but they weren't stupid; if their two directors were this excited, there had clearly been a major breakthrough.

They were already very mature with 90nm lithography machine technology, and the next step was simply 45nm precision. A light gradually appeared in everyone's eyes. Could it be that what was being made inside was a high-end lens for a 45nm Lithography Machine? Their gazes at Zhou Fan were full of confusion. They didn't know where this big shot came from. Completing the work of an entire team by himself was one thing, but the most outrageous part was that he had allegedly made a high-end lens usable for a 45nm Lithography Machine, achieving something they couldn't do... A 45nm Lithography Machine lens!! Thinking of that possibility, everyone could no longer remain calm and became excited.