Shockingly, a counterfeit factory has produced a 3-nanometer chip.

Chapter 364: On Chip Support for 4G

After Shenfei stepped down from the stage, the staff behind him began to lead the leaders and partners to Hall 6 next door.

This hall is twice the size of Hall 5, but the lighting here is dimmer due to equipment limitations.

Right in the middle is that model lithography machine...

This is no ordinary toy; its key modules are movable, and through the viewing window, you can see the wafer rotating round and round under the lens...

Although it's not actual production, you can see the simulation process.

The other booths around the area each had an engineer in a dark blue suit standing behind them, with wafers, packaged chip test boards, and large screens displaying real-time performance data in front of them...

Visitors flooded into the hall like water, and long queues quickly formed at each booth.

The most bustling booth was undoubtedly the one showcasing the 14-nanometer process.

Because of the need to sell goods, only leaders and representatives from some manufacturers are currently present.

The person in charge of the explanation was Yuan Guoqing, the plant manager of Transsion wafer fab.

As a veteran technician, Yuan Guoqing has a bad habit: he likes to draw in the air with his hand when he talks. Some people think this is a bad habit, but those who like it consider it a very good one.

He picked up a chip the size of a fingernail and introduced it to everyone.

"What you are seeing now is our brand new 7 Series, Taishan 720, developed for end customers."

It's a mid-to-high-end chip, using a 14nm process, with a chip area of ​​84 square millimeters.

Mid-to-high-end chips, meaning they are positioned slightly higher than the Taishan 6 series.

But then the Minister of Industry and Information Technology suddenly asked, "Director Yuan, where does our 14nm process stand now?"

Yuan Guoqing smiled; his boss was back to give him a piece of his mind, especially with a bunch of CCTV reporters following behind...

"Boss, I can answer that question immediately."

Our technology is currently number one in the world and far ahead of other competitors.

Let me give you some data: our fins are 42 nanometers high and 8 nanometers wide.

This is the optimal solution for current technology. At this size, the control of short-channel effect and the suppression of leakage current have reached the world's most advanced level.

The specific technical approach involves the optimization of multiple exposure and self-alignment dual imaging technologies, as well as our proprietary formulas in the etching and deposition processes.

"Boss, these details cannot be disclosed, but I can assure you that our yield rate is very high and our shipment rate is very high."

This data is available to everyone regarding the Taishan 97 chip and the Kirin 97 chip that we have released.

The leader nodded, then clapped his hands: "Director Yuan, you've done a great job."

A short sentence is definitely a very high level of praise.

Yuan Guoqing smiled, and then some parameters and specifications appeared on the large screen next to him.

Taishan 710: Transsion 14nm process.

CPU: Octa-core architecture, ARM V7A (modified 64-bit version)

It has four custom A15 cores with a maximum clock speed of 2.3GHz and four custom A7 cores with a maximum clock speed of 1.5GHz.

The memory supports LPDDR3 dual-channel with a maximum frequency of 933MHz.

……

Most importantly, it integrates a 4G communication baseband. Since 4G licenses have not yet been issued, there is also a corresponding 3G version, which is relatively cheaper.

Typical power consumption is only 3.0W (using four cores), and peak power consumption is 5.8W (all eight cores running).

"Firstly, in terms of performance, the Taishan 710 scores about 1600 in Geekbench 3 single-core and about 5100 in multi-core tests."

In comparison, the Fire Dragon 800 has a single-core score of 1400 and a multi-core score of just over 4000.

MediaTek's MTK6592 has less than 700 single-core processors and less than 3000 multi-core processors.

Our performance is about 15% higher than the Snapdragon 800, and our power consumption is about 30% lower.

The manufacturers exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock and curiosity.

The HTC representative, holding the chip in his hand, asked: "Manager Yuan, in my experience, the performance of your Taishan 710's large and small cores is much stronger than the reference architecture."

I bet this minor modification is so drastic that even the design team wouldn't recognize it.

Yuan Guoqing waved his hand with a smile: "It's not that exaggerated, it's just a few minor changes, just some minor optimizations."

Unfortunately, as everyone knows, the V8 architecture is too weak, and the A53 and A57 are still in development for a long time.

Professor Li Jiahui, who was standing next to him, nodded in agreement: "Indeed, it's just a minor adjustment. The main optimizations are in the architecture scheduling and power consumption control."

"Mr. Yuan is too modest."

"Professor Li, you are a titan in the semiconductor industry, you are too kind."

Seeing that Li Jiahui also said the same thing, everyone had a definite answer in their hearts.

Just a slight change?

It's not just a minor change; it's practically a complete rewrite of A7 and A15, leaving only the skeleton.

Then someone else asked: "I saw in the technical details that this chip integrates a 4G baseband, but the license hasn't even been announced yet. Isn't this 4G solution too advanced? Is there any risk of it being implemented later?"

The representative then looked at the leader from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology next to him.

Upon hearing this, Yan Guoqing calmly glanced at his business partner and said with a smile:

"That's a good question."

We have mature solutions for 4G, and of course, we also have compatible solutions, which are more affordable.

However, we feel that as a flagship product, it's still necessary to incorporate some advanced technology...

As for the 4G issue…

Yuan Guoqing turned slightly to look at the Minister of Industry and Information Technology next to him, since the leader was there and he could ask questions directly.

"Boss, why don't you answer this question for everyone?"

All eyes immediately turned to the leader from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, who smiled and took the microphone:

"Don't worry, we already have a clear plan regarding the 4G license issue, and it will be announced soon."

Then we'll be able to enter the 4G era...

All the manufacturer representatives applauded enthusiastically; it was indeed big news.

After all, there had been rumors circulating, but nothing had been confirmed, so this is a step back...

Then someone asked with a puzzled look: "Professor Li, I'd like to buy a sample of the Fire Dragon 800. We got it a while ago, but its test results aren't quite ideal..."

I know that having eight cores and a 2.3GHz frequency might be a bit...

Faced with these technical questions, Professor Li Jiahui maintained his usual smiling demeanor, as if he didn't take Qualcomm seriously.

"We have also tested the Fire Dragon 800, and it can be called Fire Dragon."

However, our Taishan 710 can keep the surface temperature below 38 degrees Celsius in the same scenario.

It's not that we're better than Qualcomm, but rather that 14nm has a natural power consumption advantage compared to 28nm.

With the same architecture, we reduced the linewidth by half and reduced dynamic power consumption by about 70%.

Of course, if you turn it on at full speed for more than 5 minutes, it will get a little hot, but not scalding.