"I need evidence!" Kimura Makoto tapped lightly on the table.
"I don't have evidence, because this is all based on intelligence analysis!" Huang He said.
"What intelligence?" Kimura Makoto asked.
"TSMC sent a technical exchange delegation to ASML, and then ASML cut off our orders. I have a list in my hand, which is a delegation composed entirely of technical personnel, and all the technical personnel are related to lithography machine technology!" Huang He said.
"You mean TSMC has mastered the technology to break through the limits?" Kimura Makoto was not stupid; he immediately understood the meaning behind this intelligence, but he was still full of doubt. "But this doesn't make sense. TSMC is just a semiconductor manufacturing company. They never produce any lithography machines. They only purchase lithography machines for production. I really can't figure out why they would get involved in the lithography machine industry!"
"Because TSMC wants to occupy the high-end semiconductor market!" Huang He smiled slightly. "Think about it, if TSMC and ASML jointly produce the next generation of lithography machines, and because TSMC is one of the technology developers, all high-end lithography machines will only be supplied to TSMC for the next one or two years, with priority given to TSMC's shipments. Then all high-end chips in the future can only be shipped from TSMC. Do you understand the threat TSMC will pose to the high-end semiconductor market?"
"These ungrateful Taiwanese dogs!" Kimura Makoto cursed in his heart, though his face remained expressionless.
Japan's semiconductor industry was already precarious due to the US restrictions and the entry of South Korea. Now TSMC was also joining in, intending to completely destroy the entire Japanese semiconductor industry.
Of course, Kimura Makoto was still full of doubt.
"But why should I believe that TSMC has mastered the technology to break through the limits? As far as I know, although TSMC has relevant lithography machine technicians, these technicians are mostly responsible for repairing, maintaining, and using lithography machines. They have never had any technical accumulation in the production and manufacturing of lithography machines. Why would ASML cooperate with TSMC?"
"Not before, but now TSMC has someone named Lin Benjian," Huang He said.
"Lin Benjian, I seem to have heard of this name..." Kimura Makoto muttered to himself, trying to recall. "I remember now, he tried to sell us a lithography machine technology several years ago, called what..."
"Immersion lithography technology!" Huang He took the initiative to answer for him.
"Yes, it's this technology!" Kimura Makoto's expression became serious. Lin Benjian had actually proposed the prototype of this technology back in 2000 and then began to contact major lithography machine manufacturers worldwide to promote his immersion lithography technology.
Once successful, Lin Benjian himself would also gain huge profits.
The first company to be approached was Nikon, but after seeing Lin Benjian's technology, Nikon directly rejected it without hesitation. The order to reject it was personally approved by Kimura Makoto.
Nikon's rejection of immersion lithography technology was not because everyone at Nikon was foolish and couldn't see the prospects of this technology.
Firstly, this technology was merely a concept. Lin Benjian himself had not conducted any experimental verification. Lithography machine experiments require a large amount of capital and expensive equipment. Without the support of major manufacturers, Lin Benjian would have no chance to conduct relevant experiments.
Therefore, it was just a technology written on paper, similar to the technologies presented by amateur scientists. Kimura Makoto's disbelief was natural.
However, most importantly, in 2000, Nikon had already invested over $1 billion in R&D for F2 laser imaging technology. F2 laser imaging technology could not be used with immersion lithography technology. Therefore, if Nikon adopted this immersion lithography technology,
They would have to reinvest a huge amount of funds for research and development, and the previous $1 billion in R&D expenses would instantly collapse, becoming meaningless sunk costs.
At the same time, Nikon is a publicly traded company, and all R&D expenses need to be disclosed to the public. Once shareholders learned that Nikon had spent 10 years and $1 billion in R&D funds, and the technological achievements were rendered meaningless before they were even successfully produced, shareholders and investors would immediately use their stock prices to teach Nikon a lesson.
Therefore, Kimura Makoto was not stupid. He saw the future harm of this technology to Nikon, so he did not hesitate to reject this technology.
In Kimura Makoto's view, F2 laser technology had proven its possibility, and it was only a matter of time before a finished product emerged. Even if this immersion lithography technology was real and had advantages in cost and performance, it would not be able to shake Nikon's hegemonic position in the lithography machine industry for the next 10 years.
Of course, it was highly likely that this technology itself was a speculative technology with no practical value.
Kimura Makoto's thinking was not wrong. He made the decision with the highest probability of success in his calculations.
However, probability was still probability. As long as it was not 100%, there was a possibility of failure. Once immersion lithography technology appeared before F2 laser technology, even by just one year, F2 laser technology would be completely finished, and Nikon would fall from its current market position.
In fact, after the advent of immersion lithography machines, Nikon instantly lost all its high-end market. Its overall market share dropped from the original 30% to less than 5%. It barely survived by selling some low-end, low-priced lithography machines.
This forced Nikon to abandon F2 laser technology and start researching immersion lithography machine technology from scratch. It took a full five to six years before they launched their first immersion lithography machine. However, the technological gap had already widened, and Nikon had completely lost the possibility of turning things around in the lithography machine industry. The market became smaller and smaller, and eventually, Nikon faced the crisis of bankruptcy.
Therefore, Nikon's future fate was sealed the moment they abandoned immersion lithography technology.
Kimura Makoto was not stupid; he had already seen Nikon's future.
"Are you sure that TSMC has successfully developed this technology? Is this immersion lithography technology really feasible?" Kimura Makoto asked eagerly.
"I'm sorry, my intelligence is not detailed enough to penetrate the senior management of TSMC and ASML to obtain this most confidential technical intelligence, so this is just a speculation based on intelligence!" Huang He said.
"I see! Then I will immediately send people to test it!" Kimura Makoto felt a glimmer of hope. If that was the case, then TSMC might not have mastered the complete technology yet, which is why they needed to cooperate with ASML. In that case, it would be almost impossible for them to produce a prototype in just one year. They would have at least two years to respond.
The most urgent task was to immediately arrange for a research and development team to verify whether this immersion lithography technology was feasible. After all, there was no significant difficulty in this technology itself; it was simply using the refraction of water to improve the accuracy of the light source. With Nikon's technical accumulation, it would take about one or two weeks to determine the feasibility of this technology.
If it was indeed feasible, a specific technical plan could be produced in about a year. Kimura Makoto was very confident in his company's R&D capabilities.
"Thank you very much for the intelligence, Mr. Huang. If the intelligence is true, I will decide that we will sell you the 10 200nm lithography machines you need at cost price, $12 million per unit!" Kimura Makoto said seemingly sincerely, but in reality, he was still a scoundrel, still trying to sell them at $12 million per unit.
"Actually, President Kimura doesn't need to waste time verifying the technology. I have a detailed technical report and data here. You just need to let your technicians take a look to know if what I'm saying is true or false!" Huang He said with a smile.
"You have already completed the verification of immersion lithography technology?" Kimura Makoto was truly surprised this time.
Verifying the feasibility of this technology was not a difficult task, but it required high-quality equipment and highly skilled technicians.
Simply put, without a mature semiconductor technology R&D center and factory, it was impossible to conduct corresponding technical verification.
But based on his understanding, Jiangnan Group was merely a leather and software manufacturer. When did they have departments and capabilities for semiconductor technology?
"We have a server company under Jiangnan Group, which is why we want to purchase lithography machines to enter the server industry. We didn't expect to be played like this!" Huang He said with a smile.
"So it's for servers." Kimura Makoto slightly lowered his guard. If it was for servers, then there was no overlap with Nikon's business. On the contrary, they would definitely purchase a large number of lithography machines from Nikon in the future. This was a long-term partner!
It was already past 9 PM. Normally, the meeting should have continued tomorrow, but Kimura Makoto could not wait another minute. He directly called a technician from the company. This top technician looked at the report with wide eyes for more than an hour, and finally nodded at Kimura Makoto.
"Is it confirmed that this technology is feasible?"
"The steps in the entire report are very complete, and the data is free of errors. We just need to verify the data in the laboratory according to the report tomorrow to determine whether this report is true or false!" the technician said cautiously, but Kimura Makoto had already confirmed the authenticity of the report.
After all, for a report that could be fully verified in a day, the other party had no reason to resort to such fraudulent means; otherwise, it would be too foolish.
"Thank you, Mr. Huang. We can sign the contract tomorrow, and I can compromise further on the price to $11.5 million. This is absolutely the greatest sincerity from our company. Anything more than this requires board approval!" Kimura Makoto said extremely sincerely.
"8 million is our bottom line!" Huang He said very decisively. "President Kimura can discuss it with the board tomorrow. Similarly, I will also approach my friends at Canon tomorrow. I believe they will also be very interested in this intelligence!"
"Mr. Huang, you can't be too greedy!" Kimura Makoto said with some annoyance. "You've only given us a feasibility verification report, and in return, you're asking for a price reduction of $3.5 million per unit. What more are you not satisfied with? I swear to Amaterasu Omikami that Canon will only give you the same price at most."
"That's not necessarily true. What if I hold several key patents required for immersion lithography technology?" Huang He said with a slight smile.