Deciphering China's Microchip Industry

Contents
About the Authors
Preface
Chapter 1 The US Wants a High-tech Cold War?
	Overture
	1.1 A Takedown from the US
	1.2 Why ZTE?
		1. ZTE Enters the Global 5G Battlefield
		2. The ZTE Saga
	1.3 Trade War or Hi-tech War
	1.4 A Report That Tells
	1.5 US-Japan Confrontation in the 1980s
	1.6 A Gray Rhino Crisis
	References
Chapter 2 Microchips in the Global Power Game
	Overture
	2.1 Will the Chinese IT Industry be Paralyzed?
		1. A Serious Heart Ailment
		2. A Startling Gap
		Inside Knowledge
			Integrated Circuit Design
		Inside Knowledge
			Nanometer technique in microchips manufacturing
		(1) Heavy reliance on foreign semiconductor technology
		(2) Heavy reliance on foreign suppliers for advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment
		(3) Severe constraint from upstream hidden champion companies
		(4) No trump card for equivalent deterrence
	2.2 China’s Dependency on Western Semiconductors
		1. China Has No Core Technologies?
		2. The Challenges Ahead
			(1) Importance of investment
			(2) An entrenched industrial establishment
			(3) Lopsided talent pool
	2.3 The US Trump Card
		1. Long-standing Export Controls
		2. More Than Just Export Control
	2.4 Core Technology: Must Realize Self-dependency
		1. Foxconn Besieged
		2. A Major Setback
	2.5 Lack of Self-dependency: Not Only in Semiconductors
	References
Chapter 3 A Close-up on Microchips
	Overture
	3.1 Microchips on the World’s Stage
		1. Naming Microchips
		2. Microchips Family
		Inside Knowledge
			Semiconductor Material
	3.2 A Short History of Microchips
		1. The First Integrated Circuit Board
		2. Semiconductor Device-and-lead Structure
		3. Molecular Electronic Computer
		4. Integrated Circuitry Applied to Missile Guidance System
		5. Moore’s Law
		6. Busicom 141-PF Calculator
		7. Intel 4004 Microprocessor
		8. The World’s First Digital Watch, Pulsar
		9. Nanometer Technique: Transistors Measured in Nanometers
		Extra
			Microchips Used in the Apollo Guidance Computer Are Not More Advanced Than Chips Used in a Modern Calculator
	3.3 The Process of IC Fabrication
		1. From Sands to Monocrystalline Silicon Boule
		2. Wafer
		Inside Knowledge
			More about Wafer
		3. Photolithography
		Inside Knowledge
			Photolithography
		4. Die Saw Process
		5. IC packaging
		Inside Knowledge
			IC Packaging
		Extra
			Four Highly Demanding Elements in the IC Fabrication Process
	3.4 Global Competition in Microchips
		Qualcomm’s Royalty Business: Highly Lucrative yet Controversial
		1. Microchip’s New Frontier
			(1) Optoelectronic Microchips
			(2) Quantum Microchips
			(3) Biology Microchips
	References
Chapter 4 Stars on the Stage of Microchips
	Overture
	4.1 The Greatest Invention After Wheels
		1. The Birth of Integrated Circuits
		2. A Co-invention that Re-shaped the World
	4.2 Fairchild, the One that Gives Silicon Valley its Name
	4.3 Intel, the One that Leads by Innovation
	4.4 Japan’s National Efforts
	4.5 Korea’s Journey in Semiconductors
	4.6 TSMC, the World’s First Dedicated Semiconductor Foundry
	References
Chapter 5 The Journey of China’s Microchips
	Overture
	5.1 Pioneers in China’s Semiconductor Industry
		1. Huang Kun, the Founder of China’s Semiconductor Physics Discipline
		2. Wang Shouwu, a Pioneer in Semiconductor Devices
		Our Responsibilities Now and in the Future
	5.2 Distinguished Females in the Field
		1. Xie Xide, the First Female President in a Major Comprehensive University in China
		2. Lin Lanying, the Mother of Semiconductor Materials in China
		3. Xia Peisu, the Mother of Computer Science in China
	5.3 When Did the Wide Gap Start?
		1. The Decade After 1966
		2. Deep Concern from China’s Scientists
	5.4 Efforts in the 1980s and 1990s
		1. The 531 Strategy
		2. The 908 Project
	5.5 The 909 Project
		1. Lessons Drawn from the 908 Project
		2. Unforeseen Challenges and Barriers
	References
Chapter 6 China’s Series of Breakthroughs
	Overture
	6.1 Is China Lagging Behind in the Global Semiconductor Industry?
	6.2 The Ark and Loongson Attempts
		1. The Ark That Was Gone
		2. Loongson’s Success in Beidou Navigation Satellite System
	6.3 Huawei’s Perseverance in Hisilicon
	6.4 China’s Fight Back in Supercomputers
		1. The Marketization of The Dawning Series
		2. Sunway TaihuLight, the Champion of Supercomputers
	6.5 Unigroup’s Successes in Acquisitions
	6.6 China’s AI Chips Are Poised to Take the Lead
	6.7 BAT: New Builders of Microchips Ecosystem
	References