parentshiftbook Chapter 191 All of It: Gathering
Chapter 191 All of It: Gathering
January 15, 2021.
The paper entered the "Under Review" status on the third day.
Su Chen sat in front of the computer in the lab, but instead of the submission system—he had learned to check it only once every three days—an email was displayed on the screen.
The sender was Zhou Zhiyuan.
The email's subject was: "FW: Inquiry from Bosch - Steinmann"
Su Chen opened the email, which contained an English email from Stein, forwarded by Zhou Zhiyuan.
Dear Prof. Zhou,
I hope this message finds you well. My name is Klaus Steinmann, and I am the head of the MEMS division at Bosch Suzhou. I recently became aware of your team's work on third-order nonlinear thermal-elastic coupling theory and wanted to express our interest in learning more about your research.
Would you or your colleagues be available for an informal discussion in the coming weeks? We would be happy to host a visit at our Suzhou facility, or alternatively, meet at a location convenient for your team.
Best Regards,
Klaus Steinmann"
Zhou Zhiyuan added a brief note to the forwarded email: "What do you think, head of Bosch's Suzhou base?"
After reading the email, Su Chen leaned back in his chair and pondered for a few seconds.
Bosch.
A global leader in the MEMS industry. Holding over 25% of the global market share in MEMS sensors, with annual revenue exceeding 1.5 billion euros. Their expertise in materials science represents thirty years of accumulated experience—something no new company can replicate.
Now, the head of Bosch's Suzhou base has proactively sent an email to arrange a meeting.
Su Chen took out his phone and sent Lin Wei a message: "People from Bosch's Suzhou base have requested a meeting. Teacher Zhou forwarded the email; see how you should reply."
Three minutes later, Lin Wei replied: "I saw it. Zhou Zhiyuan has forwarded the email to me. I'll handle it."
A minute later, Lin Wei sent a second message: "Not now. Let's wait until we have preliminary results for the paper. We don't have enough leverage yet."
Su Chen read the message and nodded.
Lin Wei's judgment was correct.
The paper is still under review. Before the review results are released, the third-order model is merely a "claim"—a claim not yet certified by a top international journal. At this stage, Vilan's negotiating position is too weak when meeting with Bosch. However, if the paper is accepted by NM, the third-order model will become a recognized academic fact, and Vilan will transform from a startup seeking cooperation into a core entity that controls new industry standards and has pricing power. At that time, the situation will be completely different when dealing with Bosch.
Su Chen replied to Zhou Zhiyuan: "Lin Wei's opinion is to not see me for now. I'll reply to Bosch once I have the results of the paper."
Zhou Zhiyuan replied instantly: "Agreed. Tell Stein we're quite busy lately and will arrange it later."
"good."
Su Chen closed the email and continued working, a subtle smile playing on his lips.
Three months ago, Vilan Microsystems was an unknown small company in Suzhou; three months later, a global leader in MEMS proactively reached out to them. The rapid change in the situation is almost dizzying. But the precise ±0.018° process accuracy and the publication of high-impact papers in top journals are all solid achievements. The current situation is simply the inevitable result of their core strengths.
……
January 16th.
Shenzhen, TianShu Chip Headquarters.
He Zhiqiang sat in his office with two documents on the table in front of him.
The first document is TianShu Chip's financial report for the fourth quarter of 2020. The data is not optimistic. R&D investment was reduced after the MEMS project was downgraded, but the huge sunk costs in the early stage are still listed on the financial statements, and the revenue growth of automotive-grade MCUs is not enough to fill the gap in the short term.
The second document was an industry briefing sent by Chen Zheming, a partner at an industry fund. One section of the briefing was highlighted in red:
According to industry sources, Bosch, the global leader in MEMS, has sent senior executives to Suzhou, China, in what appears to be contact with Vilan Microsystems. If Bosch and Vilan establish a cooperative relationship, the global MEMS industry landscape will undergo fundamental changes. We recommend a reassessment of MEMS-related stocks in your investment portfolio.
After reading it, He Zhiqiang immediately picked up his phone and contacted Liu Feng, the technical lead for the company's MEMS project: "I heard Bosch sent people to Suzhou, has that been confirmed?"
Three minutes later, Liu Feng replied: "The news is true. Albrecht, the global president of Bosch's MEMS business unit, arrived in Suzhou last week and is currently stationed at the Bosch Suzhou base, where he has stayed for at least three days."
He Zhiqiang's brows furrowed suddenly.
Albrecht, a key figure who has worked at Bosch for 37 years and leads the world's largest MEMS business unit, would not have traveled to Suzhou without a reason. His purpose, without a doubt, is to visit Weilan and to explore their revolutionary third-order model.
He leaned back in his chair, eyes closed in deep thought. Liu Feng's judgment from two months ago still echoed in his ears: Su Chen hadn't created ordinary engineering improvements, but a completely new theoretical system. Engineering technology could be caught up with, but the underlying theoretical system couldn't be replicated. A month ago, he decided to downgrade the company's MEMS project to a maintenance-only status, consolidating resources and tilting them towards the MCU track.
Now, Bosch executives are personally conducting research, confirming their initial assessment—the rules of the game in the MEMS industry are indeed about to be rewritten. However, the harsh reality is that even industry leader Bosch is choosing to align with and accept new theories rather than confront them, and the traditional MEMS projects that TianShu Chip adheres to have lost their core value.
He Zhiqiang immediately initiated a voice call: "Liu Feng, immediately produce a complete evaluation report for the MEMS project, covering sunk costs, the market value of existing technological accumulation, and formulate three exit plans: complete termination, resale, and maintaining without further investment. Give it to me within two weeks."
Liu Feng hesitated, "President He, what do you mean by this...?"
"Give the investors a clear answer," He Zhiqiang said calmly. "Chen Zheming needs a conclusion; I must make a final decision on the MEMS project before the end of the first quarter."
"Understood."
He hung up the phone and opened the window. January in Shenzhen was warm and sunny, sunlight falling on the back of his hand, his mind a jumble of emotions. A year ago, when TianShu Chip entered the MEMS market, he confidently promised investors that he would grab a share of the trillion-yuan market. But in just one year, the industry landscape had been completely overturned.
The old rules for dividing the market have become obsolete. A third-order nonlinear thermoelastic coupling model created by a 22-year-old doctoral student has become a new weapon for reshaping the industry. And this reshaping tool is quietly awaiting the final verdict from Nature Materials.
……
January 18th.
Suzhou, Vilan Microsystems.
The installation of Hongyuan equipment has entered its tenth day. The first of the two etching machines has been installed and is now in the commissioning phase. The second machine is expected to be completed in three days.
Su Chen went to the workshop for inspection in the afternoon and saw that Hongyuan engineers were working with the Weilan technical team to debug equipment parameters.
"How's the accuracy?" Su Chen asked.
After reviewing the panel data, debugging engineer Xiao Wang replied: "The first round of calibration is complete, and the data is within the design compliance range. The second round of fine calibration will begin tomorrow."
"Theoretical accuracy after calibration?"
"±0.022°, that's the equipment's baseline specification," Xiao Wang added. "Based on our existing mature 300mm process parameters, the actual mass production accuracy can be stabilized at around ±0.020°."
Su Chen nodded slightly. Compared to the old equipment, the new equipment has significantly improved precision. Once both machines are fully operational, the company's etching capacity will increase by 40%, and process stability will also be optimized accordingly.
"Let me know if you have any problems," Su Chen said, then turned and walked out of the workshop.
He bumped into Lin Wei in the corridor.
"How is the equipment debugging progressing?" Lin Wei asked.
"The first unit is almost ready for commissioning; the second unit will take another three days."
Lin Wei nodded and handed over a summary report: "This is a summary of orders from the eight core companies in the industry alliance. We will deliver the first batch of 300mm commercial sensors at the end of February. These eight companies are our first batch of cooperative customers."
Su Chen took the order and checked it. All eight companies were the earliest signed and deeply integrated core partners, with the first batch of orders totaling 150,000 units.
"150,000 units, the first batch delivered." Lin Wei emphasized solemnly, "Orders in the second quarter are expected to triple to quadruple, but everything depends on the paper's review results. Before the paper is finalized, the client only has 70% confidence in cooperating; once the paper is accepted by NM and the theory receives international authoritative certification, the client's confidence will be at its peak, and the order volume will experience explosive growth."
"Therefore, April is crucial," Su Chen said slowly.
Lin Wei solemnly echoed, and the two looked at each other without saying a word, yet their hearts were already in sync.
……
January 19th.
On Zhihu's technology section, blogger "Calm Analyst" published a 5,000-word in-depth article titled "What's Happening in the MEMS Industry? - Starting with Wei Lan's Submission to NM," which quickly went viral online.
The article is well-organized and breaks down the industry transformation layer by layer: First, it reviews the industry's development over the past twenty years, from the era of Bosch's monopoly on empirical formulas to STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments catching up, ultimately leading to a bottleneck in industry precision within the 200mm-250mm range; second, it deeply analyzes the disruptive value of the third-order model, arguing that if the paper is successfully published, existing industry empirical formulas will become special cases of the new theory, and the core of industry competition will shift from "accumulation of experience" to "application of theory," completely rewriting the rules of the game; finally, it summarizes the movements of various parties in the industry, including Bosch executives' visit to Suzhou, STMicroelectronics overturning its original patent barrier scheme, and domestic companies collectively observing and waiting.
The summary at the end gets straight to the point:
"A 22-year-old PhD student, in just three months, has produced a top-tier journal paper that is poised to revolutionize the entire MEMS industry. The manuscript is still under review, but industry changes have already begun. Bosch has conducted on-site research, industry giants have adjusted their strategies, competitors have scaled back their offerings, and manufacturers have resumed supply. All these changes stem from the single signal that 'Villan submitted its paper to NM.'"
Submitting a paper is a signal, and a signal carries power. However, the true force of industry transformation has yet to materialize. The day the paper is officially accepted will mark a complete reshuffling of the MEMS industry.
Within 24 hours of its publication, the article garnered over 12,000 likes and 3,000 comments, topping the list of Zhihu's most popular tech articles of the year. The blogger "Semiconductor Veteran 2003," who had been engaged in a heated online debate, remained silent—a silence that was itself the most powerful response.
……
January 20th.
Su Chen opened the submission system, but the page status remained "Under Review," with no updates.
He closed the page, opened the 400mm process verification plan notes, and added a new plan: connect with China Resources Microelectronics Zhang Li, rely on the existing 300mm production line to carry out 400mm edge region simulation experiments, collect core data on temperature field, stress gradient, and accuracy attenuation in the 10mm edge region, and if the experimental data matches the 400mm prediction curve of the third-order model, it can be used as an indirect verification basis for the new theory.
After finalizing the plan, he immediately sent an email to Zhang Li to confirm the feasibility and timeline of the experiment, and then continued to focus on further research.
January in Suzhou is damp, cold, and rainy. The laboratory heating is insufficient, so Su Chen sits quietly at his workstation wrapped in a thick down jacket. Four weeks have passed since the paper was submitted, and according to the review cycle of top journals, there are only two to four weeks left to receive the final result.
For the first three months, he worked diligently, deriving theories, conducting experiments, writing papers, and submitting them for publication—each step was purposeful and progress was made daily. Now, however, all progress is stalled at the peer review stage, a process beyond his control. Even if he can optimize processes, organize documentation, and plan subsequent experiments, the core value of all his work depends on the reviewers' final judgment.
Waiting is the only theme at this moment, and also the most agonizing torment.
Su Chen got up and walked to the window, looking out at the factory courtyard. In the light rain, the second Hongyuan machine was unloading goods, the forklift was working slowly, and Zhao Guoping was directing from the side with an umbrella. Supply chain, production capacity, cooperation, industry layout, everything was progressing steadily.
Throughout the MEMS industry, countless giants, companies, and practitioners are quietly waiting for the results of an unpublished paper, and are quietly laying out and adjusting their strategies around a brand-new theory.
Su Chen chuckled. This was the fate of academic research: spending months creating a groundbreaking theory, then waiting a long time for official academic validation. He knew the accuracy of the third-order model, but he could only follow the established peer review process; he couldn't speed it up, skip it, or replace it.
Waiting is never a waste of time. Su Chen returned to his workstation and created a new document titled "Future Research Directions—Application Extensions of Third-Order Models," outlining three core research tracks:
1. Theoretical prediction of long-term performance degradation of MEMS devices - exploring the adaptability of thermoelastic coupling theory to the aging law of devices, which can be verified by relying on long-term gyroscope data from Akira Ishikawa.
2. Thermoelastic coupling adaptation for non-silicon-based MEMS – leveraging Bosch's mature material expertise to explore the feasibility of applying the third-order model to thin film materials.
3. Research on the scale effect of nanoscale MEMS—exploring the applicability boundaries of the third-order model in micron and nanoscale devices, and, when necessary, combining quantum mechanics to complete theoretical corrections.
He highlighted the first direction, which is the research that is easiest to implement and verify in the short term. Once it matches Ishikawa Akira's three years of gyroscope data, the application scenarios of the third-order model will extend from manufacturing processes to the entire life cycle of MEMS devices, becoming the core support for the second major paper.
He added a small note next to it: "Pending NM review results, pending Ishikawa Akira's experimental data."
I saved the document, shut down the computer, and watched the cold rain continue outside the window. Suzhou's winter was quiet and damp.
Beneath the calm surface, all forces are quietly converging. Bosch's strategic assessment, STMicroelectronics' response plan, Tian Shu's project selection, Ishikawa Akira's experimental data, industry alliance orders, and online industry discussions—all the foreshadowing and planning are building momentum towards the review results in April.
The final verdict was reached in April, and everything was settled.
Su Chen, who was at the center of the storm, could only calm down and wait patiently.