White-box testing in the software industry, in layman's terms, is to run all the code through the exhaustive method, and almost all the logical structures and logical paths can be understood after running.

Hearing these four words, except for Zhang Ke's stunned face, everyone's expressions were different. Pan Xiaojun, who knows a little about programming, is puzzled, he knows that white-box testing is software testing, but he doesn't know why he needs to use a clean room.

Two of the three UMC engineers were the same as Pan Xiaojun at first, but they quickly guessed something and looked at Su Yuanshan with some shock.

Only Lin Yonggu figured out Su Yuanshan's intentions when he heard those four words.

In the chip manufacturing industry, there is only one "white box test" that needs to be used in a clean room, and that is to run microcode.

To put it bluntly, the principle of copycat CPU is actually very simple, open the lid, reverse push the mask according to the layout of the transistor components, and then get the microcode - the microcode resides in the high-speed memory, translates the machine instructions into a detailed circuit operation sequence, and controls the logic gate to complete the output of 0 and 1.

The transistor layout is visible, but the microcode is not, so one group of engineers can describe the function of the microcode, and another group can develop the same function without referencing the original microcode – this is a white-box test in a clean room.

That's how AMD's AM386, which just hit the market last month — listen to the name, 386.

Lin Yonggu looked at Su Yuanshan's outrageous young face with an indifferent smile, knowing that his understanding was correct. He took a soft breath and asked in non-standard Chinese, "Do you want to learn AMD?"

Su Yuanshan nodded: "There is such a plan." ”

"It's so hard. Lin Yonggu smiled generously, from the moment he came into contact with Pan Xiaojun, Pan Xiaojun had been constantly introducing Su Yuanshan - so he knew that this eighteen-year-old boy had a talent for programming and electronic circuit design that made people jealous.

But having talent doesn't mean having unlimited ability.

Lin Yonggu smiled and shook his head: "AMD reversed three years to complete AM386, and 486 is more difficult - you know, they are still a bunch of veterans who play this." ”

Su Yuanshan also smiled, and Lin Yonggu's last sentence won his heart. AMD STARTED FROM THE BEGINNING OF ITS ESTABLISHMENT BY COPYCAT INTEL'S VARIOUS CHIPS, AND THE FOUNDER SANDERS ALSO SAID PROUDLY, "WE WANT TO BECOME THE SECOND SUPPLIER OF INTEL, BUT WE CAN'T WAIT!"

The most annoying thing is that the products that AMD copycats come out of are even better than Intel's genuine versions, and even entered the military market. To say that they are veterans of playing copycat is not an exaggeration at all.

"You have to give it a try, what if it works?" Su Yuanshan replied with a smile: "But let's not talk about this for now, you guys are tired of traveling, settle down and rest first—you don't want to go back after taking the CD, right?"

Lin Yonggu also smiled: "Naturally not." ”

"Please. ”

......

Uncle and Pan Xiaojun took the three of them to the foreign-related hotel upstairs, Su Yuanshan returned directly to Qin Weimin's office after sending it to the door, Xi Xiaoding also left his luxury chair of 800 yuan, and came here to sit on the guest sofa with Qin Weimin and wait for Su Yuanshan.

"How?"

"I just casually mentioned it and saw the reaction over there. Su Yuanshan touched his lips, tore off a piece of dry skin, and said with a smile: "Anyway, let's rub it first, let it in, and don't let it in." ”

Listening to this guy's yellow talk, Qin Weimin and Xi Xiaoding laughed at the same time.

In the face of UMC's requirements, Su Yuanshan pulled Qin Weimin and Xi Xiaoding to analyze for a long time, and combined with Su Yuanshan's memory, the three of them finally analyzed a conclusion - the current chip design department of UMC has a sense of crisis, and it is urgent to design NB products to establish its position.

Moore, one of the founders of Intel, proposed that the number of transistors will double in two years, which has been confirmed by the development of the semiconductor industry for more than 20 years. Since there is a proven law that can predict the development trend of the semiconductor industry in the next few years, or even more than ten years, UMC, as its main business is a wafer factory, must consider whether its investment in the fab can support it to catch up with Moore's Law.

You know, there is a peer TSMC on the island that invests all its resources in the wafer factory. And that peer is also ambitious, and has the support of many enterprises, and is currently constantly catching up with himself.

In this case, UMC has to consider increasing investment in wafer factories - in Su Yuanshan's memory, UMC did start to divest the chip design business one after another in 95 years to engage in professional chip foundry. Among these spun-off departments, there is a company that has chosen to focus on the design of low-end mobile phone chips, which is extremely eye-catching in later generations - it is called MediaTek.

And it is worth mentioning that UMC also once "designed" a CPU based on the x86 architecture in 94, but because it did not get the authorization of Intel, it could not be listed and had to give up - it is difficult to say whether this was the final sound that made UMC decide to divest the design business in the second year.

"Design" here obviously refers to copycats.

SU YUANSHAN ALREADY HAS A FEELING THAT UMMC IS PROBABLY NOW SECRETLY USING THE X86 ARCHITECTURE TO "DESIGN" OR REVERSE INTEL'S 486. Otherwise, how can you explain that they can't wait to come to the door and ask Yuanxin to send a technical support team? It can only be that they are engaged in CPU, and they are not proficient, and they need all-round support from the EDA side.

You must know that this is not the era of the multi-level structure based on FinFETs and the multi-billion transistors of CPUs at every turn. In later generations, EDA engineers, chip designers, and wafer factory engineers have been working together for a long time and advancing together - which is why a CPU is one of the reasons why it is said that a CPU is one of the most cutting-edge technologies and talents of human beings.

After figuring out the urgent needs of UMC's chip design department, the entire technical leadership level of Yuanxin began to think about how to maximize the benefits of this cooperation. In the end, Su Yuanshan made a suggestion to let UMC open the clean room and let Yuanxin reverse - this is what is said on the surface, but the actual intention is to let Yuanxin join UMC's chip reverse to gain a lot of experience points.

After laughing, Qin Weimin asked, "What if they don't agree?"

Su Yuanshan nodded: "Of course, we are now leading in process design, and at most we will send one person to adjust the tool and help connect the machine." ”

"Then what if they agree with a hot brain? Which team do you send? Do we have so many candidates?" Xi Xiaoding frowned and said: "You have to know that reverse experience is best obtained by chip designers and engineers in the wafer factory - EDA engineers are useless if they eat it." Moreover, UMC's production line is currently the most advanced, can our people afford those experiences? Not to mention that we don't have the talent for the chip production line at all. ”

Su Yuanshan squinted his eyes and looked out, and lowered his voice like a thief: "Senior Brother Xi, the people we sent over may not only be our current employees! I 'dig' a few people from Huajing Microelectronics, do you think I can dig up?"

Xi Xiaoding's eyes lit up immediately!

Qin Weimin slapped his thigh!

"That's a good move! I guess King Hua Jing will always cry and shout begging you to dig up their people. ”

"Shhhh......hh

There are too few opportunities to get in touch with the latest production lines in China, or there is no chance at all! Now there is a glimmer of opportunity in front of him, and of course Su Yuanshan wants to try it.

Huajing's engineers in the wafer factory, even if they just take a look, are gains at this stage.

Of course, if UMC is willing to say yes.

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