With the high complexity of semiconductor integrated circuits, the division of labor between the upstream and downstream of the entire industry is also becoming more refined, and not only professional semiconductor foundries have emerged, but also professional IC integrated circuit technology outsourcing designers have also begun to rise.

Although this kind of IC design company specializing in customer design requirements gradually disappeared after 2000, it was still relatively active in the seventies and eighties.

As strong as the leader of computer CPUs, Intel's first product, the 4004 processor, was not actually developed out of the company's own pocket, and Intel at that time undertook the design requirements of a Japanese company called Busicom, and the processor was used in the company's computer products.

That is, the Busicom company at that time was more enlightened, this guy wanted to reduce the price of the 4004 processor in order to reduce the price of the 4004 processor by Intel, and wanted to rely on a large number of shipments to reduce the cost, so he allowed Intel to sell the 4004 processor to other markets except for calculators, so that Intel changed from a microprocessor product development and design company to a collection of production and research and development.

In general, it is not a problem that the company does not have semiconductor IC production capacity, as long as it ensures that it can design IC products with acceptable performance and meet the requirements of customers, in this case, it is also feasible to be a professional IC design company.

"Europe? You can still have the opportunity to hear about the topic of semiconductor IC design in Europe, which is rare, it's not that I look down on the European IC industry, but the market there has been large-scale encroachment by the United States, and you can still cultivate a reliable professional IC design company?"

Europe's semiconductor industry is indeed much worse than that of the United States, and it can't become a large scale at all, so it is no wonder that Wang Zhengguo is surprised.

Mr. Wen was quite interested, seeing that his daughter still had some rare insights in this regard, and this trip to the UK really seemed to have learned a lot, and the old man naturally expressed his willingness to listen.

His eyes fell to Wen Ling's direction: "Do you have a solution to the problem?" But let's hear about it, it just so happens that I am quite interested in the semiconductor industry in Europe." ”

With his father's support, Wen Ling instantly felt his waist straighten up, shake his spirit again, straighten his chest and raise his head, ready to refute Wang Zhengguo's words well.

"Don't think that only the United States semiconductor industry is leading, and Europe is completely behind, for example, the full digital control system of the Qingcheng engine is the British Lucas Aerospace is responsible for research and development, the last time I went with the Rolls-Royce project department to see the progress, I heard that Lucas has outsourced the design of the next generation of military microprocessor controllers. ”

Wang Zhengguo really doesn't have much impression of Lucas Aerospace, but it sounds like an aircraft subsystem contractor, and probably the business should be automation control, such as engine control systems and aircraft control systems, which should be Lucas's main business.

A company that makes full-authority digital control systems for aircraft and engines does have a huge demand for military microprocessor products.

As for why this guy wants to update the microprocessor product, it should have something to do with the Typhoon fighter project, after all, the Typhoon is far more digital than any model of aircraft developed by the UK before this.

With the continuous upgrading and improvement of modern aircraft, the degree of digitalization will also show a geometric exponential increase, and the performance of microprocessors developed in the previous and 70s may not be able to keep up with the changes of the times.

In fact, what Wang Zhengguo didn't know was that Lucas Company was not only engaged in the business of aircraft and engine digital control systems, but also a supplier of aircraft avionics systems, but the benefits of this area were not very good.

"Who is outsourcing to? The UK does not have any well-known large companies in the field of semiconductor IC design, and even if it is outsourced this time, it should not be undertaken by a local British company, and even I wonder if this project is being done in Europe, but fortunately, we have already developed our own supporting military microprocessors, so we are not worried about this. ”

Lucas wants to develop a new high-performance military microprocessor, which is prepared for the Typhoon fighter, and the control system of the Qingcheng engine does not have high requirements for microprocessor performance, and the two have nothing to do with it.

"Who said that there is no IC design company in the UK, when I first arrived in the UK in 84, I heard that the BBC computer produced by Acorn Computer won the Queen's Technology Award, and this company was developing CPUs in the early days, so after the BBC computer, it launched its own research and development of CPU products, last year British newspapers, computers have reported on this company, and even called it the British Apple computer company. ”

Well, Wang Zhengguo understands what Wen Ling is talking about, isn't it the predecessor of the famous ARM company, which can indeed be regarded as the most capable company in the British semiconductor IC industry.

After all, the BBC computer boom has not passed, and the company has just launched a new CPU product, which can be described as the peak moment of life.

I'm afraid that before the words are spoken, people will kick them away directly, don't disturb my uncle's work.

"There is some truth in that, being able to design CPU processors by yourself, and also develop best-selling computers, and even known as the British Apple Computer Company, must still have some technical level, but as you said, this company is so busy now, will definitely spare time and energy to take out our IC design orders?"

Anyway, when I think about it, I feel a little unreliable, Wang Zhengguo is not very interested in the proposal of outsourcing design, most of the capable companies now have their own projects, and the companies that do not have much capacity have time, but Wang Zhengguo can be trusted?

Wen Ling was dumb this time, how did she know that the current semiconductor IC design industry still belongs to the era of a hundred flowers, but if she has some technical ability, she is rarely willing to be a design solution provider, and her ambitions are bigger than the other.

The little girl was a little unhappy, and her original intention was to actively offer advice, although it was a little inappropriate, but it would not be hit all the time.

"Forget it, I know you just don't want to do this graphics workstation project, you don't think it's going to make money, right? It's really a big profiteer, you don't care about the cause of national defense and security for the sake of money, you have forgotten your identity as a child of the military industry, ungrateful guy, I don't talk to you. ”

It seems that the routine is a little incomprehensible, when did he become an ungrateful guy, this misunderstanding can go away, and some words can't be said nonsense!