inspire-indiana Chapter 153 Seed Project
Chapter 153 Seed Project
Chapter 190 Seed Project
Suzhou, April 7, 2020.
After dealing with the Light Armor incident, Su Chen arrived at the Suzhou laboratory as planned.
The laboratory is located in an inconspicuous office building in Suzhou Industrial Park, covering three floors and more than 500 square meters. This is the DRIE verification platform built by Chen Guodong in Suzhou, and also the work base for Shen Zhiming and four former AMEC engineers.
When Su Chen arrived, Chen Guodong and Shen Zhiming were already waiting for him.
"Where's the data?"
Su Chen got straight to the point.
Shen Zhiming handed over a stack of printed experimental data. This former AMEC engineer, in his early forties, was extremely meticulous in his work, and all the data was labeled with environmental parameters such as time, temperature, and air pressure.
"These are the plasma density test data from last month."
Su Chen opened the data, his eyes sweeping over the densely packed numbers.
SF₆ etching rate: 4.2 micrometers per minute. Sidewall angle: 89.3 degrees. Plasma density meets specifications.
He already knew this data. But where exactly is the "data anomaly" that Shen Zhiming mentioned?
"Abnormal data is found in groups three and seven."
Shen Zhiming turned to the two pages marked in red.
"In the third set of experiments, we discovered an unusual peak in plasma density in the central region of the cavity—18% higher than the theoretically predicted value. We initially thought it was a measurement error, but after repeating the experiment three times, the peak still persisted."
Su Chen stared at the data, his brows furrowing slightly.
"What about Group Seven?"
"The seventh group is even more interesting." A hint of excitement flashed in Shen Zhiming's eyes. "When we were adjusting the RF power, we discovered that within a specific power window—approximately between 78% and 82% of the standard power—the SF₆ decomposition efficiency suddenly jumped a notch. The etching rate soared from 4.2 micrometers per minute to 5.1 micrometers per minute, while the sidewall angle improved to 89.7 degrees."
"5.1 micrometers per minute?"
Su Chen's eyes suddenly lit up.
What does this number mean? If it can be reproduced stably, then DRIE's etching efficiency will be 21% higher than the current best level, while also being more accurate.
Can it be reproduced reliably?
"Not yet," Shen Zhiming answered honestly. "We only observed this phenomenon under specific conditions in the seventh group, and in subsequent repeated experiments, it was sometimes reproduced and sometimes not. I suspect it's related to the airflow distribution within the cavity—under that specific power window, a plasma vortex structure that favors SF₆ decomposition may have formed."
"If it's a problem with the airflow..." Su Chen pondered for a moment, then walked to the whiteboard and picked up a marker.
"Then it's not just a power issue, but a problem with the cavity geometry."
He drew a cross-sectional view of the cavity on the whiteboard:
"Our current cavity is a standard cylinder. What if we added a set of flow channels to the side walls of the cavity—here, here, and here—"
He quickly drew three positions.
"By altering the airflow distribution through guide channels, a stable plasma vortex can be artificially created in the central region of the cavity—theoretically, this could turn the abnormal data from Group Seven into normalcy."
Shen Zhiming and Chen Guodong came over at the same time.
"Mr. Su, you mean—modify the cavity geometry to match the optimal airflow field?"
"Yes." Su Chen put down his marker. "And this approach has an additional advantage—if we can control the airflow field through the guide channels, the problem of cavity enlargement can also be solved simultaneously."
Chen Guodong suddenly looked up.
Cavity amplification—this is one of the biggest challenges they currently face.
While small-scale laboratory-grade cavities have been successfully validated, the biggest obstacle to achieving large-scale industrial-grade cavities is the uniformity of the airflow field. The larger the cavity, the more difficult it is to control the airflow field, resulting in poorer etching uniformity.
But if the guide channel can solve the problem of airflow field control—
"Then the cavity enlargement is no longer a simple proportional scaling up," Chen Guodong said excitedly, "but rather an active control of the airflow field through the design of the guide channels—so even if the cavity becomes larger, as long as the position and angle of the guide channels are calculated correctly, the uniformity of the airflow field can be maintained!"
"That's right." Su Chen nodded. "So the next task is—Engineer Shen will be responsible for compiling the condition parameters for Group Seven and conducting a complete airflow field simulation. Guo Dong will be responsible for designing the geometric scheme of the guide channel. I will conduct extensive simulation verification in the system after I return to Shenzhen."
He looked at the two of them:
"Give me two weeks. In two weeks, I will have a complete design for the cavity enlargement and flow channel."
"it is good!"
The two answered in unison, their eyes full of enthusiasm.
……
After discussing DRIE's technical issues, it was already 3 PM.
Su Chen, Chen Guodong, and Shen Zhiming ate a bowl of noodles at a noodle shop near the laboratory.
While eating noodles, Chen Guodong suddenly said:
"Mr. Su, regarding the MEMS sensor education and promotion you mentioned last time, I thought of someone."
Su Chen paused for a moment while picking up noodles with his chopsticks.
"who?"
"Professor Zhou Zhiyuan of the Department of Microelectronics at Tsinghua University."
Chen Guodong put down his chopsticks and said seriously:
"Professor Zhou is one of the pioneers in the field of MEMS sensors in China, having started his MEMS research in the 80s. Although he has now retired, his influence in the academic community is still very significant. At least twenty universities across the country include content he wrote or co-authored in their microelectronics textbooks."
"The key point is—" Chen Guodong emphasized, "Professor Zhou has been advocating for domestic universities to strengthen practical MEMS teaching. He feels that current MEMS education in universities is too theoretical, and students won't be able to use MEMS after graduation—because universities lack experimental equipment and supporting development platforms."
Su Chen put down his chopsticks.
He thought of something.
Currently, embedded systems courses in Chinese universities almost exclusively use foreign MCU development boards—ARM, TI, and ST. Students start using foreign chips and development tools from university, so naturally they prioritize foreign solutions after graduation.
It's like the roots of a tree—wherever the roots are planted, that's where the tree will grow.
This is especially true in the field of MEMS sensors. China has virtually no domestically developed MEMS platforms. University labs primarily use sensor modules from Bosch, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments.
What if Hongyuan Feiniao could make its own MEMS sensor development board and provide it to university labs at a very low price—or even for free?
Students have been using Hongyuan Feiniao's MEMS development boards since school.
They are familiar with Hongyuan Feibiao's sensor interfaces, development environment, and technical documentation.
After graduation, when I joined a company and developed electronic products, I naturally gave priority to using Hongyuan Feibiao's solutions.
Three years later, five years later—an entire generation of engineers grew up in the ecosystem of Hongyuan Flying Bird.
By then, Hongyuan Feiniao's MEMS sensors will no longer be just a product—but an ecosystem.
A complete ecosystem from classroom to factory, from student to engineer.
A light gradually appeared in Su Chen's eyes.
"Guodong, please arrange a meeting with Professor Zhou Zhiyuan for me. Tell him that Hongyuan Feiniao wants to launch a MEMS sensor education and outreach program and would like to hear his opinion."
"Okay, I'll contact him today."
"Also—" Su Chen thought for a moment, "Have Bowei Sensing start designing a MEMS sensor development board. It doesn't need to be too complicated; just integrate our accelerometer, gyroscope, and barometer onto a single PCB, along with a simple development environment and technical documentation. Keep the cost under 50 yuan."
"50 yuan? That's basically the cost price—"
"That's just the cost price," Su Chen smiled. "We can even give it away to universities for free."
Chen Guodong was stunned for a moment, then he understood.
"You want to grow chives."
Su Chen was amused by his bluntness.
"It's not about planting chives. It's about planting seeds."
He picked up his chopsticks and continued eating his noodles.
"The seeds don't make money now, but they'll grow into towering trees in three years. When those students who learned using our development boards graduate and enter companies like Huawei, BYD, and AVIC—when they design sensor solutions, the first company they'll think of is Hongyuan Flying Bird."
"By then, we won't need to market our MEMS sensors anymore, because the entire ecosystem will be built around us."
Chen Guodong took a deep breath.
He recalled how the 51 microcontroller once dominated global embedded education—not because it had the best performance, but because it was the first to be included in textbooks.
Once it enters the textbook, it enters the muscle memory of a generation.
Once it becomes muscle memory, it is very difficult to replace.
What Su Chen wants to do is to make Hongyuan Feiniao's MEMS sensors become the "muscle memory" of the next generation of engineers.
"I understand." Chen Guodong nodded. "The Seed Project."
"Yes. The Seed Program."
Su Chen finished the last sip of soup and stood up.
"Let's go, we still have work to do this afternoon."
……
That evening, after returning to the hotel, Su Chen turned on his laptop.
He is about to begin the simulation design of the flow channel.
Although he told Chen Guodong and Shen Zhiming it would take "two weeks," Su Chen actually knew that with the help of the dismantling system, this time could be significantly reduced.
He entered the virtual space.
Inside the space, dozens of high-performance simulation workstations were already in place. Su Chen imported Shen Zhiming's experimental data into the simulation system and began building a cavity airflow field model.
The first simulation group—standard cylindrical cavity, without flow channels.
The airflow field distribution is in high agreement with the actual experimental data.
The second simulation involves adding three sets of guide channels, positioned according to the plan Su Chen drew on the whiteboard that afternoon.
After the results came out, Su Chen's brows relaxed slightly.
The airflow field indeed formed a stable vortex structure in the central region of the cavity—which is highly consistent with the abnormal data observed in the seventh group of experiments.
But not enough.
The eddy structure was off-center by 0.3 millimeters—this deviation has little impact in a small laboratory-scale cavity, but if scaled up to an industrial-grade cavity, it will cause problems with etching uniformity.
Su Chen began adjusting the angle of the guide channel.
5 degrees... 7 degrees... 9 degrees...
When the angle of the guide channel is adjusted to 11.5 degrees, the position of the vortex structure falls precisely at the center of the cavity.
SF₆ etching rate – 5.08 micrometers per minute.
Sidewall angle – 89.8 degrees.
Su Chen's lips curled up slightly.
But he didn't stop.
He continued to increase the cavity size—from a laboratory-level diameter of 100 millimeters to 150 millimeters, 200 millimeters, and 250 millimeters.
Each time the scale is zoomed in, the position and angle of the guide channel are recalculated.
This is a tedious and lengthy process.
But Su Chen enjoyed it.
Because every set of simulation data tells him that the flow channel design is feasible. The problem of cavity enlargement is being solved step by step.
At 2 a.m., Su Chen finally logged out of the virtual space.
He rubbed his sore eyes and glanced at the summary table of simulation results.
A 200 mm cavity – feasible.
250 mm cavity – boundary conditions need fine-tuning, but the orientation is correct.
A 300 mm cavity requires the addition of a fourth set of flow channels, but this is theoretically feasible.
Su Chen wrote a line in his notebook:
"The initial verification of the flow channel design has been passed. The industrial-grade cavity (300mm) requires four sets of flow channels. The complete design is expected to be finalized within two weeks, and engineering drawings within one month."
Then he wrote another line below:
"The core milestone of the Pioneer Project—the DRIE prototype—aims to complete verification by the end of January 2021."
After writing this line, Su Chen closed his notebook and walked to the window.
The night in Suzhou is quiet. The streetlights in the industrial park emit a soft glow, and the moonlight glistens on the surface of Jinji Lake in the distance.
Su Chen looked out the window, three things racing through his mind at the same time—
Light Armor's alliance strategy is quickly taking effect, with 31 new members added within a week.
H-Link's free and open-source nature has generated a huge response in the developer community, while the growth of Hangxindatong's "100 Enterprises Plan" has stagnated.
The DRIE flow channel design has passed preliminary verification, providing a feasible solution to the cavity amplification problem.
Three lines of work are being pursued simultaneously.
Su Chen smiled slightly, then turned off the light and went to sleep.
There's still a lot to do tomorrow.
……
Meanwhile, on the other side of Shenzhen.
Headquarters of Hangxindatong.
He Zhiqiang sat in his office, three messages displayed on his computer screen—
"The Flying Birds Alliance added 31 new members this week."
H-Link V2.0 has been announced as permanently free and open source.
"The S1 consumer drone saw a 20% price reduction, leading to a 70% surge in orders in its first week."
He Zhiqiang's face turned ashen.
His three-pronged approach—the two-fold LDCL, contacting DJI FlightCore 2.0, and developing the self-developed "Tian Shu" flight control chip—was all precisely countered by Su Chen.
It's not just about defusing the situation—it's about turning the tables.
He Zhiqiang's LDCL was reduced to 20% of its original price, and Su Chen made it available for free and open source.
He Zhiqiang wanted to poach clients from the Flying Bird Alliance, but Su Chen used light armor as bait to poach his clients in return.
He Zhiqiang wanted to play the price game, but Su Chen S1's 20% price reduction directly caused him to overturn his table.
"This Su Chen..." He Zhiqiang's knuckles cracked as he clenched them.
He originally thought that even if a 26-year-old was technically skilled, he could never be a match for a seasoned veteran like him who had been in the industry for ten years.
But now it turns out—he was wrong.
Su Chen is not only technically skilled.
His business acumen, reaction speed, and decision-making courage far exceeded He Zhiqiang's expectations.
What's even more terrifying is that every counterattack Su Chen makes is not a defense, but an offense.
He wasn't blocking Hangxindatong's attack; he was responding to the attack with an attack.
Moreover, they hit more accurately, more ruthlessly, and faster.
He Zhiqiang leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes.
"Tian Shu..." he murmured.
The Tian Shu flight control chip—this was his last trump card.
LDCL and market competition are short-term measures; TianShu chips are the key to Hangxindatong's turnaround.
If the TianShu chip can be successfully taped out within six months, Hangxindatong will be able to have its own flight control chip—no longer relying on any external solutions.
Only then will Hangxindatong be able to truly compete with Hongyuan Feiniao.
"Six months." He Zhiqiang opened his eyes, his gaze turning somber and resolute. "Just give me another six months."
But what he didn't know was that Su Chen might only give him less than six months.
Because DRIE's flow channel design has already passed preliminary verification on a simulation workstation in Suzhou.
The heart of the mountain-opening project is gradually beating again.