Source: Semiconductor Industry Watch, thank you
Less than half a year after the listing, Lin Benjian, an independent director of Lijidian and the father of immersion lithography, resigned.
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Lijidian announced earlier that Lim Ben Kin, an independent director and member of the Remuneration Committee of the Company, resigned as an independent director and remuneration committee due to his busy personal business, and the personnel case will take effect from 27 April.
Lijidian pointed out that Lin Benjian was elected as an independent director on July 2, 2021, and his original term of office will end on May 26 next year, but this change still triggers discussions in the semiconductor industry.
The 80-year-old Lin Benjian is still an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a distinguished chair professor of Tsingda University, and the dean of the Semiconductor College of TSMC, Lin was appointed as the vice president of TSMC R&D for developing immersive micro-shadow technology and rewriting the history of global semiconductor development, so that TSMC can shake off the distance with Intel and Samsung.
In 2015, when Lin Benjian retired from TSMC, TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou gave a speech at a party held for him, and Zhang Zhongmou specifically said: "If it were not for you and the team you have established, TSMC's micro shadow would not have the scale it is today." It affirms Lin Benjian's achievements in the past 15 years at TSMC that are difficult to replace.
The infiltrative microscopy technology invented by Lin Benjian also made Esmore abandon the research and development of the original 157-meter dry microscopic exposure machine and turn to the joint development of the 193-nanometer immersion microscope machine with TSMC, in addition, IBM, the Belgian Microelectronics Research Center (Imec) and others have switched to this technology.
This major invention of Lin Benjian has affected the development of the semiconductor industry for 20 years and is a key blow in the history of Taiwan's semiconductors.
| The Father of Immersive Shadows: Hayashi's Last Battle
In the Bible, there are two characters who started a new career after the age of 80, one is the famous prophet Moses, and the other is the 85-year-old who is still ambitious and offers to fight the "Caleb" of the Yagmen.
10 years ago, Lin Benjian, the "father of immersive micro-shadow" and vice president of research and development at the front desk, wrote a blessing to his boss on Zhang Zhongmou's 80th birthday, quoting the story of Moses and emphasizing: The world's famous people are after the age of 80, and their careers begin.
Speaking of "Tianxia", Lin Benjian smiled shyly, he believed that Zhang Zhongmou was like Moses, a trailblazer; and like Caleb, he was a warrior and a warrior, a warrior, a warrior, a fighter, "although my physical strength is not as good as when I was young, I am still very active, and I can still compete with young people in tennis," he said with a smile.
Lin Benjian, 79 years old, feels that he is "not yet an adult" and is about to start a new career!
| The first industry academician of the Academia Sinica, he is at the helm of the Semiconductor College of Tsingda University
On this day of the interview with "Tianxia", the bright slanting sun of Hsinchu in the afternoon reflected in the Qingda Teachers' Lounge, Lin Benjian wore a meticulous black suit, his hair was straight, his eyes were firm, he would become the first "Dean of the School of Semiconductors" of Tsinghua University, the school had just established the Preparatory Office, and it is expected to start recruiting master's students next year.
The person who recommended Lin Benjian to He Chenhong, the president of Qing University, was Wu Chengwen, then vice president of Cheng Cheng University.
He said that Lin Benjian, as the first academician from the industry in the history of the Academia Sinica, has a respected position in the industry and academic circles, "with appeal, it can bring the competitiveness of other schools to TSING University that other schools do not have." Wu Chengwen returned to Qing University in August as a Distinguished Chair Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering.
Wu Chengwen originally told He Chenhong that Qingda is very strong in the field of materials research, and the talents needed for the semiconductor industry in the future will gradually shift to the field of materials and equipment. Under this trend, the most appropriate person is Lin Benjian, "The advantage of his being the dean is that he has achieved a high position in TSMC, has major inventions, Morris (Zhang Zhongmou) also respects him, and Lin Benjian is familiar with equipment and materials, which is exactly the strength of Qingda, which can distinguish Qingda from other schools."
He said with a smile that Qingda preemptively sought out Lin Benjian and grabbed people first; Yangming Jiaotong University followed up, and also found another retired TSMC general, former technology Sun Yuancheng, to run the Semiconductor College; There are also important candidates in Chengda who are being evaluated.
"Now the pressure is on NTU," Mr. Wu said.
| A legend in the tech industry, inventing the immersive microscope that pushed Moore's Law seven generations
Lin Benjian is a legend in Taiwan's science and technology industry. A lifetime of searching for light and shadow, there are two key lights in life: the holy light that follows Jesus and the light of the semiconductor.
He stayed at IBM for 22 years, and joined TSMC after 2000, promoting the most critical immersive microscopy technology that affects the world's semiconductor high-level process, advancing Moore's Law for seven generations, allowing TSMC to lead the global semiconductor industry technology and become a behind-the-scenes contributor to competing with Intel and IBM.
A few years after retiring from TSMC, Lin Benjian often went to the Guanxin Victory Church near his home to preach, concentrated on Christian evangelism, served members (friends of the church), and even answered the phone calls of his friends in the middle of the night to help them do psychological counseling.
But he lamented that perhaps God had no intention of making him an all-weather preacher. Five years ago, he began to work as a chair professor at Qingda University, and found that the role of preaching, teaching, and solving puzzles as a teacher is like evangelism, helping people to get rich lives, so when Qingda wanted to establish a semiconductor college and ask him to be the dean, he was "obliged".
"I actually didn't spend a lot of effort to convince him," said He Chenhong, president of Qing University, "Academician Lin doesn't need money and is not tempted by money, so instead of saying that I fought for him, it is better to say that Academician Lin feels that it is meaningful to do a semiconductor college!"
| Socratic debate classes cultivate semiconductor specialists, generalists, and living talents
Hayashi Motojō wants to cultivate semiconductor "specialists", "generalists", and "living talents".
"Professional" refers to having a solid knowledge and theoretical foundation, such as Lin Benjian's careful study of mathematics, physics and chemistry when he was in college, and his lifelong commitment to technological breakthroughs in the field of optics, the study of undergraduate science, the cultivation of scientific talents, is the top priority of The Taiwan Semiconductor Institute.
"Generalist" means that in addition to being proficient in their own knowledge, they can also communicate and cooperate with professionals in other fields such as machinery, physics, equipment, design, process or materials, "to know what other people are doing," and then work together to create greater breakthroughs in technology.
"Living talent" is the ability to "solve new problems". Lin Benjian believes that semiconductor technology is rapidly iterating, so there must be new ideas, new ideas, and new methods to solve problems and open up new situations for the company or the world.
He recalled that when he was at IBM, although he understood micro shadow, he did not understand the etching technology with micro shadow, and it was only by asking for benefits and cooperation with colleagues that he understood, which was the process of his from professional to generalist. But he hopes that from school, students will be required to take more courses and become generalists.
In order to cultivate the ability of living and independent thinking, he often conducts Socratic-like debates in the "Semiconductor Nano-Microscopy" course, for example, he asks why a process has a change in magnification. Deliberately challenging students: is it because of the direction of light? Cold contraction thermal expansion? Or is it some other reason?
He would ask his classmates to come up with at least three methods and argue for strengths and weaknesses, not necessarily only one correct solution, "I hope they understand: thinking about things and finding ways, there is more than one answer." 」
In the past, Lin Benjian's most famous point was that as long as he decided that something was scientifically correct, he absolutely insisted on it, "although millions of people are looking forward to it."
The most famous deed is that when he first supported the immersive micro-shadow technology, he was almost at odds with the entire semiconductor industry.
In his daily life, he upholds this scientific spirit. For example, when he practiced playing tennis, he had sensors on the racket that showed the ball's speed, rotation rate, and where the ball hit the racket was in the center or next to it, "so I could quantify my progress," Hayashi said.
Lin Benjian's campus is full of popularity, classmates nicknamed him "Grandpa Burn", In July, Qingda announced on the official Facebook that he would become the dean of the Semiconductor College, which attracted more than 300 students to leave messages: "XXX, is your favorite Burn Grandpa", "Famous teacher out of the high apprentice", "Come back to infiltrate", "Semiconductor master", "work guarantee". Qingda insiders laughed and said, "Grandpa Burn's good reviews are overwhelming."
Lin Benjian intends to hire authoritative and technical experts at home and abroad for the students of the Semiconductor College, and to use co-teaching (collaborative teaching) methods so that students can grasp the global technological progress and practical trends on the Taiwan campus.
| Disciple Gao Caisheng: Lin Benjian gave the continental level of battle and vision
However, staying in Taiwan to study for a master's degree or doctorate can really become an international-level talent?
Lin Benjian thought it was possible, and he gave an example: his proud subordinate, the front-end product OPC (optical proximity correction) and the head of the reticle department, Gao Caisheng.
"He's an authority at the international level," he said.
Gao Caisheng graduated from the doctoral program of the Institute of Physics of Qing University, and is a doctor of authenticity, "but when I went to the doctoral class, I knew that I would not get the Nobel Prize in my life," Gao Caisheng recalled, "I know very well where my intelligence is, fame and profit cannot be forced, I have to come by myself."
It was Lin Benjian who gave him international-level battles and vision.
In 2000, Lin Benjian was recruited by Jiang Shangyi, former co-operating director of TSMC, and also found Gao Caisheng to join TSMC as deputy technical manager, and since then he has followed Lin Benjian to the semiconductor industry. Lin Benjian published papers in major international forums, discussed technology trends, and advocated immersive micro-shadowing processes, and he followed suit. "There were a lot of public battles to be fought, and I was the thug!" Gao Caisheng laughed and spoke bluntly.
| Yan Taonan, Vice President of ASML: I have agreed to Lin Benjian's invitation and will go to Qing university to give a lecture
Gao Caisheng was recruited by Lin Benjian to be the future ceo of the Semiconductor College of TSG, he said that as long as the students "do every project well" during the school period, even if they do not go out of Taiwan, they can achieve their careers, and success or failure depends on "ability" and "luck"!
"The skill is your own knowledge and knowledge of the basic skills to be good, the luck is to find a master who is willing to really promote and guide you, and open up a career for you," Gao Caisheng said, instead of going to the United States and Australia to study at an unknown university, it is better to find a good professor and a good teacher in Taiwan, and let Bole (karma) lead you, just like in those days, Lin Benjian was his Bole.
Lin Benjian pointed out that Taiwan now has TSMC, but also from IC design, packaging and testing and other semiconductor industry chain authorities, published international papers every year, for scientific and technological breakthroughs. In the future, these industry leaders will be the key practitioners invited by the college.
For example, another of his former TSMC subordinates, Yan Taonan, is currently as THEML Global Vice President.
Yan Taonan, who is in the United States, said that he had agreed to Lin Benjian's invitation to teach as an adjunct professor at the Semiconductor College of Qing University in the future, "Burn is not a manager, he is a leader!" The success of Taiwan's semiconductor technology research and development is related to the existence of these leaders, everyone can buy equipment, but do they have leadership? that's the key."
"We (Taiwan Semiconductor) used to be a lot behind, but now we're a lot ahead!" Lin Benjian is also confident that he will run the semiconductor college, have the authoritative industry teachers he has found, and local talents can also shine, and he wants to cultivate leadership talents who can compete with the world.
| Extended reading: Two years to TSMC, to make a sensational semiconductor event
Lin Benjian is a legend of TSMC and even the entire Taiwanese technology industry. The immersive micro-shadow technology used in the current global semiconductor advanced process comes from his invention. As a result, he became the first academician of the Academia Sinica from the industry.
When Lin Benjian did deep ultraviolet light microscopy research in ibm's semiconductor division in his early years, the mainstream development of the company was another X-ray microscopic technology, not only the human resources far exceeded his team, but also the supervisor responsible for X-ray microscopy, and also Lin Benjian's immediate boss. The embarrassment of his situation at the company can be imagined.
But this "Grandpa Burn (Lin Benjian's English name)", who is known for his good husband and has hardly seen him lose his temper for more than a decade, is unwilling to swallow his anger and openly contradict his boss in a humorous way.
One day, there was a major advance in X-ray microscopy technology, his boss issued everyone a T-shirt "X ray works" (X-ray useful) to celebrate, Lin Benjian actually added 3 words to the back, became "X ray works – for the dentists" (X-ray is available, in the dentist's clinic), and also hung a magnet on the file cabinet behind his desk, telling all colleagues passing by (it is worth mentioning that deep ultraviolet light, has become the main source of semiconductors for the past 30 years, X ray it has not yet been commercialized).
The situation is stronger than people, Lin Benjian is still 50 years old, applied for early retirement to start a business, and joined TSMC in 2000 to take charge of micro shadow research and development.
- After working for two years, big things are done
He went to TSMC for two years to work, and he made a sensation in the world's semiconductor industry.
At that time, the industry's main microscopic light source, a laser with a wavelength of 193 nanometers, had difficulty continuously driving Moore's Law. The 157-nanometer light source that is expected to take over the baton, because of various technical problems, the commercialization time schedule has been repeatedly delayed, which has become a headache for the industry.
When Lin Benjian was invited to the 157-nanometer industry seminar in 2002, he actually gave a speech on a technology that no one expected- the 193-nanometer immersion microscope with a slight improvement of the existing technology, which caused a sensation.
- Push Moore's Law seven generations
A technology that a Japanese, American, and European equipment factory invested tens of billions of dollars in research and development was shelved because of Hayashi's words.
At that time, It was Lin Benjian's boss and former chief operating officer of TSMC, Jiang Shangyi, who recalled that there were indeed senior executives of major equipment factories who expressed serious concerns at that time, "I hope I can manage him and not stir up trouble," he wrote in the preface to Lin Benjian's new book.
In his new book, Lin Benjian lists "inventing and popularizing immersive microscopy, advancing Moore's Law for seven generations" as one of his eight contributions in the field of projection microscopy.
Another of these, his research during his time at IBM, "The Impact of Imaging Tolerance on Simulator Shock Teams", may seem humble, but it has also contributed greatly to the continued development of Taiwan's technology industry.
- In a word, let the TSMC Nanke factory continue to build
Back in 2001, when the vibrations that roared through at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour after the completion of the high-speed railway in Taiwan were debated over whether the production of semiconductor factories in the nearby Nanke District would be affected.
At that time, TSMC already had a sixth factory in Nanke, and the appearance of the fourteenth factory had just been completed, but the equipment had not yet moved in, so the construction was suspended. "The whole park has this problem, do you want to build it, I don't know what to do?" Lin Benjian recalled.
Jiang Shangyi recommended Lin Benjian to join TSMC's internal evaluation team, because the optical microscopy he was responsible for was the most sensitive to vibration, and he felt that it had no effect, and the other parts should not have any effect. He readily agreed, because he had done research at IBM on the effects of vibration on the machine, and it happened to come in handy.
He did a detailed experiment, analyzed it carefully, and concluded, "No effect."
"At that time, if I had been to protect myself, I would have said don't do it, I wouldn't cover it, and there would never have been an accident," Hayashi said, "I said I could do it, and I would be very responsible [in case of an accident]."
But he is very confident in his experimental results and calculations, and the results show that the TSMC power plant site is still a safe distance from the place where the high-speed rail vibration is most affected, "there is no evidence to support me to say no, all the facts are supportive of me saying yes."
Therefore, at the end of October 2001, TSMC unexpectedly announced that after the company's project team on the vibration problem of high-speed rail, it was "confirmed that under the proper engineering technology, the vibration caused by the future high-speed rail traveling near Nanke will not affect the company's integrated circuit production."
Under the order of Zhang Zhongmou, chairman of TSMC, the 14 factories that had been suspended resumed work. The controversy over the high-speed rail vibration that has been troubling for a while has also disappeared. Other semiconductor factories such as UMC have also followed suit to increase investment in NANKE.
At present, Nanke has become the focus of TSMC's expansion in the next decade, not only the current 16nm and 20nm processes are produced in Nanke, the future 5nm, 3nm advanced processes will also be here. It is expected to account for more than 50% of TSMC's revenue. The number of employees is expected to exceed 14,000, and the agglomeration effect and investment spillover effect are far more than these figures.
And this all comes from this semiconductor master whose eyes are focused and stable, a brave decision at that time.