paranoianovel Chapter 188 Spread, then we'll wait.
Chapter 188 Spread, then we'll wait.
December 31, 2020.
My last day in Suzhou.
It wasn't Su Chen's last day in Suzhou—he wasn't going anywhere—but the last day of 2020.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, Su Chen sat at his workstation in the lab, with the Nature Materials submission system open on his computer screen. The status bar still displayed the same line from six days ago: "Submitted".
no change.
The paper was submitted six days ago, and the editor still hasn't assigned reviewers. This is normal in NM's process—the editorial department can't process new manuscripts during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Su Chen knew this, but he still checked the system every day.
It's just a habit.
The phone rang once.
It was a message from Lin Wei: "The company has a New Year's Eve event tonight, are you coming?"
Su Chen thought for a moment and replied, "Come on. What time?"
"Seven o'clock. Cafeteria."
"good."
He closed the submission system page and opened another document—the one he had been working on for the past few days.
It's not a new theoretical derivation, nor a revision of a paper, but a notebook. The notebook is titled: "Experimental Verification Scheme for 400mm - Preliminary Conception".
Part VI of the paper provides a theoretical prediction of 400 mm: ±0.015°. However, this is only a theoretical extrapolation and lacks experimental data to support it. If reviewers request experimental verification of 400 mm—the most likely requirement in a major revision—they need to prepare in advance.
The problem is that there is currently no mature production line for 400mm wafer-level MEMS technology in the world.
There were none among Wei Lan's alliance members.
This means that if reviewers do make this request, they either need to convince a consortium member to build a 400mm experimental line—which requires time and money—or prove that the theoretical prediction of 400mm can be indirectly verified through other means.
Su Chen wrote down three possible directions in his notes:
"Direction 1: Utilize the existing 300mm production line to simulate 400mm boundary conditions through localized thermal field control. Advantages: No new equipment required. Disadvantages: Limited simulation accuracy; reviewers may not accept it."
Option Two: Collaborate with core alliance members to conduct single-point verification of the 400mm edge region on existing production lines. Advantages: Authentic data. Disadvantages: Not a complete 400mm process verification; insufficient coverage.
Option 3: Directly build a 400mm experimental line. Advantages: Complete validation, undisputed data. Disadvantages: Extremely high time and financial costs; if reviewers' comments are released in March, there will be no more than two months for supplementary experiments.
Su Chen looked at the three directions and drew a circle after "Direction Two".
This is the most realistic option.
But he wasn't in a hurry to make a decision. The reviewers' comments hadn't come out yet, and doing too much preparation now might be a waste.
He saved his notes, shut down his computer, grabbed his coat, and left the lab.
In the corridor, the sky outside the window had already darkened. In Suzhou on December 31st, it was already dark at 4:30 in the evening.
The last sunset of 2020.
……
The New Year's Eve event was held in the cafeteria and was not large in scale—the entire Weilan micro-system had fewer than eighty people, and about fifty of them came.
The cafeteria was simply decorated with a few strings of colored lights, some balloons, and a long table set with hot pot broth and ingredients. Zhao Guoping was in charge of organizing the event; he was very good at this kind of thing.
When Su Chen arrived, Lin Wei was already there. She was wearing a dark blue sweater and was chatting with several engineers by the long table. When she saw Su Chen come in, she nodded to him.
Zhou Zhiyuan didn't come. Su Chen wasn't surprised—Zhou Zhiyuan had always had very low social engagement, and he wouldn't show up at events like New Year's Eve.
"Come, sit down," Lin Wei gestured for Su Chen to sit next to her.
Steam rose from the hot pot, filling the cafeteria with a spicy aroma. Su Chen didn't eat much spicy food, but he still picked up a piece of tripe with his chopsticks.
"Hongyuan's equipment will arrive on January 8th," Lin Wei said while eating hot pot, her tone as casual as if she were discussing the weather. "Zhao Guoping has already arranged the receiving process, so you don't need to worry about it."
"good."
"The first batch of MicroPort Sensors was also delivered in early January. Four million units, according to the contract quantity."
"good."
"Is there anything I can do to help with the thesis?"
"Not yet." Su Chen put down his chopsticks. "Until the peer reviewers' comments are released, all I can do is wait."
"Then let's wait." Lin Wei glanced at him. "You're not good at waiting."
Su Chen was taken aback: "How did you know?"
"Because you've been writing notes on the 400mm verification scheme these past few days." Lin Wei's lips curled up slightly. "Zhou Zhiyuan told me."
Su Chen paused for a second, then shook his head: "It's just preparation in advance, in case the reviewers request additional experiments."
"I know," Lin Wei said calmly, "but what I want to say is—if the reviewers really require 400mm verification, leave the funding and equipment to me. You're only responsible for the technical solution."
Su Chen looked at her and nodded.
"Understood."
The two stopped talking about work. The atmosphere in the cafeteria grew increasingly lively; some people started singing, others were playing drinking games, and Zhao Guoping went from table to table toasting with a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor).
11:59.
Everyone raised their glasses.
"Three! Two! One!"
"Happy New Year!"
The year 2021 has arrived.
Su Chen held up his glass, which contained cola—he didn't drink alcohol—and clinked glasses with the people around him.
Lin Wei stood beside him, her glass filled with red wine. Instead of saying "Happy New Year," she uttered four other words:
See you in April.
Su Chen smiled when he heard those four words.
See you in April.
……
Meanwhile, news of paper submissions continued to spread.
If the Zhihu post on December 26th was just a discussion within the domestic MEMS community, by the time the news reached the international academic community in the week of the New Year.
The path of dissemination was simple: the discussion on Zhihu was translated into English and posted on the r/MEMS section of Reddit; the name of Dean Chen in the author list of Wei Lan's paper was recognized—he has a certain reputation in the international thermoelastic coupling field—so several scholars who are interested in this field began to discuss it on Twitter.
On December 30th, an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science at the University of Illinois posted a tweet:
"Heard that a Chinese team submitted a paper to Nature Materials on a 'third-order nonlinear thermal-elastic coupling model' for MEMS fabrication. Claims to predict precision improvement with scale, validated at 300mm. If true, this could be significant. Anyone know more?"
This tweet was retweeted forty-seven times and received more than one hundred and twenty likes.
In the comments section, someone provided more information—the first author of the paper is a 22-year-old doctoral student, the corresponding author is an associate professor from a laboratory in Suzhou, and the title of the paper includes "scale extrapolation".
Some expressed skepticism: "NM's rejection rate is over 90%. Submitting a paper doesn't guarantee publication. Let's wait for the peer review results."
But regardless of doubt or anticipation, one fact has been established—the international MEMS academic community has begun to take notice of the name Vilan Microsystems.
Before this, almost no one had heard of this name.
……
January 3, 2021.
Milan, Italy, STMicroelectronics MEMS Business Unit.
Marco Bertoli, technical director of STMicroelectronics' MEMS business unit, sat in his office with screenshots of the Twitter tweet and Reddit post displayed on his computer screen.
"Weilan?" He frowned as he pronounced the name, his pronunciation slightly off. "Weilan? Never heard of this company before."
"A small company in Suzhou, China," his assistant replied, standing to the side. "Less than two years old, with fewer than a hundred employees. But they've suddenly emerged in China's MEMS industry in the last few months, reportedly forming an alliance of more than twenty companies."
"An alliance of more than twenty companies?" Bertolli raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"To verify one of their theoretical models, something called a 'third-order nonlinear thermoelastic coupling model.' This model supposedly predicts that the precision of MEMS processes will increase with wafer size—contrary to conventional wisdom."
"Precision increases with size?" Bertolli's expression turned serious. "That's impossible. Our empirical data consistently shows that the larger the size, the more difficult it is to control thermal deformation, and the worse the precision."
"They claim to have verified ±0.018° on a 300mm surface."
Bertoli was silent for a few seconds.
STMicroelectronics' MEMS division is the world's third-largest MEMS manufacturer, after Bosch and Texas Instruments. Their 200mm production line has an accuracy of ±0.028°—which is already top-tier in the industry.
±0.018°? On a 300mm surface?
If this number is true...
"Compile a report for me using all the publicly available information you can find," Bertoli said. "Including that Reddit post, Twitter discussions, and any data they've published on industry forums in China. Within three days."
"clear."
After his assistant left, Bertoli opened the Nature Materials website and typed "thermal-elastic coupling MEMS" into the search bar.
No results found.
Of course, there are no results yet—the paper is still under review and will not appear in public databases.
He closed the webpage, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the ceiling.
If this theory is true, if the ±0.018° within 300mm is true, if the paper is indeed accepted by NM...
STMicroelectronics' 200mm production line—which they were so proud of as being at the top of the industry—became a whole generation behind in terms of technology.
He needs more information.
……
January 4th.
Infineon headquarters in Munich, Germany.
Thomas Weber, head of Infineon's sensor division, received an informal email from Bosch Stein.
The email was brief: "Thomas, have you been following the developments at Vilan Microsystems in China lately? They submitted a paper on MEMS thermoelastic coupling to NM. I suggest your team take a look."
Weber frowned after reading the email.
Stein is the head of Bosch's Suzhou office and is an old acquaintance of Weber—the two met at the same academic conference ten years ago. The fact that Stein sent him this email indicates that the matter has already attracted attention within Bosch.
Bosch is the world's leading MEMS company, and Infineon is fourth. If Bosch is starting to pay attention to a paper from a small Chinese company, then this matter cannot be ignored.
Weber forwarded Stein's email to his VP of Technology, adding the comment: "Have someone do some research."
……
January 5th.
Kyoto, Japan, TDK headquarters.
Akira Ishikawa sat at the lunch table with a bento box in front of him. Across from him sat his colleague, Koichi Tanaka, another engineer from the TDK gyroscope project team.
"Ishikawa," Tanaka put down his chopsticks, "have you heard of a Chinese company called Vilan Microsystems?"
Akira Ishikawa paused for a moment, but quickly resumed his normal movements.
"I've heard of it," he said calmly.
"They recently submitted a paper to Nature Materials, claiming a theoretical breakthrough in thermoelastic coupling for MEMS. There's discussion about it on Reddit." Tanaka asked curiously, "Do you think it's plausible?"
Akira Ishikawa picked up a piece of tamagoyaki and chewed it slowly.
He certainly thought it was reliable.
He not only found it reliable, but he also knew the specific content of the paper—at least the most crucial parts. Although he and Su Chen only exchanged a few emails, the information Su Chen revealed in those emails, combined with Ishikawa Akira's own analysis and judgment, was enough for him to confirm the authenticity of the third-order model.
Moreover, he has three years' worth of gyroscope data, waiting to conduct independent verification after the paper is published.
But he wouldn't tell Tanaka a single word about these things.
"It's hard to say," Ishikawa Akira said casually. "Nature Materials has a very high rejection rate. Submitting a paper doesn't guarantee publication."
"That's true." Tanaka nodded, then changed the subject.
Akira Ishikawa didn't reply. He lowered his head and ate his bento, but his mind was on something else entirely—
If the paper is accepted by NM, he needs to obtain the complete derivation process as soon as possible and then begin verification.
He has been waiting for three years.
A few months won't make a difference.
But he hoped the reviewers wouldn't take too long.
……
January 8, 2021.
Suzhou, Vilan Microsystems.
At nine o'clock in the morning, a heavy transport vehicle slowly drove into the factory gate of Vilan Microsystems.
The vehicle was loaded with two large pieces of equipment—MEMS-specific etching equipment manufactured by Hongyuan Precision. This was an order placed by Lin Wei three months ago, originally scheduled for delivery in early January, and it arrived on time today.
Lin Wei stood at the factory gate to personally greet them.
Beside him were Zhao Guoping and three engineers, who were responsible for unloading and installing the equipment.
"Be careful!" Zhao Guoping directed the forklift driver. "These two pieces of equipment are worth over twenty million yuan combined. You can't afford to pay for any damage."
The forklift driver grinned, didn't say anything, but his movements became noticeably more careful.
Lin Wei stood aside and watched all of this with a calm expression.
Two devices.
Once these two devices are installed and debugged, Vilan's etching capacity will increase by 40%. Coupled with the redundancy in the alliance's packaging capacity and the raw material guarantee after MicroPort Sensing resumes supply—the capacity bottleneck will be officially lifted starting today.
"Mr. Lin, the equipment arrival confirmation form needs your signature." Zhao Guoping walked over with a stack of documents.
Lin Wei took the pen and quickly signed her name.
"How long will the installation take?" she asked.
"It should take ten to two weeks," Zhao Guoping replied. "Hongyuan has sent two engineers to provide installation guidance; they'll arrive this afternoon."
"Okay. Start debugging immediately after installation. The shipment of the first batch of 300mm commercial sensors cannot be delayed—the target is the end of February."
"clear."
Lin Wei turned and walked back to the office building.
As she walked, she took out her phone and glanced at the calendar.
January 8th.
There are less than three months left until the "April convergence point" she wrote in her year-end review.
Academic progress: The paper is under review, and results are expected in six to eight weeks.
Product line: Hongyuan equipment has arrived, increasing etching capacity by 40%, with the first batch to be shipped before the end of February.
Supply chain: MicroPort Sensors supplies will arrive this week, the alliance packaging capacity is sufficient, and the self-built packaging line will be put into production in May.
Everything is on track.
She put her phone back in her pocket and pushed open the office building door.
……
On the same afternoon.
The first batch of MicroPort Sensors has also arrived after the resumption of supply.
Four million MEMS sensor chips, packaged in standardized anti-static boxes, were delivered directly to Vilan's warehouse by MicroPort Sensing's logistics vehicle.
Zhao Guoping was in charge of the acceptance inspection.
"Four million units, model MP-3200, batch number 2021-01-A." Zhao Guoping checked the list item by item. "Quantity, model, batch—all are correct."
He signed the acceptance form and then handed the document to the accompanying personnel from MicroPort Sensing.
"Please inform General Manager Zhou," Zhao Guoping said politely but not enthusiastically, "that the goods have been signed for. The subsequent procedures will proceed according to standard staff procedures."
The accompanying personnel nodded and drove away.
Zhao Guoping stood at the warehouse entrance, watching the taillights of the departing car, and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Standard member procedures.
This is not a core member process.
What's the difference?
Core members can attend quarterly technical sharing sessions, obtain preview data of new process parameters in advance, and enjoy priority in procurement within the alliance.
Standard members only have basic supply and demand relationships.
These are the rules set by Lin Wei. MicroPort Sensors resumed supply, and Wei Lan accepted—but without granting core permissions. To obtain core permissions, a new application and reassessment are required.
Lin Wei did not mention the exact timeframe for that "reassessment".
Zhao Guoping felt that the timeframe would likely be after the paper was published.
By then, the standards for evaluation may be completely different from those today.
……
January 9th.
Su Chen opened the Nature Materials submission system and saw a change.
The status bar has changed from "Submitted" to "Editor Assigned".
The editor has already been assigned.
This means that after the Christmas holidays, the editorial department began processing the backlog of manuscripts, and their papers entered the formal process.
The next step is "Under Review"—the editor invites reviewers and assigns the manuscript. This process usually takes one to two weeks.
Su Chen took a screenshot and sent it to Zhou Zhiyuan.
Zhou Zhiyuan replied with a single word: "Okay."
Then he added, "Don't watch it every day. Staring at it won't make you faster."
Su Chen smiled and closed the page.
Zhou Zhiyuan is right.
But he knew he couldn't do it.
……
January 10th.
Bosch Suzhou Base, Suzhou Industrial Park.
Albrecht arrived in Suzhou three days ahead of schedule.
His plane landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport yesterday afternoon, and he then took a car directly to Suzhou, where he appeared at the gate of Bosch's Suzhou base early this morning.
Stein personally greeted him at the door.
"Mr. Albrecht, welcome." Stein extended his hand.
Albrecht shook his hand, without much small talk: "Let's look at the production line first."
The two people walked directly into the cleanroom of the 250mm production line.
Bosch's 250mm production line at its Suzhou facility, built by Stein over a year, is expected to officially begin production by the end of the first quarter of this year. This production line uses Bosch's self-developed second-order thermoelastic coupling correction model—one of Bosch's core technologies accumulated over thirty years in the MEMS field.
Albrecht, dressed in a cleanroom suit, walked along the production line.
He stopped in front of the etching station.
"What is the current process precision?" he asked.
"±0.030°," Stein replied. "This is the best data from our internal testing. We expect it to be between ±0.032° and ±0.035° after mass production."
"The 300mm of the Violet is ±0.018°."
"Yes."
Albrecht was silent for a few seconds, then continued walking along the production line.
He inspected every workstation, every piece of equipment, and every parameter panel. The entire tour lasted two hours, and he hardly spoke a word.
Albrecht did not speak until the tour ended and the two returned to Stein's office.
"The gap is more apparent than what's written in the report," he said.
Stein did not refute this.
"Your 250mm production line is first-class," Albrecht continued. "Two years ago, it was one of the most advanced MEMS production lines in the world. But now..."
He paused for a moment.
"The problem now isn't that your production line isn't good enough; the rules of the game have changed." Albrecht's gaze drifted out the window to the distance—the skyline of Suzhou Industrial Park was blurred in the winter mist. "The gap between our second-order model and their third-order model can't be bridged by engineering improvements. It's a generational gap."
Stein nodded. He had already written this conclusion in his analysis report, but hearing it from Albrecht carried a completely different weight.
"So what do we do?" Stein asked.
Albrecht sat in his chair, his hands clasped in front of his abdomen, lost in thought for a long time.
"We will continue to advance our differentiated approach to materials science," he said. "This is part of our long-term strategy; regardless of the outcome of Wei Lan's paper, we need to establish barriers to entry in materials science."
But what about in the short term?
"In the short term..." Albrecht paused, "I discussed a possibility with headquarters before I came."
Stein waited.
"If Wei Lan's paper is accepted by NM—and I say 'if'—we might need to consider a new relationship positioning."
"Cooperation?" Stein asked tentatively.
"Don't rush to define it," Albrecht said cautiously. "First, establish contact. Get to know each other. See if there's any common ground."
"But others at headquarters might not think the same way," Stein expressed his concern. "STMicroelectronics is already discussing how to deal with Villan. Their approach is different from ours."
Albrecht raised an eyebrow: "What's the Italian-French strategy?"
"What I've heard is—patent barriers."
……
January 11th.
Milan, Italy, STMicroelectronics headquarters.
Bertolli sat in the conference room, the first page of a PowerPoint presentation displayed on the projection screen in front of him:
"Velocity Microsystems Technology Assessment and Countermeasures - Preliminary Plan"
Six senior executives from the MEMS business unit of Italian Semiconductor, as well as two representatives from the legal department, attended the meeting.
"The situation is quite simple," Bertoli stood up and tapped a slide. "A small company in Suzhou, China, called Vilan Microsystems, claims to have developed a theoretical framework called a 'third-order nonlinear thermoelastic coupling model' and has submitted it to Nature Materials. If the paper is accepted, this model could potentially redefine the theoretical foundation of the field of MEMS thermoelastic coupling."
He turned to the next page, which contained a comparison table:
The theoretical basis for the company's dimensional accuracy in manufacturing processes: Bosch 250mm ±0.030° (second-order correction model); STMicroelectronics 200mm ±0.028° (empirical formula); Vilan 300mm ±0.018° (third-order model).
"The difference is obvious," Bertoli said, pointing to the table. "Our precision is on par with Bosch's, but Vilan's 300mm data is a full 35% better than ours. And they claim that precision improves with size—if that's true, the difference at 400mm and 500mm will only be greater."
The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.
"What's the solution?" the vice president of the MEMS business unit asked.
Bertolli turned to the next page, which listed three options:
Option 1: Catch up with the technology. Develop a similar third-order model on your own.
Option Two: Patent Barriers. Utilize our patent portfolio in the MEMS process field to limit Vilan's commercialization path.
Option 3: Wait and see. Make a decision after the peer review results are available.
"Option one is impractical," Bertoli immediately ruled out the first option. "Bosch's Stein team has already tried reverse engineering the third-order model, and the conclusion is that it cannot be reduced. If Bosch can't do it, neither can we."
"What about Option Two?" the vice president pressed.
At this point, the representative from the Ministry of Justice spoke up.
"Option Two has a problem." The legal representative, a woman in her fifties from Italy named Francesca, had twenty years of experience in the field of intellectual property. "The third-order model is a mathematical theoretical framework, not a technological method. Mathematical theories are not protected by patent law—this is a globally accepted principle."
"Our patent doesn't protect the theory itself, it protects the process flow," Bertoli countered. "Vilan's paper must contain details of process verification; if these process details involve our patent—"
"That depends on the specific content of the paper," Francesca interrupted him. "But I need to remind you of one fact: if this paper is accepted and published by Nature Materials, the theoretical framework in the paper—including all formulas, derivations, and predictions—will become publicly available academic material. Anyone can cite, verify, and apply it."
She paused, then emphasized:
"You can't put up patent barriers on a publicly published theory of physics. It's like trying to collect patent fees for Newtonian mechanics."
The meeting room fell silent again.
Bertoli opened his mouth, but didn't speak.
Francesca is right. The core of the third-order model—those formulas, those derivations—once published, becomes public knowledge for all humanity. You may not use it in your own craft, but you cannot prevent others from using it.
And more importantly—if you don't use it, but others do, then you'll fall behind.
This is not a problem that can be solved by patent wars.
This is a theoretical barrier.
The fundamental difference between theoretical barriers and patent barriers is that patent barriers protect what you already have, while theoretical barriers prevent you from ever getting what you need.
"So you're suggesting option three?" The vice president asked, looking at Francesca.
"I suggest waiting for the paper," Francesca said calmly. "If the paper is rejected, everything remains the same. If the paper is accepted—"
She glanced at Bertoli.
"If the paper is accepted, what we need to seriously consider isn't how to counter Vilan, but how to build a relationship with them. Because from that moment on, Vilan will no longer be just a small Chinese company. They will become the standard-setters in the theoretical field of MEMS. And you—"
She pointed to Bertoli.
"Your proud empirical formulas will become a special case within their theoretical framework."
Bertoli's expression was somewhat unpleasant. But he did not refute it.
Because Stein's report also stated this: "All existing empirical models will become special cases of the third-order framework."
Bosch and STMicroelectronics reached the same conclusion on the same issue.
This suggests that the conclusion is likely correct.
"Option Three," the vice president finally decided. "Wait for the paper. No public action will be taken until the peer review results are available. But the internal evaluation will continue—Bertoli, refine your technical report; I need the full version by the end of the month."
"clear."
The meeting has ended.
Bertolli's feelings were complicated as he walked out of the conference room.
He has worked in the MEMS industry for 21 years, and he single-handedly built STMicroelectronics' 200mm production line. He knows what ±0.028° means—it's the second best performance in the world, second only to Bosch.
But now, a 22-year-old PhD student at a small Chinese company claims to have achieved ±0.018° on a 300mm surface.
Moreover, their theory states that the larger the size, the more accurate it is.
This violates Bertoli's 21 years of engineering experience.
But what if mathematics proves him wrong—
That means he was wrong, not the math.
This idea made him very uncomfortable.
But he's an engineer. Engineers believe in data, not feelings.
Papers, etc.
Everything depends on the paper.
……
On the evening of January 11th.
Bosch Suzhou base, Stein's office.
Stein told Albrecht about the STMicroelectronics conference—he had learned through a former colleague that Bertoli's "patent barrier" proposal had been rejected.
After listening, Albrecht gave a meaningful smile.
"Francesca is right," he said. "You can't build patent barriers on fundamental theories. STMicroelectronics couldn't do that, and nobody can."
"Then our differentiation strategy..." Stein began.
"Our approach is different," Albrecht interrupted him. "We're not trying to stop Villand, but rather to build our own moat around Villand's theoretical framework. The accuracy of theoretical predictions—that's Villand's strength. But materials determine cost and reliability—that's what we've accumulated over thirty years."
He stood up and walked to the window.
"Stein, do you know the difference between Bosch and STMicroelectronics?"
"Where?"
"STMicroelectronics sees a threat. Their first thought is how to stop the other side," Albrecht said calmly and confidently. "But I see an opportunity. When a new theoretical paradigm emerges, the smartest thing to do is not to resist it, but to utilize it."
"Use it?"
"If the third-order model is correct—and all the evidence points to it—then this model will become the foundational tool for the entire MEMS industry. Every company will need to use it. The question is, who will use it best?"
Albrecht turned and looked at Stein.
"The answer is: the people with the deepest expertise in materials science. A third-order model tells you the theoretically achievable precision, but whether it can be achieved depends on the physical limits of the material. And the physical limits of materials—that's what Bosch has been pushing for the past thirty years."
Stein was silent for a few seconds, then slowly nodded.
He began to understand Albrecht's logic.
The goal is not to resist the new paradigm, but to find one's own irreplaceable place within it.
"Before the end of January," Albrecht picked up his coat, preparing to leave, "arrange something for me."
"What's wrong?"
"I'd like to know if Vilan's people would be willing to meet," Albrecht said casually, as if discussing a trivial matter. "Informal, no commitments required. Just a meeting, a chat. To see if we share any common interests."
Stein's hand trembled slightly.
Albrecht, the global president of Bosch's MEMS business unit and a 37-year veteran of Bosch, would take the initiative to meet with someone from a small Chinese company?
"I'll contact them," Stein said.
"Okay. No rush." Albrecht opened the door. "Let's talk about it after we have preliminary results from the peer review. I just wanted you to prepare in advance."
As he walked out the door, he paused, turned back, and said his last words:
"Stein, remember—in a technological paradigm shift, the first to reach out gets the best position."
The door closed.
Stein stood there, motionless for a long time.
He had worked at Bosch’s Suzhou plant for three years and had never seen Albrecht take a competitor so seriously—no, he didn’t even use the term “competitor” to describe Villand.
He used the term "potential partners".
This shift in attitude speaks volumes more than any technical analysis report.
……
January 12th.
Su Chen opened the submission system again.
The change in the status bar made his heart race for a moment—
"Under Review."
The paper has been assigned to reviewers.
The peer review process has officially begun.
He took a deep breath, closed the page, opened his notes on the 400mm verification scheme, and continued working.
Waiting is no longer futile.
From that day on, someone somewhere is carefully reading every formula, every derivation, and every set of data he wrote down.
He couldn't predict what questions those people would ask or what judgments they would make.
But he knew one thing.
The third-order model is correct.
The data is there.
Mathematics is there.
All that's left is time.