One of SMIC's 5 core technical staff has resigned! Leading the "n+1" process chip

On July 5th, SMIC Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “SMIC” or the “Company”) issued an announcement stating that Dr. Wu Jingang, a core technician, recently applied for resignation due to personal reasons and completed the resignation procedures. . After resignation, Dr. Wu Jingang no longer holds any position in the company.

At present, the company's technology research and development work is proceeding normally, and the resignation of Dr. Wu Jingang has not had a significant adverse impact on the company's overall research and development strength.

According to the data, Dr. Wu Jingang joined SMIC in 2001. From 2001 to 2014, he served as assistant director, director, and senior director. He has served as vice president of technology research and development since 2014 and was responsible for participating in the company's FinFET advanced process technology research and development and management during his tenure. jobs.

According to SMIC's 2020 annual report, the FinFET technology R&D and management work that Wu Jingang is responsible for is very important to SMIC. According to the annual report, integrated circuit manufacturing requires highly sophisticated equipment. After decades of development, integrated circuits have evolved from the 0.35 micron CMOS process at the beginning of this century to the nano-level FinFET process. The world's most advanced mass production integrated circuit manufacturing process has reached 5nm, and 3nm technology is expected to enter the market around 2022.

The company's annual report shows that it has completed the installation capacity target of 15,000 FinFETs, the first-generation mass production is progressing steadily, and the second-generation enters the risky mass production, but there is still a certain gap between the world's leading level. Among them, "R&D of second-generation FinFET process technology" and "Development of 14-nanometer FinFET derivative technology platform" belong to the company's current research projects.

In addition, Wu Jingang once led the research and development of the advanced technology project "n+1" before leaving. "N+1" is a chip project named by SMIC, which is close to the industry's 10nm. The project is led by co-CEO Liang Mengsong in the macro strategy, and the details of the route are all led by Wu Jingang. At present, SMIC’s 28nm, 14nm, 12nm, and "n+1" technologies have entered mass production. The above-mentioned technologies are all advanced process nodes of the chip. At present, SMIC has reached the "n+2" stage, which is equivalent to the industry's 7nm chip. , The project is in charge of another vice president.

According to the prospectus submitted by SMIC in July 2020, Wu Jingang is one of the company’s five core technical personnel and serves as vice president of technology research and development. The other four are co-CEO Haijun Zhao, co-CEO Liang Mengsong, and executive deputy President Zhou Meisheng, Senior Vice President of Operations and Engineering Zhang Xin.

In terms of patents, Dr. Wu Jingang participated in the company's research and development work during his tenure in the company. During the period, the patents applied for were not the patents of a single inventor and were all service inventions. The ownership of the aforementioned patents belongs to the company, there are no disputes or potential disputes involving patents, and their resignation does not affect the integrity of the company's patent rights.

The announcement shows that through long-term technology accumulation and development, SMIC has established a complete R&D system. The company has always attached importance to the training and construction of talent teams, and the training and selection of potential employees, forming an ever-expanding outstanding R&D team and profound The company has a talent base to maintain technological advancement and continuous innovation. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, the company has 2,096, 2,530, and 2,335 R&D personnel, accounting for 11.86%, 16.02%, and 13.50% of the total number of employees, respectively, The number of R&D personnel remained stable. At present, the company's technology research and development work is proceeding normally, and the resignation of Dr. Wu Jingang has not had a significant adverse impact on the company's overall research and development strength.

It is worth noting that SMIC’s 2020 financial report shows that Zhao Haijun’s total pre-tax remuneration from the company in 2020 is 6.318 million yuan; in 2020, Liang Mengsong’s total pre-tax remuneration from the company in 2020 is 28.81 million yuan. (Including the gift of a set of housing for home life, the value is 22.5 million yuan (tax included)); Zhou Meisheng’s total pre-tax remuneration from the company in 2020 is 418.5 million yuan; Zhang Xin from 2020 The total pre-tax remuneration received by the company is 4.254 million yuan. The total pre-tax remuneration received by Dr. Wu Jingang from the company in 2020 is 2.141 million yuan, which is far from the other four core technical personnel.

Obviously, from the perspective of the remuneration package, among the five core technical personnel, Dr. Wu Jingang’s remuneration package is relatively low. Of course, since both Zhao Haijun and Liang Mengsong are co-CEOs of the company, it is natural that their salary levels are higher. However, even compared with Zhou Meisheng and Zhang Xin, Dr. Wu Jingang's salary is only half of theirs.

Regarding the whereabouts of Dr. Wu Jingang after his resignation, there are rumors that he may be going to Huawei. According to the previous news that Huawei is building its own fab, chip manufacturing talents are naturally what Huawei wants most. But unless there is no competitive relationship between Huawei's fab and SMIC, Dr. Wu Jingang is subject to a competition agreement and cannot go to Huawei. Of course, the above is purely speculation, and follow-up progress needs to be followed up.