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By Zhao Guangli, reporter of China Science News

General Purpose Processor（CPU）It is the "Mount Everest" of chips

Without it, computers and other electronic devices will be controlled by people.

However, after the "Eighth Five" and "Ninth Five"

my country has not deployed any CPU development projects for ten consecutive years

Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

(hereinafter referred to as the Institute of Computing Technology)

Director Li Guojie is extremely worried

During the "15th" period, he ran around calling for help:

"If you miss these five years, you will never have another chance!"

But at that time

The mainstream argument is that "China is not capable of making CPUs and does not need to make them"

Li Guojie's proposal is difficult to resonate with

"If we don't dare to touch the CPU, we will always be at the bottom of technology"

He deeply felt that China's chip industry could no longer follow the old path.

In 2001, the Institute of Computing Technology used its “family assets” to set up a CPU research and development project

Prepare for a last-ditch fight

Initially, Li Guojie preferred to let experienced old comrades take the lead

It was not until Hu Weiwu, who was in his early 30s, came into view

When I was studying at the University of Science and Technology of China

Hu Weiwu likes to build chips

I saw that the institute was preparing a CPU design project.

He took the initiative to ask Tang Zhimin, director of the System Structure Office of the Institute of Computing Technology, to join the team.

Also issued a "military order":

"If you don't start up the operating system within two years, I'll kill you!"

Li Guojie was impressed by Hu Weiwu's self-confidence

Decided to entrust him with an important task

▲Li Guojie (front) with Tang Zhimin (back right) and Hu Weiwu (back left) in a meeting.

November 2000

Tang Zhimin, Hu Weiwu and more than ten others

With 1 million yuan in funding and a 50-square-meter laboratory

Formed the earliest "Loongson Research Group"

36-year-old Tang Zhimin is responsible for the overall planning of the entire processor design

33-year-old Hu Weiwu led seven or eight graduate students to do the specific design

Soon after, 38-year-old Zhang Zhimin, a visiting researcher at the Institute of Computing Technology, joined

He is rich in engineering experience and is responsible for engineering management

The journey of "Loongson 1" began from then on

They also took a distinctive nickname:

"狗升", which is transliterated into English as Godson

Hu Weiwu said

"A cheap name makes it easier to raise a child"

After May Day 2001

The research team worked day and night to tackle the problem

In the week of mid-August

Several backbones are working hard to catch up with the progress

Fighting for days and nights

After troubleshooting the last problem

The word "Godson" lights up on the display on the motherboard as promised.

“It’s working!”

Everyone cheered

Teamwork

Successfully started up the modified basic input and output system（BIOS）

Then try to start the Linux operating system

After repeated debugging

The word "login" finally appeared on the screen

After logging in, you can do whatever you want

"Loongson" finally took the critical first step

Hu Weiwu excitedly called Tang Zhimin:

"'Dog Sheng' is running!"

After successful logic design

Physical design is on the agenda

At this time, the R&D funds for the Loongson CPU project

It also increased from 1 million yuan to 10 million yuan

However, the Institute of Computing Technology has never done physical design of large-scale chips before.

Many people are worried about whether the Loongson team can continue to work

Hu Weiwu and Tang Zhimin are very confident

Proposed "taking ourselves as the main body and joint design"

The strategy of tape-out of Loongson 1 is divided into two steps:

The first step is to entrust a third party to design the physical design as a "backup plan"

The second step is to organize the team to carry out independent physical design

To make up for the lack of knowledge in physical design

Each member of the Loongson team "chewed" 10,000 pages of documents

Until from "no" to "yes"

What makes Hu Weiwu feel more at ease is

The Loongson team welcomed the help of a "veteran" in physical design——

Microelectronics Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences

(Predecessor of the Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Researcher Huang Lingyi

Mr. Huang is a witness to China's "lack of core and soul"

Her greatest wish is:

"We must design a high-level chip to wash away the shame for our motherland"

▲The Loongson research team has a tradition of going to Tiananmen Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony. The picture shows Huang Lingyi (first from right), Hu Weiwu (third from right) and other members of the Loongson research team going to Tiananmen Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony in 2004 after the successful design and operation of the Loongson 2C chip.

Based on their experience, Huang Lingyi and Hu Weiwu discussed

The Loongson team will independently develop two chips:

The first one is not to demand technical indicators and ensure the smooth process

The second is to pursue technical indicators and strive to achieve breakthroughs

The latter readily agreed

In order to complete the tape-out by the end of September

During the Spring Festival in 2002, most of the Loongson team did not go home.

On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, they posted a couplet in the "office bedroom":

Farewell to the old year, Dog Sheng suddenly appeared

Welcome the New Year with immediate success

▲The couplets posted by the Loongson team on the office door when they were working overtime during the Spring Festival in 2002.

One day before the tape-out deadline

A huge test suddenly came

Scan chain of more than 10,000 flip-flops on chip

Due to a mistake, it didn't come out

This is almost impossible to fix in a day or two.

Looking at everyone's disfigured faces

Hu Weiwu decided to announce the abandonment of the "two chips" plan

At this time, Yang Xu, who was in charge of backend layout design, stepped forward:

“We can manually modify the layout”

The next two days and two nights

More than 10,000 triggers were connected

Finally, on the seventh morning of my consecutive overtime work,

They delivered all the tape-out files

Hu Weiwu breathed a sigh of relief: "We have nothing to regret."

On August 9, 2002, the chip finally returned

They inserted the "Loongson 1" processor daughter card into the motherboard

With the power button pressed

The word "Godson-1" is instantly displayed on the digital tube.

After a night of debugging

The words "Godson Login" finally appeared

Everyone cheered excitedly for a long time

After making sure everything is working properly

Hu Weiwu called Li Guojie:

"It's done."

▲Members of the research team took photos at the "Loongson 1" launch conference.

The successful tape-out of Loongson 1

The Loongson team proved that "Chinese people can also develop general-purpose CPUs"

The Institute of Computing Technology won this battle.

From May 8, 2001 to August 29, 2002(All tape-outs)

The gestation of "Loongson 1" lasted 478 days and nights

The first step of this long march

Opening up the future of China's independent CPU

▲"Loongson 1" chip. (All pictures in this article are provided by the Institute of Computing Technology)

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