Chapter 100: A Distant Leader

"Magic."

In the Potion Research Institute, Murphy declared, "Our only advantage is magic!"

He was addressing several experts in computer science and semiconductor fields.

Standing at the lectern, Murphy continued, "I want to manufacture chips. As I've already explained, increasing computational capacity is the cornerstone of future technological development. But the potential of computers is evident to everyone, and the world's top brains and massive amounts of capital have been poured into this field."

"We have capital and brains, but we don't have an absolute advantage. However, we possess something they can't even imagine – magic."

"From today, the Chip Research Task Force is officially established. You will be responsible for finding ways to apply magic to this project."

"All of you are experts in either computer science or semiconductors and are well aware of the chip manufacturing process. I need you to think outside the box and find a way to give us a clear advantage over our competitors."

"Any ideas?"

As soon as Murphy finished speaking, someone stood up.

"Dr. Derrick Preston," Murphy recognized him, "Please, go ahead."

Derrick, a slightly overweight man in his thirties, began, "Director, I have an idea. In fact, I've been thinking about it ever since I joined the institute. I'm an algorithm engineer, but I've always been fascinated by chips. I've self-studied IC design, worked on semiconductor circuits, and even interned at a wafer fab..."

"Sorry, what I mean is, after joining the institute, I've been pondering how to make chips with magic. I think two spells could be very useful in chip manufacturing."

"That's the Engorgement Charm and Shrinking Charm!"

"As we know, the most representative data of chip technology advancement is the process technology. Earlier this year, Intel released the 80486 chip, pushing the transistor count in a chip to over a million for the first time, using a 1-micron process, the most advanced chip technology to date."

"In the UK, the best chip factories can steadily produce chips with a 1.5-micron process, equivalent to Intel's 80386 chip from four years ago."

"Advancement in process technology means more transistors, which translates to greater computing power," Derrick continued. "But every bit of progress in process technology is extremely difficult, involving a lot of technological improvements from IC design to lithography, doping technology, etching process, photoresist, and so on."

"And this is all because chips and transistors are too small. Chips are the pinnacle of human precision manufacturing, and their transistors are the smallest mechanical structures humans can mass-produce."

"Controlling the gap between two circuits at 1 micron is already a tremendous achievement. A human hair's diameter is about 50 microns, so a 1-micron process is equivalent to carving thirty to forty circuits on a scale as thin as a hair, which is unbelievable."

"But we have magic. If we enlarge the chip, say, by five times, complete the circuitry, and then shrink it, the process technology issue becomes trivial!"

"With the current UK 1.5-micron process, after enlarging by five times, we could use the 1.5-micron technology to etch on a wafer twenty-five times the area. Once the etching is complete and it's shrunk back to its original size, its process would effectively be reduced by five times, to 0.3 microns! That's far ahead of current Intel."

"If we use the Shrinking Charm again on the restored wafers, shrinking them by another five times, we would enter the 60-nanometer process realm. According to Moore's Law, we would be at least fifteen years ahead of the world!"

"And as far as I know, the transformation ratio of the Engorgement and Shrinking Charms is more than five times. If we can enlarge the wafer by ten times and then shrink it by ten times, we'll get 15-nanometer process chips. If we enlarge by twenty times and shrink by twenty times, we'll be near the 3-nanometer process, easily staying thirty years ahead of the global curve!"

Derrick's statement wasn't entirely accurate.

Chip performance is not solely related to process technology. It involves IC design, materials, coating processes, lithography, packaging technology, and much more.

Not to mention the quantum tunneling effect that appears below ten nanometers, which can't be simply solved by shrinking the original chip; it requires new materials and new gate circuit designs.

Even a five-fold process change chip wouldn't likely apply the 1.5-micron manufacturing technology to an enlarged wafer directly.

But this idea firmly captures the most critical bottleneck in chip manufacturing: the minimum size issue of precision manufacturing technology.

"Excellent!" Murphy applauded. "Brilliant idea, Dr. Preston! I hope you can immediately start verifying this idea. What do you need?"

In fact, using the Engorgement and Shrinking Charms in chip production was an idea Murphy had long harbored, and he saw it as one of the reasons he could make a mark in the chip industry.

However, as a leader, there's no need to always showcase his intelligence. Letting subordinates propose ideas can more effectively motivate them.

"I need a lithography machine. It doesn't have to be advanced; an outdated technology will do. Also, we need a wizard skilled in Engorgement and Shrinking Charms to assist," Derrick said, then seemed to remember something else, "Oh, and we need an ultra-clean laboratory."

Acquiring an ultra-clean lab and a lithography machine is easy; money can buy them. But a wizard...

Considering that the Seed of Mind couldn't be freely used yet, Murphy eventually decided to let house-elves assist for the time being.

House-elves can also perform magic and should be sufficient for now.

...

Leaving the magical research institute, Murphy visited the Supreme Potion Shop in Diagon Alley.

The store manager, responsible for this shop, immediately greeted him, "Boss, what brings you here?"

Supreme Potion had already driven several famous potion shops out of business, almost completely monopolizing the wizarding world's potion trade in the UK. Besides stores in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, it also opened branches in Hogsmeade and other wizarding areas.

Murphy couldn't manage so many shops, so he recruited some wizards to handle the business for him.

Linked to their performance, they were generally quite diligent.

The manager of the Diagon Alley potion shop was a middle-aged man in his forties named Isaac Biddle, a former apothecary at Slughorn and Jiggers. A highly skilled potion master, he was recruited by Murphy after his shop was crushed by Murphy's price war.

"I have some business, but let's visit the factory first."

They went to the shop's backyard, where several old shacks had been demolished and replaced with four walls of green bricks and red tiles, constructing a 19th-century-style factory building.

The space inside the factory was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside.

In the center, there was a massive assembly line-like structure. Closer inspection revealed it to be a ring-shaped workbench with an open end at both sides. The iron conveyor belt was embedded with over thirty platforms, each holding a cauldron.

More than thirty wizards sat on either side of the assembly line. Each in front of a cauldron, they repeated their motions with wands.

They each had different tasks: some added a measured amount of fairy wing powder to the cauldrons, others stirred while dropping in morning dew, some ignited fires to heat, and some plucked seven petals from a rose to throw in...

It was a production line for Amortentia.

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