Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 102 Far Ahead

"magic."

Inside the potions lab, Murphy declared, "Our only advantage is magic!"

Several experts in the fields of computers and semiconductors were sitting in front of him.

Murphy stood on the podium in front of them. "I want to make chips. I've already explained my reasons to you: improved computing power is the cornerstone of future technological development. But everyone can see the potential of computers; the world's top minds and a lot of capital have been invested in this field."

"We have no shortage of capital and brains, but we don't have an absolute advantage. However, we have something they can't imagine: magic."

"From today onwards, the chip development team is officially established, and you will be responsible for finding ways to make magic work in this project."

"You are all experts in the computer or semiconductor fields and are very clear about the chip manufacturing process. I need you to open your minds and find a way that can give us a clear advantage over our competitors."

"What are everyone's thoughts?"

As soon as Murphy finished speaking, someone stood up.

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

Dai Ruichi was a slightly overweight man in his thirties. "Director, I have an idea. In fact, I had this idea not long after I came to this research institute. I am an algorithm engineer, but I have always been very interested in the field of chip manufacturing. I have taught myself IC design, worked on semiconductor circuits, and even interned at a wafer foundry for a period of time..."

"Excuse me, what I mean is, since entering the research institute, I've been thinking about how to create chips using magic. I think there are two spells that might be very useful for chip creation."

"Those are the enlargement spell and the shrinking spell!"

"As we all know, the most representative data of chip manufacturing progress is the manufacturing process. At the beginning of this year, Intel launched the 80486 chip, which pushed the number of transistors in the chip to more than one million for the first time. It uses a 1-micron process, which is the most advanced chip manufacturing process today."

"In the UK, the best chip factories are able to stably mass-produce 1.5-micron process chips, which is equivalent to the level of Intel's 80386 chip four years ago."

"Advances in manufacturing processes mean more transistors, which means greater computing power," said Derich. "However, every step forward in the manufacturing process is extremely difficult, involving a large number of process improvements, from IC design to lithography machines to doping technology, etching processes, photoresist, and so on."

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

"Being able to control the gap between two circuits to 1 micrometer is already an extremely remarkable achievement. The diameter of a human hair is about 50 micrometers. A 1-micrometer process means carving 30 to 40 circuits on a scale as thin as a hair, which is simply incredible."

"But we have magic. If we magnify the chip, say five times, and after we've fabricated the circuit, we shrink it back down, and the manufacturing process becomes nothing!"

"Taking the UK's current 1.5-micron process as an example, after scaling it up five times, we can use the 1.5-micron process to etch on a wafer that is 25 times larger. After the etch is completed, we can shrink it back to the original size. The process is equivalent to shrinking it by five times, which is 0.3 microns! Compared to Intel today, it is far ahead."

"If we apply a shrinking spell to a wafer that has already been restored to its original size, reducing it by a factor of five, we will directly enter the 60-nanometer manufacturing process. According to Moore's Law, we will be at least fifteen years ahead of the world!"

"And as far as I know, the magnification and shrinkage spells have a multiplier effect that goes beyond five. If we can magnify a wafer tenfold and then shrink it tenfold, we get a 15-nanometer chip. If we magnify it twentyfold and then shrink it twentyfold, we get close to a 3-nanometer chip! Leading the world by thirty years is no problem!"

In fact, Derich's statement is not accurate.

Chip performance is not only related to the manufacturing process, but also involves many other factors such as IC design, materials, coating processes, photolithography, and packaging processes.

Not to mention the quantum tunneling effect that occurs when the manufacturing process reaches below 10 nanometers, it cannot be solved simply by shrinking the original chip; new materials and new gate circuit designs are required to overcome it.

Even with a chip that has undergone a five-fold change in manufacturing process, it is unlikely that the manufacturing technology used in the 1.5-micron process can be directly applied to the enlarged wafer.

However, this approach still firmly grasps the most critical bottleneck in chip manufacturing: the minimum size problem of precision manufacturing processes.

"Excellent!" Murphy clapped. "A brilliant idea! Dr. Preston, I want you to test this idea immediately. What do you need?"

In fact, applying the scaling spell to chip manufacturing was an idea Murphy had long had, and it was one of the things he believed he could rely on to achieve success in the chip industry.

However, as a leader, there is no need to constantly show off your intelligence. Letting subordinates come up with their own ideas will be more effective in motivating them.

"One lithography machine, not necessarily advanced, an outdated technology will suffice. Also, we need a wizard skilled in amplification and shrinking spells to assist us." As he spoke, Derich seemed to remember something else, "Oh right, we also need an ultra-clean laboratory."

Clean labs and lithography machines are easy to obtain; they can be bought with money. But wizards…

Considering that the Mind Seed cannot be used at will, Murphy ultimately decided to have the house-elves assist him first.

House-elves can also use magic, so that should be enough for now.

……

After leaving the magic research institute, Murphy arrived at the Potions Master in Diagon Alley.

The shop owner immediately came to greet him, "Boss, what brings you here?"

Today, Supreme Potions has already squeezed out several famous potions shops and has basically monopolized the potions business in the British wizarding world. In addition to having branches in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, it has also opened branches in several wizarding communities such as Hogsmeade.

With so many shops, Murphy naturally couldn't manage them all, so he recruited some wizards to help him run the businesses.

Since their salaries are tied to performance, they generally work quite hard.

The owner of this potions shop in Diagon Alley is a middle-aged man in his late forties named Izak Biddle. He was originally a highly skilled apothecary at Slug and Giggs Apothecary, but was recruited by Murphy after the apothecary was defeated by Murphy's price war.

"I have something to take care of, but let's go check on the factory first."

The two arrived at the backyard of the potion shop. The old, dilapidated houses there had been demolished and replaced by four walls, with blue bricks and red tiles, forming a factory that looked like it was built in the 19th century.

The space inside the factory is much more spacious than it appears from the outside.

In the center, there is a huge assembly line-like thing. Upon closer inspection, it is actually a circular worktable with openings at both ends. More than thirty platforms are embedded in the iron tracks, and a crucible is placed on each platform.

More than thirty wizards sat on both sides of the assembly line, each with a cauldron in front of them. The enchanted conveyor belt moved every half minute, carrying the cauldron from one person to the next.

Meanwhile, the wizards beside the assembly line each held a wand and waved it repeatedly.

Their tasks differed: some were responsible for adding a fixed amount of fairy wing powder to the crucible, some for stirring while dripping in morning dew, some for lighting the fire, and some for picking seven petals from a rose and dropping them in, etc.

This is actually a production line for a beautiful magic potion.

(End of this chapter)