Galactic Empire in New World

Part 6 Chapter 14

"I heard that we can increase the die size to increase the amount of RAM in an IC?" asked the prime minister.

"That's right, we are working on making 8 Kbit DRAM in an IC so as to reduce the number of ICs to half." said the technology advisor. "With that, the laptop we can make can have about 128 Kbyte for the program and data."

"Can we further increase the die size, so that more memory can be put in an IC?" asked La Mu.

"It is not practical, sire. It would also be expensive. The size becomes large, so it is better to divide it into two. The same thing happens to the processors that we make. 4 ICs to make 1 processor is the maximum integration we can make with the 10 um technology we have, likewise, 8 kbit is the maximum amount of memory that can be included in 1 IC without raising the price and dimensions too high." Said the technology advisor.

The rapid development of technology has caused all state officials, including La Mu himself, to know at least the basics of IC and computer technology.

"How big a portable computer can we make with the technology we have?" asked La Mu.

"The length and width may not differ much, but we need to increase the thickness by 2.5 times from the computer you have. Also, we can't put a hard drive, because we can't make one yet. The most we can do is use a 3.5-inch disk with a capacity of 80 Kbytes. The weight is probably only twice the weight of your laptop, because the contents are only ICs that are not heavy." The technology advisor said.

"Not too bad. For the computer mainframe, we can replace the one we bought from Myto Empire, right?" asked La Mu.

"Yes, we have also designed a mainframe with our own processor to replace the processor module of the mainframes that we imported from the Myto Empire. The processor module has a 16-bit processor, doesn't need a memory module like the previous one, and already has 4 megabytes of memory that our custom processor can support directly and can be expanded to 24 megabytes by using bank switching. The OS is a modification of the Maximus OS that we made for server." The technology advisor said.

"Excellent. Then our target to disseminate computers, especially Personal Computers can be achieved in 5 years, right?" asked La Mu.

"Of course, sire. Making a PC is much easier than making a laptop. We have designed a modular PC that can be upgraded up to 256 Kbytes." The technology advisor said.

"Very good. Then what about our human resources? Have they been trained to be able to operate and also understand the principles of IC production machines?" asked La Mu.

"They are already working on the fab, sir, even some of them are very familiar with the production equipment and systems. Some people have started to change the settings of the device so that they can produce ICs with a smaller transistor size, if I'm not mistaken, 6 um, but with a lower yield, because there are many mistakes. With this technology, we can make a simple processor with just one IC. However, the price is relatively expensive because of the low yield. We are still trying to research how to increase the yield." The technology advisor said.

"Excellent. Hahaha, 2 years ago, if we were talking like this, maybe even if I were a head of state, I would have been immediately arrested and put in a mental hospital." La Mu said. "Next topic. What about our military power? I heard that Gra Valkas has completed total control of Leifor and started reinforcing the military there. Military conflict is unavoidable in a short time."

"From the report I received, we have received 72 destroyers from the Myto Empire, of which 12 are still in the commissioning and training phase and 12 more are being used as training ships. Of that batch, we have 18 left to deliver. We have exercised our purchase option where 100 more destroyers will be built, of which 60 will be built by the Myto Empire." The military advisor said.