I Became a Genius Engineer

Material Engineer Chulwoo Lee (2)

“Ha, what did you say? If you don’t have rare earths, you just have to make something to replace them?”

Chairman Kang said with a laugh that my words were absurd.

“Yes. That’s right. What’s the problem now? Isn’t it about China weaponizing rare resources? Then we just have to block it.”

“…… No, do you think I’m saying this because I don’t know that?”

“then?”

I asked because I really didn’t know.

“If that’s the case, we haven’t reached this point now. Creating something to replace rare earths? That’s ridiculous.”

“We’ll have to see if that makes sense or not.”

“……. Seriously, Mr. Lee Chul-woo. You seem so arrogant about making a few humanoids and engines, but that bravado will come back as poison later.”

Oh, what are you talking about? I’m going to help now, but I can’t say thank you.

What are you doing with me?

“What are you trying to do with me now? I said I’d do my best to help?”

Chairman Kang was definitely a person with a fiery personality. He did everything he wanted to say.

“Of course, it’s good to help. But is that a realistically possible story? I’ve only been doing semiconductors for decades. If that was possible, we would have already done it, right? This doesn’t make sense.”

“…well, if you don’t like it even though I said I’d help.”

No matter how much Ohsung Electronics’ semiconductor researchers are said to be talented people in the world, what are they doing without even trying?

If the country chooses Ohsung Electronics, there is no choice but to leave Korea.

I had nothing to regret.

If it’s unfortunate, Ohsung Electronics, which already has a great foundation, should feel sorry for it.

“Hmmm, please calm down for a moment.”

While Chairman Kang and I were arguing, the Prime Minister this time stepped up and said,

“Chairman Kang. Why don’t we proceed according to Mr. Lee Chul-woo’s words? President, you know that well? Lee Chul-woo, who makes the impossible possible. Who will create artificial intelligence and the ITE-X engine?”

The Prime Minister supported my opinion.

“Hmmm, anyway, it’s a material. It’s not something that can be easily made.”

“It’s something you don’t know until you try it, right? Didn’t Mr. Lee Cheol-woo also say that there is a way?”

hmm… … . no?

In fact, it was said that they were making something to replace rare earth elements, but there is nothing out there right now.

“…… Is there a real way? Lee Cheol-woo?”

“I don’t have one right now. But, if I do some research, that’ll be a different story.”

“Ha, isn’t it a fraud to say that when there is nothing?”

“No, Chairman Kang! I’m trying to help. Seriously, why are you so negative? What did we do wrong?”

I exploded too.

“……. I’m sorry. It’s a matter where the future of our Ohsung Electronics is at stake, so I reacted a bit sensitively.”

“Yes. Please be careful.”

“Then Mr. Lee Cheol-woo, would it be possible to make something to replace rare earth elements?”

“As I just said, you have to do your research. It’s a matter that will take some time.”

“Um…”

The prime minister was not quick to judge.

I didn’t say for sure that I would. That means you have to think about the possibility of failure.

It seemed like he was thinking about what to do if I failed.

“Then let’s do this. If I fail, our LF will leave Korea.”

I took a dill. OK.

“No, Cheolwoo Lee! Isn’t that a hasty conclusion? We, the people of LF, should also think about it.”

Minseok said.

“If we fail anyway, it is right for us to leave. Isn’t there a way? It doesn’t matter, do you think we’ll have bad feelings towards Korea?”

maybe this is the correct answer

Even if we leave Korea, there will be no major blow to the Korean economy right now. However, if we abandon the government of the Republic of Korea, then there will be many problems.

We may not be able to use the technology we created, and many future industries will die.

The prime minister must be afraid of that.

“…”

“…”

Chairman Kang and the prime minister did not say anything, as if they had been hit hard.

“Aren’t you forcing us to sacrifice? Yes. That’s why we said we would sacrifice.”

They will listen to what they want.

Because I am also a Korean, I cannot see Korea stumbling.

“but.”

However, I didn’t want to lose for the sake of Korea.

“There are conditions.”

“Of course. If we develop something to deal with rare earths… then Korea will have to fully support our LF in the future.”

It was actually a warning.

It meant that when we were doing something, we would not stand still if the government tried to interfere.

“Including Ohsung Electronics.”

Of course, Ohsung Electronics, led by Chairman Kang, was also included.

“……It’s a warning. I’ll skip it this time, but don’t mess around after you prove your skills.”

Chairman Kang told me what was on my mind without hesitation.

“Ha ha ha, did you hear that?”

“I like that attitude. I understand. We, Ohsung Electronics, will actively participate in Lee Cheol-woo’s research. And when the development is completed, we will acknowledge it. We are the best technician and the best company in Korea.”

“You will admit it.”

“Then, it’s all sorted out. The government can buy Mr. Lee Cheol-woo time until he creates or finds an alternative to rare earth elements, we can support Mr. Lee’s research, and Mr. Lee Cheol-woo can do his research.”

“yes.”

“If it fails, then Lee Cheol-woo will rise in Korea without any ill feelings.”

“If you succeed, I will not interfere in the future.”

“hahahahaha, that’s good.”

A bet was made between Ohsung Electronics and the nation.

hmm… … . Isn’t it Ohsung Electronics?

well, anyway.

“Then Prime Minister, please make the most of your time.”

“……. I understand. I will do my best in the government.”

“Still, if you try to buy time with nothing, you’ll be at a loss. You said MI was what China asked for? I’ll give you some sources, so make the most of your time with it.”

It may be a source without substance.

“Yes. Thank you. The Republic of Korea will not forget Mr. Lee Cheol-woo’s dedication.”

“I’m not committed.”

I just couldn’t see them letting the Chinese scum get their way.

* * *

After leaving the Blue House, I immediately set off for Ohsung Electronics’ laboratory.

I wanted to say hello to the people in Dr. Nam’s lab, but I didn’t have the time. It was a situation where we did not know how much time China would give or how much time our government could extend.

From noble mtl dot com

“hello.”

I entered the Semiconductor Research Team 1 of Ohsung Electronics, as Chairman Kang said, and greeted me.

“……Chief Min, are you really here?”

One researcher looked at me and said.

“I really came…”

A man called Major Min approached me.

“Hello. I’m Min Jeong-wook, the head of the semiconductor research institute.

“I’ll greet you again. Hello. I’m Lee Cheol-woo.”

“Uh, I’m not in a hurry. May I ask what’s going on? The order from above was ‘Lee Cheol-woo will go there, so don’t spare Lee Cheol-woo all the support’.”

Chairman Kang, although he has a fiery personality. Even so, it seems that he has the personality to do it when he does it.

What if I don’t save all the support to my research team, I’m going to have a semiconductor technology.

well, good

“Have you heard the rumor that China will ban exports of rare earths?”

“Yes. I’ve only heard rumors, is that true?”

“It’s not confirmed yet.”

“……. then?”

“Perhaps it will be decided sooner or later.”

“yes???”

“I understand that without rare earths, semiconductors cannot be made with less than 18 nanometers, is that correct?”

I just talked about the main point.

“Uh… Yes. That’s right. Neodymium and lanthanum minerals belonging to the rare earth family are used in the silicon manufacturing process. Thanks to that, more sophisticated work is possible.”

“Um, could you elaborate a bit more?”

“Yes. Neodymium is a mineral used in the silicon manufacturing process, and adding the mineral to silicon lowers the existing electron interference probability.”

electronic interference. It is a phenomenon in which electromagnetic waves incidentally generated from an electronic device interfere with and affect the operation of the device itself or other devices.

Progress was not slow because modern technology made circuit diagrams smaller and smaller.

The smaller it is made, the more electron interference occurs, and the interference causes errors in the semiconductor.

“Hmm, as far as I know, is it true that the electron interference rate goes up tremendously in the 20-nano process or less, that is, in the 18-nano process?”

“Yes. That’s right. Electromagnetic interference is proportional to the size of the circuit, not directly, but exponentially.”

“okay.”

“Wow, but how does Mr. Lee Cheol-woo know about that?”

“Oh, I know how to do some circuit design.”

“……That’s not something you can understand just because you know how to do a little bit of circuit design.”

“hahahaha, is that so?”

“As expected, this is teacher Lee Chul-woo, whom I have heard about through rumors. I respect him.”

“What respect.”

“Um, so why did you ask about rare earths? Does it have anything to do with your coming?”

“Yes. The reason I’m here is to create something to use instead of rare earths.”

“…… Yes? Making something to replace it?”

“Yes. That’s how it is, so please cooperate as much as possible.”

“…”

Well, is this reaction normal?

“Is there an 18-nano silicon semiconductor that does not contain rare earth elements?”

I ignored their reaction and sought their cooperation.

“Uh…. There must be something made for research purposes. Where are you going to use it?”

“First of all, I have to take a look. Without rare earths, how much electromagnetic interference occurs at 18-nano and what is the error probability.”

“Ahyoung, if you go to the warehouse, there will be an 18-nano rare earth memory chip. Can you bring it?”

“all right.”

“Then I will make arrangements so that you can check it yourself.”

“thank you.”

After a while.

“Major Min, here it is. 18nm memory chip.”

“Yes, give it to me.”

Director Min received the memory chip from her and inserted it into the circuit board for data observation and experimentation.

“Then we will proceed with the test immediately.”

“yes.”

He powered up the circuit and manipulated this and that on the computer.

“I don’t know if you wanted this data, but would you like to take a look?”

He pointed to his monitor screen and said.

「990,951 / 1,800,000」

“If you look here, it’s the number of transistors that are operating normally. The unit is in thousands.

Of the 1.8 billion transistors, only about 1 billion were operating normally.

“It’ll almost cut performance in half.”

“Yes. That’s right. Oh, then would you like to take a look at this too?”

He said, inserting another into the empty memory slot.

「1,581,872 / 1,600,000」

“This is a 20-nano process. The number of transistors inside has been reduced to 1.6 billion, but there are far more that operate without errors.”

“I’m sure it is.”

“Then let’s see what’s on the market right now.”

He inserted an 18-nano process memory chip processed with rare earth elements into an empty memory slot.

「1,798,120 / 1,800,000」

There was definitely a big difference between the presence and absence of rare earths.

hmm… … .

How to improve this, I thought in my head.

‘Changing the circuit design to increase efficiency? Looking for a new material to replace rare earth? Make something to replace it?’

Several methods came to mind, but they were either impossible or time-consuming.

Is there any better way?

Then I suddenly remembered.

‘No, wait. Why did you think of creating something to replace rare earths?’

It just needs to be made so that electromagnetic interference doesn’t happen, right?

When I didn’t think of making something to replace rare earths, something came to my mind.

‘Graphene.’