Half a Century of Microprocessors – Intel 4004 Celebrates 50th Anniversary – Computer – .Geeks

Fifty years have passed since the first commercially available microprocessor appeared on the market. This was an Intel 4004, a 4-bit CPU with a clock speed of 740 kHz. The chip consists of 2,300 transistors and is manufactured at 10 micrometers.

In 1969, calculator manufacturer Busicom contacted Intel to design chips for the Busicom 141-PF calculator. The Japanese company ordered twelve different slides, each designed for a specific purpose. Intel co-founder Gordon Moore was shocked by this number, He says in a video call with Pat Gelsinger, the current CEO of Intel. At the time, Intel didn’t have the ability to design many different chips, according to Moore.

However, Intel engineers Marcian ‘Ted’ Hoff and Stan Mazor came up with the idea to create a file general purpose Chip can be used for different tasks. This is how I thought of it central processing unit, or the central processing unit. Both are not chip designers and According to IEEE Spectrum The project almost stopped working in the early seventies. The project wouldn’t really take off until Intel hired chip designer Federico Faggin that year. The team developed four segments, including Intel 4004, which was officially announced on November 15, 1971.

The Intel 4004 entered the books as the first semiconductor in which all parts of the CPU were packed into a single chip. The processor was clocked at 740 kHz and manufactured on a 10 µm process. Today, nanometer chip manufacturing processes are observed. or a factor of a thousand smaller. The 10 µm process in which the Intel 4004 is manufactured is equivalent to 10,000 nanometers.

Making a microprocessor was relatively easy for Intel at the time. It was a design with 2,300 transistors, and Intel was already making memory chips with more than 6,000 transistors, Moore says. Microprocessors can be mass-produced and used in many applications. Moore saw opportunities to expand Intel. Although the Intel 4004 succeeded the 4040 in 1974, the first model remained in the range until 1981.

small computer set 4

The Intel 4004 was part of Intel’s MCS-4, or Small computer set – 4. That 4-bit chipset made by Intel for Busicom. In addition to the 4004 microprocessor, this system consists of 4001 ROM, 4002 RAM and 4003 Shift Register. These components can be used to make compact computers. The combination of 4004 CPU and 4001 ROM is enough for the working system. Expansions such as the 4008 have also appeared. latch address and 4009 I/O interface, which ensured compatibility with memory chips already produced by Intel.