Intro to the First Microprocessor Chips
1973: A CPU “uses P-channel MOS and is contained in 1, 2, 3 or 4 LSI standard dual-in-line packages from 16 – 42 pins per package”.
Hank Smith, Microprocessor Marketing Manager, Intel Corp.
IEEE 1973 WESCON Professional Program Session 11 Proceedings
The F14A microprocessor chip set, the MP944, consisted of six MOS-LSI chips. These are the Parallel Multiplier Unit (PMU), the Parallel Divider Unit (PDU), the Random Access Memory storage (RAM), the Read Only Memory (ROM), the Central Processing Unit (CPU), and the Steering Logic Unit (SLU). The complete microprocessor system used 1-PMU, 1-PDU, 1-CPU, 3-RAS’s, 2-SLU’s, and 19-ROM’s. Here are the stats on the chips. All chip circuit design and layout was engineered by the staff of American Microsystems.
MP944 Chip Stats
MOS Process: P-Channel Enhanced Mode
Arithmetic word length: 20-bits (19 data plus sign bit)
Arithmetic Units Operation: Simultaneous Parallel Processing
Operational Mode: Parallel Arithmetic / Pipelined serial data transfer
Operating Temperature: -55 deg C to +125 deg C (mil spec)
Clock speed: 375Khz
Clock signal level: -28 volts
Logic signal level: -10 volts
| Name | # of Devices | Chip Size -mils | Package Size | # Chips In System | Total Devices |
| PMU | 1063 | 150 x 153 | 24 pin DIL | 1 | 1063 |
| PDU | 1241 | 141 x 151 | 24 pin DIL | 1 | 1241 |
| CPU | 743 | 120 x 130 | 24 pin DIL | 1 | 743 |
| RAM | 2330 | 115 x 130 | 14 pin DIL | 3 | 6990 |
| SLU | 771 | 128 x 133 | 24 pin DIL | 3 | 2313 |
| ROM | 3268 | 143 x 150 | 14 pin DIL | 19 | 62092 |
| TOTALS – -> | 28 | 74442 |
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