Invention of the Microprocessor
Engineers at Intel invented the microprocessor in 1971. It replaced previous computer systems with a single chip, or an integrated circuit. Prior to the integrated circuit microprocessor, computer systems were built using many individually packaged, or discrete, electronic components. The microprocessor became an important building block of digital electronic designs and helped usher in a new era in which software would play an increasingly important role in electronics.
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Junction Transistor
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William Shockley invented the solid-state transistor in 1947 and 1948, according to PBS. The solid-state transistor is a basic electronic component made of semiconductor material that can be used as a switch or an amplifier in a circuit. The invention of the solid-state transistor provided a foundation for the miniaturization of electronics and, later, the invention of the microprocessor. The solid-state transistor allowed electronic designers to move away from vacuum tube components and toward the transistor, which was a much smaller device.
Integrated Circuit
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In 1958 and 1959, two men in different parts of the country independently conceived of the integrated circuit. An integrated circuit is a complete electronics circuit on a silicon chip. In addition to transistors, integrated circuits also have resistors and capacitors in a single device made of silicon. Jacky Kilby, an engineer with Texas Instruments, and Robert Noyce, an engineer with Fairchild Semiconductor, are both credited with the invention of the integrated circuit, according to the PBS website. The invention of the integrated circuit represented an important advance over the junction transistor, as the integrated circuit would allow for a complete electronic circuit to be built in single device package.
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MCS-4
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According to Intel, in 1969 the company was asked to design integrated circuit for a 12-chip printing calculator for Busicom of Japan. Instead of the requested 12-chip design, Intel engineers Marcian E. "Ted" Hoff, Federico Faggin and Stan Mazor proposed a four-chip design dubbed the MCS-4, which included a central processing unit---the Intel 4004---and separate chips for random access memory, read-only memory and a shift register. A shift register is used to shift bits in a binary number up or down in order to perform multiplication or division, depending on the direction of the shift.
The Intel design was new and risky. Intel was able to secure rights to the chip design and marketing rights for noncalculator applications by offering Busicom, which was in financial trouble, a lower price on the chips.
First Microprocessor
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On November 15, 1971, Intel ran an ad in "Electronic News" that introduced the 4004 and announced "a new era of integrated electronics." The Intel 4004 became the first general-purpose microprocessor available on the market. The microprocessor design concept proposed by Intel went on to be used in many digital designs and led to the personal computer technological revolution. While the scale of microprocessors has changed dramatically, the basic processing concepts of the Intel 4004 can still be seen in modern processors.
Intel 4004 Features
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The Intel 4004 measured 1/8 by 1/6 inch and, according to Intel, delivered the same computing power as the ENIAC, the first electronic computer, which filled a room and used 18,000 vacuum tubes to perform calculations. The 4004 had 2,300 transistors. By comparison, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor contains over 291 million transistors. Intel states that that the 4004 is one of the smallest microprocessor designs that ever went into production.
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References
- Photo Credit processor 3 image by BlueMiniu from Fotolia.com
