Revision as of 14:41, 12 May 2016

Intel MCS-4
The entire MCS-4 chipset: 4001, 4002, 4003, and 4004.
Developer	Intel
Manufacturer	Intel
Type	Microprocessors
Production	1971-1982
Release date	November 15, 1971
Architecture	4-bit word, 8-bit instruction, BCD-oriented
Word size	4 bit 0.5 octets 1 nibbles
Process	10 μm 10,000 nm 0.01 mm
Technology	pMOS
Clock	500 kHz-740 kHz
Package	DIP16
Succession
	→
	MCS-40

The MCS-4 (Micro-Computer Set-4) or 4000 Series or Busicom Chip Set was a family of 4-bit microprocessor chipsets developed by Intel. The entire chipset was made of four individual chips, including the 4004 CPU which became the first commercial microprocessor. MCS-4 was completed by March 1971, entered production in June, and introduced into the market on November 15, 1971.

History

An ad for the MCS-4 in the Nov. 15, 1971 issue of Electronic News

Before Federico Faggin joined Intel in 1970, the development of the 4004 was rather slow. Federico developed several design innovations at Intel that made it possible to fit the microprocessor in one chip, including new methodology for random logic chip design using silicon gate technology^[1]. Faggin developed the 4004 testing tool, chip and logic design concurrently with the layout of all the chips of the entire MCS-4 system.

At the time, Intel was only known for their memory chips. On 15 November 1971, they publicly announced the first commercial microprocessor in the 15th issue of Electronic News. The prophetic ad read: "Announcing a new era in integrated electronics". The chip was designed by Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff and Masatoshi Shima; it received U.S. Patent #3,821,715.

All the MCS-4 components were packaged in 16-pin ceramic DIP. The 16-pin package, which proved to be the most problematic restriction was imposed by management.

Components

The MCS-4 can be minimally functioning with just the 4001 ROM and the 4004 CPU, however its designed to be fully functioning with RAM and shift register.additionally two more chips, the 4008 and 4009 to expand the system to work with any of Intel's existing memory chip selections.

Architecture

This section is empty; you can help add the missing info by editing this page.

Lead Designers

Lead designers for the MCS-4 family were:

• Ted Hoff
• Federico Faggin
• Stan Mazor
• Masatoshi Shim

Documents

• MCS-4 Manual
• MCS-4 Data Sheet

References

See Also

• MCS-8

This article is still a stub and needs your attention. You can help improve this article by editing this page and adding the missing information.