Revision as of 01:46, 11 January 2014

Intel 4004 Developer Intel Introduction date March 1971 Model 4004 Transistors 2,300 Cores 1 Clock 740 KHz Bus Width 4-bit Lithography 10μm Max TDP 0.63 W Memory Specs Max Memory 4KB (program) 640B (RAM) Packaging Package 16-pin DIP

The Intel 4004 was released by Intel Corporation in 1971 and was the first commercially available microprocessor. The 4004 was a 4-bit CPU, designed for use in the Busicom 141-PF printing calculator^[1]. The chip, which is clocked at 740 KHz, employs a 10µm^[2] process silicon-gate, capable of executing 92,000 instructions per second. The chip was capable of accessing 4KB of program memory and 640 bytes of RAM. The 4004 was part of the Intel MCS4 system.

The microprocessor had a limited architecture, such as: only a 3-levels deep stack, a complex memory access scheme, and no interrupt support.

History

An ad for the 4004 in the Nov. 15, 1971 issue of Electronic News

Before Federico Faggin joined Intel in 1970, the development of the 4004 was stall and dreadful. 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^[3]. Faggin developed the 4004 testing tool, chip and logic design concurrently with the layout of all the chips of the entire MCS-4 system.

In November of 1971, a memory chip manufacturer by the name of Intel publicly announced the world's first single chip microprocessor, in the Nov. 15 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. The original 4004 chips were shipped in a 16-pin ceramic DIP.

Variations

A National Semiconductor version of the 4004, INS4004J

Three primary source variations were produced by Intel: C4004, D4004 and the P4004. The Intel C4004 was the first chip to be manufactured; it had the gray traces visible on the white ceramic package itself. The C4004 was produced up until mid 1976, when production for the Intel D4004 began. The D4004 had a plastic, black ceramic package. The Intel P4004 is the plastic packaging version.

Only two known secondary sources exists, which has been developed by National Semiconductor and Hitachi since mid-1975. National Semiconductor produced two versions: INS4004J and INS4004D. The INS4004J is a 16-pin black, ceramic DIP, while the INS4004D version is a 16-pin side-brazed, ceramic DIP. The other source was the HD35404 made by Hitachi.

Collectability

Due to its notability statues and historic value, the Intel 4004 is very collectible among collectors and non-collectors alike. The C4004 white, ceramic package models are the most sought-after versions, and can easily sell for hundreds of dollars.

Pinout

Pinout diagram of the Intel 4004

The 4004 has 16 pins that are used for i/o, memory controller, clock phases, power and reset.

References