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Intel 4004



 
 
The Intel 4004 is a 4-bit
4-bit

The Intel 4004, the world's first commercially available single-integrated circuit microprocessor, was a 4-bit central processing unit. The F-14 Tomcat's Central Air Data Computer was created a year before the 4004, but its existence was Classified information by the United States Navy until 1997....
 central processing unit
Central processing unit

A central processing unit is an electronic circuit that can execute computer programs. This broad definition can easily be applied to many early computers that existed long before the term "CPU" ever came into widespread usage....
 (CPU) released by Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation

Intel Corporation is the world's largest semiconductor company and the inventor of the X86 architecture series of microprocessors, the processors found in most personal computers....
 in 1971. The 4004 is the first complete CPU on one chip, the first commercially available microprocessor, a feat made possible by the use of the new silicon gate technology allowing the integration of a higher number of transistors and a faster speed than was possible before. The 4004 employed a 10 µm
Micrometre

A micrometre or micron is one Micro- of a metre, or equivalently one thousandth of a millimetre. It is also commonly known as a micron....
 silicon-gate enhancement load pMOS
PMOS logic

pMOS logic uses p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors to implement logic gates and other digital circuits. pMOS transistors have three modes of operation: cut-off, triode, and saturation ....
 technology and could execute approximately 92,000 instructions per second
Instructions per second

Instructions per second is a measure of a computer's processor speed. Many reported IPS values have represented "peak" execution rates on artificial instruction sequences with few branches, whereas realistic workloads consist of a mix of instructions and applications, some of which take longer to execute than others....
 (that is, a single instruction cycle was 11 microseconds).

4004 was released on November 15, 1971.






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The Intel 4004 is a 4-bit
4-bit

The Intel 4004, the world's first commercially available single-integrated circuit microprocessor, was a 4-bit central processing unit. The F-14 Tomcat's Central Air Data Computer was created a year before the 4004, but its existence was Classified information by the United States Navy until 1997....
 central processing unit
Central processing unit

A central processing unit is an electronic circuit that can execute computer programs. This broad definition can easily be applied to many early computers that existed long before the term "CPU" ever came into widespread usage....
 (CPU) released by Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation

Intel Corporation is the world's largest semiconductor company and the inventor of the X86 architecture series of microprocessors, the processors found in most personal computers....
 in 1971. The 4004 is the first complete CPU on one chip, the first commercially available microprocessor, a feat made possible by the use of the new silicon gate technology allowing the integration of a higher number of transistors and a faster speed than was possible before. The 4004 employed a 10 µm
Micrometre

A micrometre or micron is one Micro- of a metre, or equivalently one thousandth of a millimetre. It is also commonly known as a micron....
 silicon-gate enhancement load pMOS
PMOS logic

pMOS logic uses p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors to implement logic gates and other digital circuits. pMOS transistors have three modes of operation: cut-off, triode, and saturation ....
 technology and could execute approximately 92,000 instructions per second
Instructions per second

Instructions per second is a measure of a computer's processor speed. Many reported IPS values have represented "peak" execution rates on artificial instruction sequences with few branches, whereas realistic workloads consist of a mix of instructions and applications, some of which take longer to execute than others....
 (that is, a single instruction cycle was 11 microseconds).

History and description

The 4004 was released on November 15, 1971. Packaged in a 16-pin ceramic dual in-line package
Dual in-line package

File:Three_IC_circuit_chips.JPGIn microelectronics, a dual in-line package , sometimes called a DIL package, is an electronic device package with a rectangular housing and two parallel rows of electrical connecting pins....
, the 4004 is the first computer processor designed and manufactured by chip
Integrated circuit

In electronics, an integrated circuit is a miniaturized electronic circuit that has been manufactured in the surface of a thin Wafer of semiconductor material....
 maker Intel, which previously made semiconductor
Semiconductor

A semiconductor is a material that has electrical conductivity between those of a Electrical conductor and an electrical insulation; it can vary over that wide range either permanently or dynamically....
 memory chips. The chief designers of the chip were Federico Faggin
Federico Faggin

Federico Faggin is an Italy-born physicist/electrical engineer, principally responsible for the design of the first microprocessor and responsible for leading the Intel 4004 to its successful outcome and for promoting its marketing....
 and Ted Hoff
Marcian Hoff

Marcian Edward "Ted" Hoff, Jr. , is one of the inventors of the microprocessor. Hoff, an engineer, joined Intel in 1967 as employee number 12, and is credited with coming up with the idea of a universal processor instead of custom-designed circuits....
 of Intel, and Masatoshi Shima
Masatoshi Shima

Masatoshi Shima was one of the designers of the world's first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, along with Marcian Hoff, Stanley Mazor, and Federico Faggin....
 of Busicom
Busicom

Busicom was a Japanese company that owned the rights to the first microprocessor but sold them back to Intel. They made electronic calculators and the first using the new Intel 4004 processor was the Busicom 141-PF...
 (later of ZiLOG
Zilog

Zilog, Inc., often seen as ZiLOG , is a manufacturer of 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit microprocessors, and is most famous for its Intel 8080-compatible Zilog Z80 series....
, founded by Federico Faggin
Federico Faggin

Federico Faggin is an Italy-born physicist/electrical engineer, principally responsible for the design of the first microprocessor and responsible for leading the Intel 4004 to its successful outcome and for promoting its marketing....
).

Federico Faggin was the only chip designer among the engineers participating to the MCS-4 project. He was also the only one with experience in MOS random logic and circuit design and with the crucial intimate knowledge of the new silicon gate process technology he had created at Fairchild in 1968. As soon as he joined the Intel MOS Department he created a new random design methodology based on silicon gate, and contributed many technology and circuit design inventions that enabled a single chip microprocessor to become a reality for the first time. His methodology set the design style for all the early Intel microprocessors and later for the Zilog’s Z80. He also led the MCS-4 project and was responsible for its successful outcome (1970-1971). Ted Hoff, head of the Application Research Department, contributed only the architectural proposal for Busicom working with Stan Mazor in 1969, then he moved on to other projects. Shima designed the Busicom
Busicom

Busicom was a Japanese company that owned the rights to the first microprocessor but sold them back to Intel. They made electronic calculators and the first using the new Intel 4004 processor was the Busicom 141-PF...
 calculator firmware and assisted Faggin during the first six months of the implementation. The manager of Intel's MOS Design Department was Leslie L. Vadász
Leslie L. Vadász

Leslie L. Vad?sz is a Hungarian people-United States engineer and Management, one of the founding members of Intel Corporation.He moved to the United States in 1961, first working for Fairchild Semiconductor....
. At the time of the MCS-4 development Vadasz's attention was completely focused on the mainstream business of semiconductor memories and he left the leadership and the management of the MCS-4 project to Faggin.

Originally designed for the Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese company Busicom
Busicom

Busicom was a Japanese company that owned the rights to the first microprocessor but sold them back to Intel. They made electronic calculators and the first using the new Intel 4004 processor was the Busicom 141-PF...
 to be used in their line of calculator
Calculator

A calculator is a device for performing mathematical calculations, distinguished from a computer by having a limited problem solving ability and an interface optimized for interactive calculation rather than programming....
s (instead of the complex special purpose calculator chipset that Busicom had designed themselves and brought to Intel to have made, which Intel determined was too complex to make with the technology they had at the time), the 4004 was also provided with a family of custom support chips. For instance, each "Program ROM
Read-only memory

Read-only memory is a class of computer storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. Because data stored in ROM cannot be modified , it is mainly used to distribute firmware ....
" internally latched for its own use the 4004's 12-bit program address, which allowed 4 KB
Kilobyte

Kilobyte is a unit of Computer data storage equal to either 1,024 bytes or 1,000 bytes , depending on context.It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte....
 memory access from the 4-bit address bus
Address bus

An address bus is a computer bus that is used to specify a memory address. When a central processing unit or direct memory access-enabled device needs to read or write to a memory location, it specifies that memory location on the address bus ....
 if all 16 ROMs were installed. The 4004 circuit was built of 2,300 transistor
Transistor

In electronics, a transistor is a semiconductor device commonly used to Electronic amplifier or switch Electronics signals. A transistor is made of a solid piece of a semiconductor material, with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit....
s, and was followed the next year by the first ever 8-bit
8-bit

Eight-bit CPUs normally use an 8-bit data bus and a 16-bit address bus which means that their address space is limited to 64 KBs. This is not a "natural law", however, so there are exceptions....
 microprocessor, the 3,300 transistor 8008
Intel 8008

The Intel 8008 was an early byte-oriented microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel and introduced in April 1972. Originally known as the 1201, the chip was commissioned by Computer Terminal Corporation to implement an instruction set designed for their Datapoint 2200 programmable terminal....
 (and the 4040
Intel 4040

The Intel 4040 microprocessor was the successor to the Intel 4004. It was introduced in 1974. The 4040 employed a 10 micrometre silicon-gate enhancement load PMOS logic technology, was made up of 3,000 transistors and could execute approximately 60,000 instructions per second....
, a revised 4004).

A popular myth has it that Pioneer 10
Pioneer 10

was the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt, which it entered on July 15, 1972, and to make direct observations of Jupiter , which it passed by on December 3, 1973....
, the first spacecraft to leave the solar system, used an Intel 4004 microprocessor. However, according to Dr. Larry Lasher of Ames Research Center, the Pioneer team did evaluate the 4004, but accordingly it was too new at the time to include in any of the Pioneer projects. The myth was repeated by Federico Faggin
Federico Faggin

Federico Faggin is an Italy-born physicist/electrical engineer, principally responsible for the design of the first microprocessor and responsible for leading the Intel 4004 to its successful outcome and for promoting its marketing....
 himself in a lecture for the Computer History Museum
Computer History Museum

The Computer History Museum is a museum established in 1996 in Mountain View, California, when The Computer Museum, Boston sent the majority of its historical collection to Moffett Federal Airfield, so that TCM could concentrate on computing-related exhibits for children....
 in 2006.

On 15 November 2006, the 35th anniversary of the Intel 4004, Intel celebrated by releasing the chip's schematic
Schematic

A schematic is a diagram that represents the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures. A schematic usually omits all details that are not relevant to the information the schematic is intended to convey, and may add unrealistic elements that aid comprehension....
s, mask work
Mask work

A mask work is a two or three-dimensional layout or topography of an integrated circuit , i.e. the arrangement on a chip of semiconductor devices such as transistors and passive electronics components such as resistors and interconnections....
s, and user manual.

The 4004 and the MCS-4 family


The 4004 is a complete CPU (central processing unit) integrated in a single chip, making the 4004 the world's first microprocessor
Microprocessor

A microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit on a single integrated circuit . The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were used for electronic calculators, using Binary-coded decimal arithmetic on 4-bit Word ....
. Before the microprocessor
Microprocessor

A microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit on a single integrated circuit . The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were used for electronic calculators, using Binary-coded decimal arithmetic on 4-bit Word ....
, CPUs were built with many chips or with a few LSI (large scale integration) chips. The CPUs built with a few LSI chips were steps toward the microprocessor but were not microprocessors. The 4004 is part of a family of four LSI components - the MCS-4 family - that can be used to build digital computers with varying amounts of memory. The other components of the MCS-4 family are memories and input/output circuits, which are not considered part of a CPU in any computer classification, but are necessary to implement a complete computer. Specifically:
  • the 4001 is a ROM (read-only memory) with 4 lines of I/O (input/output)
  • the 4002 is a RAM (random access memory) with 4 lines of output
  • the 4003 is a static shift register to be used for expanding the I/O lines, for example, for keyboard scanning or for controlling a printer
The functional elements integrated in the 4004 are:
  • 16 general purpose registers
    Processor register

    In computer architecture, a processor register is a small amount of Computer storage available on the CPU whose contents can be accessed more quickly than storage available elsewhere....
  • program counter
    Program counter

    The program counter, or PC is a processor register that indicates where the computer is in its instruction sequence. Depending on the details of the particular computer, the PC holds either the address of the instruction being executed, or the address of the next instruction to be executed....
     and three levels of return address stack
  • ALU
    Arithmetic logic unit

    In computing, an arithmetic logic unit is a digital circuit that performs arithmetic and logicaloperations. The ALU is a fundamental building block of the central processing unit of a computer, and even the simplest microprocessors contain one for purposes such as maintaining timers....
     both binary and decimal
  • instruction decoder
    Decoder

    A decoder is a device which does the reverse of an encoder, undoing the encoding so that the original information can be retrieved. The same method used to encode is usually just reversed in order to decode....
     and all the control logic for the internal functional blocks of the CPU
  • generation of timing signal for the CPU and for the rest of the MCS-4 family
  • control of the external bus for the memory and for the I/O functions.
The 4004 included also the control functions for the memory and the I/O which are not normally handled by the microprocessor. The 4004, therefore, is not only a complete CPU, but has also additional functionality that normally is not considered a part of a CPU (microcontroller). The first commercial product to use a microprocessor was the Busicom calculator 141-PF.

First microprocessor commercially available and sold as a component set


According to Nick Tredennick, a recognized engineer and microprocessor designer, and an expert witness to the Boone/Hyatt patent case:

Technical specifications


  • Maximum clock speed is 740 kHz
  • Separate program and data storage (i.e., a Harvard architecture
    Harvard architecture

    The Harvard architecture is a computer architecture with physically separate computer storage and signal pathways for instructions and data. The term originated from the Harvard Mark I relay-based computer, which stored instructions on punched tape and data in electro-mechanical counters ....
    ). Contrary to most Harvard architecture designs, however, which use separate bus
    Computer bus

    In computer architecture, a bus is a subsystem that transfers data between computer components inside a computer or between computers. Each bus defines its set of connectors to physically plug devices, cards or cables together....
    es, the 4004, with its need to keep pin count down, uses a single multiplexed
    Multiplexer

    In electronics, a multiplexer or mux is a device that performs multiplexing; it selects one of many analog or digital input signals and outputs that into a single line....
     4-bit bus for transferring:
    • 12-bit addresses
    • 8-bit instructions
    • 4-bit data word
      Word (computer science)

      In computing, "word" is a term for the natural unit of data used by a particular computer design. A word is simply a fixed-sized group of bits that are handled together by the machine....
      s
  • Instruction set
    Instruction set

    An instruction set is a list of all the instruction , and all their variations, that a processor can execute.Instructions include:* Arithmetic such as add and subtract...
     contains 46 instructions (of which 41 are 8 bits wide and 5 are 16 bits wide)
  • Register set contains 16 registers of 4 bits each
  • Internal subroutine
    Subroutine

    In computer science, a subroutine or subprogram is a portion of computer code within a larger computer program, which performs a specific task and is relatively independent of the remaining code....
     stack
    Stack-based memory allocation

    Stack s in computing architectures are regions of memory where data is added or removed in a LIFO manner.In most modern computer systems, each Thread has a reserved region of memory referred to as its stack....
     is 3 levels deep.


Microarchitecture and pinout

Click the pictures to view the full-size versions.

 
4004 Dil


Support chips


  • 4001: 256-byte
    Byte

    A byte is a basic unit of measurement of Computer storage in computer science. In many computer architectures it is a Byte addressing memory address space....
     ROM (256 8-bit program instructions), and one built-in 4-bit I/O
    Input/output

    In computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an information processing system , and the outside world ? possibly a human, or another information processing system....
     port
  • 4002: 40-byte RAM
    Random-access memory

    Random-Assess Memory Card is a form of computer data storage. Today it takes the form of integrated circuits that allows the stored data to be accessed in any order ....
     (80 4-bit data words), and one built-in 4-bit output port; the RAM portion of the chip is organized into four "registers" of twenty 4-bit words:
    • 16 data words (used for mantissa
      Mantissa

      Mantissa may refer to:* Mantissa * Significand, part of a floating-point number* Part of a common logarithm* A novel by John Fowles...
       digits in the original calculator design)
    • 4 status words (used for exponent digits and signs in the original calculator design)
  • 4003: 10-bit parallel output shift register
    Shift register

    In digital circuits, a shift register is a group of flip-flop s set up in a linear fashion which have their inputs and outputs connected together in such a way that the data is shifted down the line when the circuit is activated....
     for scanning keyboards, displays, printers, etc.
  • 4008: 8-bit address latch for access to standard memory chips, and one built-in 4-bit chip select and I/O port
  • 4009: program and I/O access converter to standard memory and I/O chips
  • 4269: keyboard/display interface
  • 4289: memory interface (combines functions of 4008 and 4009)


Naming the first microprocessor


When Federico Faggin designed the MCS-4 family he also christened the chips with distinct names: 4001, 4002, 4003, and 4004, breaking away from the numbering scheme used by Intel at that time which would have required the names 1302, 1105, 1507, and 1202 respectively. Had he followed Intel's number sequence, the idea that the chips were part of a family of components intended to work seamlessly together would have been lost.

Intel's early numbering scheme for integrated circuits contemplated using a four-digit number for each component. The most significant digit position indicated the process technology used, as follows: The number "1" meant P-channel MOS, "2" indicated N-channel MOS, "3" was reserved for bipolar technology, and "5" was used for CMOS technology. No other numbers were used.

The next most significant digit was used to indicate the generic function performed by the component, as follows: "1" was used for RAM
Ram

Ram, ram, or RAM as a non-acronymic wordAs a non-acronymic word Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:...
, "2" indicated random logic, "3" indicated ROM, "5" meant shift register, "6" and "7" were used for one-time programmable ROM
Read-only memory

Read-only memory is a class of computer storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. Because data stored in ROM cannot be modified , it is mainly used to distribute firmware ....
 and EPROM
EPROM

An EPROM, or Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, is a type of memory integrated circuit that retains its data when its power supply is switched off....
 respectively. The last two digits of the number were used to indicate the sequential number in the development of the component.

Collectible value


The Intel 4004 is one of the world's most sought-after collectible/antique chips. Of highest value are 4004s that are gold and white, with so-called 'grey traces' visible on the white ceramic (the original package type). As of 2005, such chips have reached around US$1000 each on eBay
EBay

eBay Inc. is an United States Internet company that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell goods and services worldwide....
. The slightly less valuable white and gold chips without grey traces typically reach $300 to $500. Those chips without a 'date code' underneath are earlier versions, and therefore worth slightly more. More recently however, these vintage ICs have been dropping in value due to their relative abundance as the market is now flooded with surplus stock from sellers looking to cash in on the Intel craze.

Original publications


  • F. Faggin and M.E. Hoff: "Standard parts and custom design merge in four-chip processor kit". Electronics/April 24, 1972, pp. 112-116
  • F. Faggin, M.Shima, M.E. Hoff, Jr., H. Feeney, S. Mazor: "The MCS-4 An LSI micro computer system". IEEE '72 Region Six Conference


Patents


  • US Patent 3,753,011 August 14, 1973. Faggin, Federico: Power supply settable bi-stable circuit.
  • US Patent 3,821,715 June 28, 1974. Hoff, Marcian; Mazor, Stanley; Faggin, Federico: Memory system for multi-chip digital computer.


External links

  • — Intel Museum (Intel Corporate Archives) entry.
  • — Faggin's own 4004 website.
  • — at the IEEE
    Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

    The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE is an international non-profit, professional body for the advancement of technology related to electricity....
    's History Center.
  • — Intel Corp., November 1971; at the Smithsonian's Chip Collection.
  • — at Christian Bassow's CPU Museum.
  • — at the unofficial 4004 website, and a simulator in Java.
  • ."The silicon design is the essence of the first microprocessor" - Federico Faggin. At the time of the microprocessor's invention engineers knew how to define CPU's architectures and do logic designs but did not yet know how to design a single-chip microprocessor in silicon.
  • : The Silicon Gate Technology was first presented by its developer, Federico Faggin, at the IEDM on October 23, 1968 in Washington, D.C.
  • : Features the Fairchild 3708, the world's first commercial integrated circuit using Silicon Gate Technology, developed by Federico Faggin at Fairchild in 1968.
  • Simple programming tools for Intel 4004 in Javascript.


Intel datasheets: