Exploring an Intel 4004, the First Microprocessor, with an Ion Beam and Electron Microscope

[johnwalker]

We cut through the First Intel CPU with an Ion Beam to see how a Transistor looked like 1971

“A 12900K, a very recent [Intel] CPU, has about 16 times more die size, but at the same time has 35 million times more transistors.”

[gms]

Take a look at Ken Shiriff’s blog - his 2017 article reverse engineering the 8008 ALU was quite a bit more enlightening in my view.

Absent domain knowledge, do “ion beam” sections add value in terms of reverse engineering the design? Other than for predictable comparisons of stereo lithography resolution in 1971 vs 50 years later…

[eggspurt]

Here’s Federico Faggin’s signature on the design:
http://intel4004.com/sign.htm
He was later the founder of Zilog that created the legendary Z80. He’s recently published this book:
https://siliconthebook.com/product/silicon

[johnwalker]

@eggspurt

Here’s Federico Faggin’s signature on the design:

An earlier post here on 2021-11-21, “Fifty Years Ago—Intel 4004: The First Commercial Microprocessor”, included video of a conference at the Computer History Museum on the 35th anniversary of the 4004 including talks by Federico Faggin and Ted Hoff about the origin and design of the 4004 and how Intel, which then viewed itself as a semiconductor memory company, resisted getting into the microprocessor business.