Although the 4004 offered an
outstanding ratio between price and efficiency the chip could not
compete with the real computers during 1971. Since it could just
manage 4 bits at once the 4004 was much slower and less powerful than
a state of the art central processing unit of a computer.
Intel had been commited
by Nippon
Calculating Machine Corporation (later Busicom) to develop a chip
family for a calculator - the Busicom
141-PF.
Four main persons were involved in this
project:
Federic
Faggin: developed the silicon gate MOS technology and was the
head
of the 4004 team; he designed the complete chip layout of the
4000 series (and of 8008 / 8080 as well); Faggin left Intel at the
end
of 1974 to build up a new semiconductor company - Zilog.
Stan Mazor: added some instructions to the chip architecture and
designed
program specimen to check the feasibility of the whole chip
design.
He was also responsible for the interface communication
between
different departments and other contact partners.
Masatoshi
Shima: designed the controller chip, its logic and the
arrangement of
circuits on the 4004 logic
Ted Hoff: initiated the 4004 concept
(instead of a chip series);
proposed the
alternative to build a complete new programmable
processor unit instead
of the chip serie demanded by Busicom; the chip
should be used for
several purposes depending on the implemented programs; he designed
the basic architecture (CPU, RAM, ROM and I/O)
and the logic.
Bob Noyce, chairman of Intel, managed
to change the licence agreement between Intel and Busicom on payment
of $ 60,000. Intel got the rights on the chip design and to build in
the 4004 into other computers as well. In view of the starting
processor industry Busicoms decision was one of the most serious
management mistakes made by a company.
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