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Semiconductor Manufacturing  A short chip history
 Look below to see the increasing complexity of microprocessors since the debut of Intel's 286 microprocessor in 1982.
Intel 286 chip close-up

1982 - Intel 286

134,000 transistors
12.5 MHz - clock speed
electrical leads on perimeter

(Electrical leads bring power into the chip and allow information to move in and out to other computer components)

Intel 386 chip close-up

1985 - Intel 386

275,000 transistors
33 MHz - clock speed
electrical leads on perimeter

Intel 486 chip close-up

1989 - Intel 486

1.2 million transistors
50 MHz -clock speed
electrical leads on perimeter

Pentium Pro chip close-up

1995 - Pentium Pro

5.5 million transistors
200 MHz -clock speed
electrical leads on perimeter

  
Pentium 3 chip close-up

1999 - Pentium 3

28 million transistors
733 MHz - clock speed
electrical leads directly on chip cover up transistors and other components

 


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date created:1/15/01
last updated: Apr. 05, 2010
contact: inquiries@nist.gov

 

Semiconductor Manufacturing area of NIST in Your Community exhibit.

Faster, smaller, cheaper chips

Fitting more chips on each wafer

Keeping Up with Moore's Law

Incredible, Shrinking Microchips

Rulers for a Microworld

More semiconductor manufacturing info on the NIST web site