The 3 μm process (3
micrometer process) is the level of
MOSFET
upright=1.3, Two power MOSFETs in amperes">A in the ''on'' state, dissipating up to about 100 watt">W and controlling a load of over 2000 W. A matchstick is pictured for scale.
In electronics, the metal–oxide–semiconductor field- ...
semiconductor process technology that was reached around 1977,
by companies such as
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
.
The 3 μm process refers to the minimum size that could be reliably produced. The smallest transistors and other circuit elements on a chip made with this process were around 3 micrometers wide.
Products featuring 3 μm manufacturing process
*
Intel's 8085, 8086, 8088
CPU's launched in 1976, 1978, 1979, respectively, were manufactured using its 3.2 μm
NMOS (
HMOS) process.
[ .]Hitachi
() is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...
's 4 kbit HM6147 SRAM memory chip, launched in 1978, introduced the twin-well CMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss
", , ) is a type of MOSFET, metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) semiconductor device fabrication, fabrication process that uses complementary an ...
process, at 3 μm.
* Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 (sometimes shortened to Motorola 68k or m68k and usually pronounced "sixty-eight-thousand") is a 16/32-bit complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor, introduced in 1979 by Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector ...
(MC68000) CPU, launched in 1979, was originally fabricated using an HMOS process with a 3.5 μm feature size.
* The ARM1 was launched in 1985 and manufactured on a 3μm process.
References
*03000
Computer-related introductions in 1975
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