The SuperSPARC is a
microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...
that implements the
SPARC V8 instruction set architecture
In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA) is an abstract model that generally defines how software controls the CPU in a computer or a family of computers. A device or program that executes instructions described by that ISA, ...
(ISA) developed by
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...
. 33 and 40 MHz versions were introduced in 1992. The SuperSPARC contains 3.1 million transistors. It was fabricated by
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...
(TI) at Miho, Japan in a 0.8 micrometre triple-metal
BiCMOS
Bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS) is a semiconductor technology that integrates two semiconductor technologies, those of the bipolar junction transistor and the CMOS (complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) logic gate, into a single integrated circuit. ...
process.
There are two derivatives of the SuperSPARC: the SuperSPARC+ and SuperSPARC-II. The SuperSPARC+ was developed to remedy some of the design flaws that limited the SuperSPARC's clock frequency and thus performance. The SuperSPARC-II, introduced in 1994, was a major revision with improvements that enabled the microprocessor to reach 85 MHz in desktop systems and 90 MHz in the more heavily cooled SPARCserver-1000E.
SuperSPARC CPU modules are used in both the
SPARCstation 10 and
SPARCstation 20.
The SuperSPARC-II was replaced in 1995 by the 64-bit
UltraSPARC
The UltraSPARC is a microprocessor developed by Sun Microsystems and fabricated by Texas Instruments, introduced in mid-1995. It is the first microprocessor from Sun to implement the 64-bit SPARC V9 instruction set architecture (ISA). Marc Tre ...
, an implementation of the
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing units (CPU) and arithmetic logic units (ALU) are those that are based on processor registers, a ...
SPARC V9 ISA.
Models
SuperSPARC (Viking)
SuperSPARC II (Voyager)
Image:TI_SuperSPARC_I_die.JPG, TI SuperSPARC I
Image:Sun_SuperSPARC_II_die.JPG, Sun SuperSPARC II
See also
*
SPARCstation 10
*
SPARCstation 20
References
* "TI SuperSPARC for Sun Station 3 in production". (11 May 1992). ''Electronic News''.
* DeTar, Jim (10 October 1994). "Sun sets SuperSPARC-II as UltraSPARC V9 bridge". ''Electronic News''.
SPARC microprocessors
Sun microprocessors
Texas Instruments microprocessors
32-bit microprocessors
Computer-related introductions in 1992
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