4004 and IC history / was Re: Vintage computer photogallery

[Roy J. Tellason]

On Saturday 13 October 2007 15:56, Brent Hilpert wrote:
> "Roy J. Tellason" wrote:
> > On Saturday 13 October 2007 10:46, dwight elvey wrote:
> > > Package size was always a dominating cost and defined many projects.
> >
> > I've often wondered why it is that 14-pin packages seemed to dominate the
> > early parts so much.  Why they never offered,  for example,  a dual
> > 2-input gate package instead of the more common quad,  or other
> > combinations like that.  It seemed sometimes that things were altered a
> > bit to fit into those 14-pin packages that they wanted to use...
>
> There was a brief period (early-mid 60s) were packaging was as you suggest,
> early RTL ICs were in 8 or 10 pin cans and flat-paks with typically two
> gates per package. As densities increased there was little point though,
> when building systems with hundreds or thousands of gates, 2-gates per
> package just increased the package count and the potential wastage of 2
> unused gates in a quad pack just wasn't a concern.

I was just thinking more along the lines of when you only need some of what's 
in a typical package...

And what's funny is that there now seems to be some stuff out there that's 
offering as simple as single gates in a small surface-mount package.


-- 
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space,  a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed.  --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James 
M Dakin