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This is a rare six-inch computer CPU silicon wafer that dates to early 1970s. It has a rainbow prism affect when light is reflected on it with incredible detail. Included is a desk stand to display this 33+ year rare treasure. Gene Amdahl started a company called Trilogy with the radical concept of putting an entire mainframe on a single wafer. In the 1970s this was pushing the limits of technology in large-scale integration. It was like putting a map of the United States on the wafer. If one street in Denver was off, the wafer failed. The Trilogy Company also failed and was sold to Elxsi for liquidation that was soon sold to Intel. Intel was a small startup company in early 1970s and grew from Amdahl’s idea. This small start up company called Intel was the first to produce a Central Processing Unit or CPU called P4004. This revolutionary development was a 4-bit processor with over 2,300 transistors on a single one-inch chip that would allow programmed logic. Silicon computer wafers were grown in sterile laboratories, then etched with photo masks and chemicals. The chips were cut out of the silicon wafers & mounted in packages for use on computers of the period (i.e. Mainframes). This rare silicon wafer has a very large “die” so the features can be seen well. Per 1970s, this is a 0.6-micron technology device, which means the line widths on these circuits are smaller than blood cells. These are dated from the 1970s and early 1980s. The early developing process used many harsh chemicals to manufacture that now give off a rainbow prism effect. Today’s technology uses million dollar “Stepper” machines to etch the silicon wafer. This is a great conversation piece and reported to have cost over $ 500.00 each to manufacture. Again, a “Plate Stand” is included for display on desk. This very rare treasure is in excellent condition and will highlight any collection of computing history.
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