Jnc: Covers the main points

2024-02-17T14:41:32Z

Covers the main points

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The '''Intel 1103''' was a ground-breaking [[dynamic RAM|DRAM]] [[integrated circuit|chip]] from [[Intel]]; introduced in October, 1970, it was the first commercially available DRAM. It would eventually become, by 1972, the bestselling memory chip in the world; it killed off [[core memory]], the preceding [[main memory]] technology.

It held 1Kx1 [[bit]]s; unlike later DRAM, which all used one [[transistor]] per bit, it reportedly used three. Physically, it was packaged in an 18-pin [[Dual Inline Package|DIP]].

It was also Intel's first really successful chip (although it took several iterations of the masks to get it working reliably enough for sale); in the words of Intel co-founder [[Gordon Moore]], "It was the chip that really got Intel over the hump to profitability." (By 1972, the peak of its success, it was responsible for almost all of Intel’s revenue - by then, US$ 23 million.) Its price was US$21 - in other words, about US$.02 per bit.

It was a key component in a number of ground-breaking systems, including the [[Knight TV system]]; the [[Maxc]] machines at [[Xerox PARC]] also used it.

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==External links==

* [https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/memory-storage/8/368/1017 Intel 1103 1024-bit (1K) DRAM] - good image
* [https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_713496 Intel 1103 1K Bit pMOS Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)] - the writeup may contain an error; it says "a one-transistor DRAM", but other sources say it used "three-transistor memory cell"s

[[Category: Integrated Circuits]]

Intel 1103 - Revision history

Jnc: Covers the main points