Intel 1103

The Intel 1103 was a ground-breaking DRAM 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 bits; unlike later DRAM, which all used one transistor per bit, it reportedly used three. Physically, it was packaged in an 18-pin 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.

External links

• Intel 1103 1024-bit (1K) DRAM - good image
• 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