32 Bits That Changed Microprocessor Design

In the late 1970s, a time when 8-bit processors were state of the art and CMOS was the underdog of semiconductor technology, engineers at AT&T’s Bell Labs took a bold leap into the future. They made a high-stakes bet to outpace IBM, Intel, andother competitors in chip performance by combining cutting-edge 3.5-micron CMOS fabrication with a novel 32-bit processor architecture. Although their creation—the Bellmac-32 microprocessor—never achieved the commercial fame of earlier ones such as Intel’s 4004 (released in 1971), its influence has proven far more enduring. Virtually every chip in smartphones, laptops, and tablets today relies on the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor principles that the Bellmac-32 pioneered. As the 1980s approached, AT&T was grappling with transformation. For decades, the telecom giant—nicknamed “Ma Bell”—had dominated American voice communications, with its Western Electric subsidiary manufacturing nearly every telephone found in U.S. homes and offices. T ... Read full article.