🚀 go-pugleaf

The following article brings to mind an interesting question...
How small can we make a (reasonably useful) CPU?

In article <1992Nov12.164510.28248@dartvax.dartmouth.edu> stevel@coos.dartmouth.edu (Steve Ligett) writes:
>Somewhere I have a copy of an article (or two) titled
>
>"A design for a 16 bit processor using only 600 transistors"
>
>from Microelectronics Journal, Vol 15, Nr 3,
>copyright 1984 Benn Electronics Publications Ltd, London
>
>The machine has 4 instructions: three subtracts, and one bit clear.
>
>I'll try to find and reread the articles if it would be of interest.
>-- 
>steve.ligett@dartmouth.edu
>Sign in our Machine Room:  Before Leaving Please Lock Door Behind You

Assuming good density, how many of the above could we put on a chip
using today's processes (We can make 16 Megabit dram chips... but dram is
very regular.)

How many transistors would it take to make a minimally sized 32-bit chip?
Optimized for transistor count, not cycle speed, op-code simplicity, or
speed of design.

This caught my attention because of an idea I have been toying with, which
I have decided to call the Fractal Logic Asynchronous Scalable Circuit.
(Basically a 'memory' where every cell is a finite state autonoma 'conversing'
with the cells next to it.)  I figure eight thousand of the little guys on a 
chip, simple though they might be individually, could get some serious
computation done.


-- 
8Chuck .2AlexanderTheGreat
perkins@ursa11.law.utah.edu
"I am not in denial."