Flip Chip (tm)

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3 total messages Started by eric Thu, 21 Jan 1993 02:30

#249

Author: eric
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 02:30

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> This foray is generally held to have been successful.  But the first
> products that Digital Equipment Corporation sold were those simple
> circuit boards, which bore the name "Flip Chip".  And for some years
> afterward, even when the boards were used inside a larger product, DEC
> kept the original trade name intact.

As I understand it, after the original "System Modules", they tried to make
encapsulated hybrid modules, which were to be called "Flip Chips", and were
supposed to compete with integrated circuits.  They apparently had a lot of
production problems, and switched to PC boards, but kept the name.

Re: Flip Chip (tm)

#250

Author: Bill Gunshannon
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 16:08

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Can someone explain the use of (why and how) these Flip Chips??

I have a stack of them that came with my PDP-11 and have yet to figure out
what I am supposed to do with them.  I also notice, that there is no mention
of them in any of the manuals I have.

bill

-- 

   Bill Gunshannon     | "There are no evil thoughts, Mr. Reardon" Francisco
   bill@cs.uofs.edu    |  said softly, "except one; the refusal to think."
                       |         #include <std.disclaimer.h>

Re: Flip Chip (tm)

#257

Author: Frank - Hardware Hacker - Borger
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 23:23

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In article <11537@prijat.cs.uofs.edu>, bill@cs.uofs.edu (Bill Gunshannon) writes...
>Can someone explain the use of (why and how) these Flip Chips??
> 
>I have a stack of them that came with my PDP-11 and have yet to figure out
>what I am supposed to do with them.  I also notice, that there is no mention
>of them in any of the manuals I have.

	The basic idea was very nice. You made a stock series of boards,
	(interrupt handler, bus receiver, bus transmitter,) along with
	boards that functioned as 16-bit registers, counters, etc.)

	You then could quickly make up any computer or interface by using
	enough of these modules in backplane that was wire-wrapped under
	computer control.

	The classic PDP-8 was constructed this way.

	We still are running a 20-year old mag-tape interface, and the only
	problem we had was when a leak in the roof flooded the unit, and we
	had to take all the boards out, clean off the junk (to prevent electro-
	lytic corrosion from the rainwater and the tar from the roof,) clean
	off the backplane, and put back together.

	Service was done by board swaps, or board repair, and was quite easy.

	Maybe you could consider it a large volumn precursor of ASIC or
	gate array design.

   Frank R. Borger - Physicist    __       George Halas had two heirs; one
Michael Reese - Univ. of Chicago |___      carried his seed and one carried his
  Center for Radiation Therapy   | |_) _   soul. ... One can imagine the wisper
    "Birthplace of Softball"       | \|_)  of George Halas, rooting for his
Internet:  Frank@rover.uchicago.edu   |_)  soul. - Jeannie Morris
Phone : 312-791-8075 fax : 567-7455

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