Microprocessors: Progress is reported in programming, speed, complexity, and versatility; new 32-bit devices are announced

As the microprocessor marked its 10th anniversary in 1981, four different 32-bit designs were unveiled — an indicator that development and growth have not slowed in this seasoned technology. The new designs were: (1) Intel Corp.'s long-awaited iAPX 432 micromainframe, a three-chip set in HMOS, with the design emphasis on high-level-language (Ada) programmability; (2) Hewlett-Packard Co.'s single-chip NMOS microprocessor with 450 000 transistors, designed for a maximum speed of 18 megahertz and dissipating nearly 7 watts; (3) Bell Laboratories' Bellmac-32, a single-chip microprocessor fabricated in twin-tub CMOS technology that dissipates less than 1 W and uses new “domino” circuits that operate at twice the speed of previous CMOS circuits; and (4) Nippon Telegraph and Telephone's CMOS microprocessor fabricated with 2-micrometer line widths enabling 20 000 gates to be packed on a chip only 12 millimeters square and dissipating only 750 milliwatts.