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Woodstock Chipset Decapped (HD Photograph)
01-09-2021, 04:44 PM (This post was last modified: 01-09-2021 04:45 PM by andylithia.)
Post: #1
Woodstock Chipset Decapped (HD Photograph)
Greetings forum
I've recently acquired an old metallurgic microscope that is good enough for micro-meter scale chip analysis. The first thing I set out to do is to decap and obtain a complete photograph of HP ACT - the second generation calculator chipset seen in the Woodstock series.

https://lithcore.cn/decaps


For those wanting to know more about the circuit design, a good way to start is by reading the Verilog source code of Monte's 41CL that he kindly provides. This implementation is almost identical to the original design, and HP-41's architecture is basically an enhanced version of that of the earlier chipsets.

Also, years ago, I wrote three articles on my blog, exploring the details of HP's bit serial design. To me, a student who was born in the CMOS VLSI era, bit-serial calculator chip design is totally exotic. The adventure was quite enjoyable.

https://lithcore.cn/2103

Vintage HP handheld user
Lithcore.cn
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01-09-2021, 08:22 PM
Post: #2
RE: Woodstock Chipset Decapped (HD Photograph)
Nice photo!

The BitSerial articles are well written and most informative.

Thank you,
TomC
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01-10-2021, 11:14 AM
Post: #3
RE: Woodstock Chipset Decapped (HD Photograph)
Very nice Andy - thanks!
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