The Intel 4004 microprocessor is a 4-bit CPU that was released in 1971. It was the first commercially available microprocessor and was designed by a team of engineers led by Federico Faggin at Intel. The chip was built using a then-new process technology called N-MOS (N-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor), which enabled the integration of all the functions of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) onto a single chip.
The 4004 had a clock speed of 740 kHz, and it could execute about 92,000 instructions per second. It had a total of 2300 transistors and it was packaged in a 16-pin ceramic Dual In-line Package (DIP). It was capable of addressing up to 4KB of memory. It supported various input/output operations and various data manipulation operations such as addition, subtraction, comparison, and logical operations. The 4004 was used in a wide range of applications, including calculators, traffic control systems, and early personal computers.
Also read: Benefits of using a hybrid CPU design like ARM's rather than a purely RISC or purely CISC design.
The 4004 was a significant development in the history of microprocessors as it marked the beginning of the microprocessor revolution and the start of the personal computing era. The 4004 paved the way for the development of more powerful microprocessors, such as the Intel 8008 and the 8080, which were used in the first personal computers.
