I’m always impressed with the folks at visual6502.org. This time, they’ve opened up an early CMOS chip, the RCA 1802 micro. It’s kind of like a proto-LSI time capsule. This chip was developed in the mid-1970’s and had radiation resistance, so it made its way into a number of spacecraft, including the Galileo probe.
Not only was the C2L CMOS process simpler, denser and faster than previous ones, it lends itself to radiation-hard chips, which led to this CPU being found in various space probes. (The bulk silicon process used for our RCA 1802 is not as radiation tolerant as the later silicon-on-sapphire processes, but it was better than other contemporary processes.)
As it happens, it’s also a great process for us to photograph and analyse, because the N and P structures show as different colours, and the layout is very readable.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
