Looking inside a 1970s PROM chip that stores data in microscopic fuses by @kenshirriff #VintageComputing #RetroComputing #EE
Ken Shirriff posts an in-depth article about 1970s programmable read-only memory chips (PROMs).
The MMI 5300 was a memory chip from the early 1970s, storing 1024 bits in tiny fuses.1 Unlike regular RAM chips, this was a PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory); you programmed it once by blowing fuses and then it held that data permanently. The chip I examined originally cost $70 and was built by MMI (Monolithic Memories Incorporated), a leading PROM manufacturer at the time.
The highly magnified photo below shows the chip’s silicon die. The metal layer on top of the silicon is most visible in this photo; the transistors and resistors fabricated from silicon are underneath. The wires around the edges are the 16 bond wires between the silicon die and the external pins. In the upper left, the 1024 bits of data are stored in a 33×33 array of diodes and fuses… This chip is built from NPN transistors, unlike the MOS transistors used in most modern chips.
Ken also states on Twitter: Now, a reusable flash drive costs less with a billion times the storage.
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.
