4 ms·

Wow, the die shot! It looks like an eerie caricature of then-contemporary chip designs. I have seen blocky hand layouts, and modern (presumably) auto layouts th

Wow, the die shot! It looks like an eerie caricature of then-contemporary chip designs. I have seen blocky hand layouts, and modern (presumably) auto layouts that look like bacteria cultures. But I have never seen warped and slanted blocks.

dogma1138 5y ago
I think it’s a mask diagram not a die shot, in any case these features are common for that era especially for the metal layers / ic traces look at die shots of a Z80 and it’s clones.
- ahartmetz 5y ago
  Ah, yes. What do I know... but this Russian CPU still looks much more "weird" than a Z80! The Z80 has 90 and 45 degree angles, this thing also has like 10 degree angles, and wavy structures, and big curves, and triangles.
  - Treblemaker 5y ago
    I'm curious to see where you see the odd angles. When I zoom in sufficiently all the shapes seem to resolve to segments of 90 and 45 degree angles.
    - ahartmetz 5y ago
      Well OK, there is only one triangle - in the upper left corner. The other things I mostly see in the center and right of center. Especially in the blue lines - power and clock or so?
    - dogma1138 5y ago
      Here is an 8080 the topology isn’t that much different https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z4RzZ24yNqU/WF4ffuFFN4I/AAAAAAAA-pI/ol-npvcvl_YKk8IRVgkO4qN7RMcqcRCMwCHM/w9999/8008-die-adjusted.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z4RzZ24yNqU/WF4ffuFFN4I/A...
krastanov 5y ago
I could not find it on ddg/google right now, but I remember seeing some absolutely beautiful plant/vine-like trace routes done by the soviet auto-routing tools of past ages. I feel a bit sad that the 45degree aesthetic is the only one that survived today.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Dork1234 5y ago
  I also thought 45 degrees is used to reduce ESD, provide the best use of die space, and reduce stress on the metal with high current. Maybe all of that is a myth? Any other angle doesn't have the same benefits.
  - picture 5y ago
    Any-angle routing may actually be better for use of space and reducing stress. I sometimes get more traces packed around a bend with any-angle. And most polymide PCBs are any-angle or at least super rounded with teardrops, having sharp transitions of any type would act as weak points.[1] ESD really doesn't make sense, maybe you meant EMI or EMC? There's nothing particularly special about 45 degrees other than the ease of modeling [1]: Some macbook trackpad, note the polymide/flex substrate and rounded tracks. This isn't fully any-angle like what TopoR does though https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_MacBook_Pro,_model_A1278_-_trackpad_-_connector-8395.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_MacBook_Pro,_m...
- marcodiego 5y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TopoR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TopoR
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - the-dude 5y ago
    Parent is downvoted for only providing a link, but : TopoR is a free-angle PCB autorouter ( it has other tricks too ). It is of Russian origin and commercial software!

dogma1138 5y ago

I think it’s a mask diagram not a die shot, in any case these features are common for that era especially for the metal layers / ic traces look at die shots of a Z80 and it’s clones.

ahartmetz 5y ago
Ah, yes. What do I know... but this Russian CPU still looks much more "weird" than a Z80! The Z80 has 90 and 45 degree angles, this thing also has like 10 degree angles, and wavy structures, and big curves, and triangles.
- Treblemaker 5y ago
  I'm curious to see where you see the odd angles. When I zoom in sufficiently all the shapes seem to resolve to segments of 90 and 45 degree angles.
  - ahartmetz 5y ago
    Well OK, there is only one triangle - in the upper left corner. The other things I mostly see in the center and right of center. Especially in the blue lines - power and clock or so?
  - dogma1138 5y ago
    Here is an 8080 the topology isn’t that much different https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z4RzZ24yNqU/WF4ffuFFN4I/AAAAAAAA-pI/ol-npvcvl_YKk8IRVgkO4qN7RMcqcRCMwCHM/w9999/8008-die-adjusted.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z4RzZ24yNqU/WF4ffuFFN4I/A...

krastanov 5y ago

I could not find it on ddg/google right now, but I remember seeing some absolutely beautiful plant/vine-like trace routes done by the soviet auto-routing tools of past ages. I feel a bit sad that the 45degree aesthetic is the only one that survived today.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Dork1234 5y ago
I also thought 45 degrees is used to reduce ESD, provide the best use of die space, and reduce stress on the metal with high current. Maybe all of that is a myth? Any other angle doesn't have the same benefits.
- picture 5y ago
  Any-angle routing may actually be better for use of space and reducing stress. I sometimes get more traces packed around a bend with any-angle. And most polymide PCBs are any-angle or at least super rounded with teardrops, having sharp transitions of any type would act as weak points.[1] ESD really doesn't make sense, maybe you meant EMI or EMC? There's nothing particularly special about 45 degrees other than the ease of modeling [1]: Some macbook trackpad, note the polymide/flex substrate and rounded tracks. This isn't fully any-angle like what TopoR does though https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_MacBook_Pro,_model_A1278_-_trackpad_-_connector-8395.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_MacBook_Pro,_m...
marcodiego 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TopoR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TopoR
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- the-dude 5y ago
  Parent is downvoted for only providing a link, but : TopoR is a free-angle PCB autorouter ( it has other tricks too ). It is of Russian origin and commercial software!