3 ms·
I can't imagine Alpha and ECL based designs being done anywhere within the same decade.
by varjag 3y ago
I can't imagine Alpha and ECL based designs being done anywhere within the same decade.
- formerly_proven 3y agoAlpha and VAX 9000 DEC also did a "300 MHz 125 W ECL microprocessor" in the 90s, though that seemed to be mostly about developing cooling.
- Gibbon1 3y agoMy memory of the 80's was most stuff was fast but power hungry NMOS. People were pushing things like GA, ECL, Silicon on Sapphire as the next thing to replace it. I might be biased but the company I worked for in the 80's switched to CMOS early[1]. I think the high end guys were ignoring CMOS despite it closing the gap relentlessly. Worse for all the other technologies as integration increased heat became a relentlessly and eventually unsolvable problem. I remember seeing ECL datasheets for simple chips that would draw a half watt. Notable volume production of CMOS grew and grew while ECL, GA didn't really. So yes, ECL for new business after 1985 was dumb. [1] CEO realized enclosures, power supplies, and fans were a large fraction of the bom.