Intel 3000 bit-slice processor family was introduced in 1973. The
family includes components that can be used to build microprocessors
with data width in increments of two, i.e. 2-bit, 4-bit, 6-bit
microprocessors, and so on. One of the main components of the 3000
family is Intel 3002 Central Processing Element (CPE). The 3002 CPE
is a 2-bit ALU and register file that can perform logical and
arithmetic operations, left/right shifting and bit/zero value
testing. The 3002 also includes 11 registers and an accumulator.
Multiple 3002 CPE elements can be chained together to process 4-bit
or wider data. The 3002 CPE elements do not fetch instructions from
memory - it's a task of Intel 3001 Microprogram Controller Unit
(MCU). The 3001 MCU can address up to 512 words of program memory,
and it provides a way to conditionally or unconditionally jump to
some memory locations. The 512-word memory is viewed by the 3001
element as 32 rows by 16 columns matrix. The MCU can jump to row 0,
to any column within current row, any row within current column, or
to any location within a subset of columns/rows, but not to any
arbitrary location. Other function of the 3001 chip is to control
carry input/output logic of the array of CPE elements.
The only second-source manufacturer of 3000 components was Signetics.
Czechoslovakia and USSR cloned Intel 3002, 3001 and other chips from
3000 family.
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