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Intel 1103 DRAM

Intel 1103 DRAM

Image creditThomas Nguyen
CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Intel 1103 DRAM

Year
1970
Creator
Joel Karp, William Regitz (Honeywell), Bob Abbott, Ted Hoff, Bob Reed
Company
Intel
Location

Description

The 1103 is a dynamic memory chip that holds 1,024 bits, which Intel released in October 1970. Intel made it with its silicon-gate MOS process and a memory cell of three transistors.

Importance

The 1103 was the first chip that challenged magnetic core memory on price, at 1 cent per bit. Sales started slowly, but by the end of 1971 it was the best-selling semiconductor device in the world. Intel, the company that Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore started in 1968, released the 4004 microprocessor one year after the 1103.

Interesting fact

By 1972, 14 of the 18 mainframe computer makers in the United States, Europe, and Japan used the 1103.

Sources

  1. 1970: MOS Dynamic RAM Competes with Magnetic Core Memory on Price ↗Computer History Museum, The Silicon Engine
  2. The Intel 1103 DRAM (1970) ↗Intel Corporation, Explore Intel's History
  3. Timeline of Computer History: 1971 ↗Computer History Museum