IC Knowledge

1990s

1991 - 16Mbit DRAM
The 16Mbit DRAM was produced on a CMOS process with 3 to 4 polysilicon layers, 2 metal layers and 0.5µm minimum features. The resulting product had a 4.2µm² memory cell size, a die size of approximately 130mm² and sold for around $275 at introduction. Later versions utilized smaller linewidths to shrink the die.
1993 - Intel Pentium^TM
The Pentium is the first processor from Intel capable of executing more than 1 instruction per clock cycle. The Pentium was manufactured in a silicon gate BiCMOS process with 0.8µm linewidths, required 18 mask layers and had 1 polysilicon layer and 3 metal layers, the Pentium had 3.1 million transistors, a 60 to 66MHz clock speed and a 264mm² die size.
1994 - Semiconductor Industry passes $100-billion.
1994 - 64Mbit DRAM
The 64Mbit DRAM was produced on a CMOS process with 3 to 5 polysilicon layers, 2 to 3 metal layers and 0.35µm minimum features. The resulting product had a 1.5µm² memory cell size, a die size of approximately 170mm² and sold for around $575 at introduction. Later versions utilized smaller linewidths to shrink the die.
1995 - Intel Pentium Pro^TM
The Pentium Pro introduced a dual cavity package with the Pentium Pro chip and a Cache chip housed together. The bus to the cache ran at the same speed as the processor. The Pentium Pro was manufactured in a silicon gate BiCMOS process with 0.35µm linewidths, required 20 mask layers and had 1 polysilicon layer and 4 metal layers, the Pentium Pro had 5.5 million transistors, a 150 to 200MHz clock speed and a 310mm² die size.

1996 - 300mm silicon wafers introduced [24]
1997 - Intel Pentium II^TM
The Pentium II introduced single in-line cartridge housing the processor chip and standard cache chips running at ½ the processor speed. The Pentium II was manufactured in a silicon gate CMOS process with 0.35µm linewidths, required 16 mask layers and had 1 polysilicon layer and 4 metal layers, the Pentium II had 7.5 million transistors, a 233 to 300MHz clock speed and a 209mm² die size.
1998 - 256Mbit DRAM
The 256Mbit DRAM was produced on a CMOS process with 4 to 5 polysilicon layers, 2 to 3 metal layers and 0.25µm minimum features. The 256Mbit DRAM introduced the use of high-k dielectrics, although many parts are also produced without high-k, high-k dielectric represents the fourth major DRAM transition. The resulting product had a die size of approximately 204mm² and sold for around $575 at introduction. Later versions utilized smaller linewidths to shrink the die.
1999 - Intel Pentium III^TM
The Pentium III returned to a more standard PGA package and integrated the cache on chip. The Pentium III was manufactured in a silicon gate CMOS process with 0.18µm linewidths, required 21 mask layers and had 1 polysilicon layer and 6 metal layers, the Pentium III had 28 million transistors, a 500 to 733MHz clock speed and a 140mm² die size.