The 4004, the world's first microprocessor, is signed with the initials F.F., for Federico Faggin, its
designer. Signing the chip was a spontaneous gesture of proud authorship. It was
also an original idea, imitated after him by others. Faggin initially etched the
F.F. inside the design. Later he moved them to its border, like the
autograph on a work of art. The signature is a particularly
poignant testimony because, at the time of its birth, the first microprocessor,
far from being considered a milestone by Intel's management, represented a
diversion from the mainline business of the company which was memory chips.
The birth of the 4004 was
an intense moment witnessed by Faggin alone, working into the night in the
deserted Intel labs. He had received the 4004 wafers from the manufacturing
line at around 6 PM, in January 1971, as people were leaving for the day. With
hands trembling and heart pounding he loaded the wafers in the wafer prober and
connected it to the tester. A sigh of relief raised from his chest, above the humming of the instruments, as he observed electrical activity in the device. As
the testing progressed, the tension was gradually transforming into elation as
all the critical functions showed to be operating properly. At around 3 AM,
exhausted and ecstatic, Faggin left the lab. At home his wife, Elvia, was waiting for the news. "It works"! he announced, and they shared the happiness in this moment of triumph.
[
画像:4004 FF]
On the lower right-hand corner of the 4004 chip are the initials F.F. for Federico Faggin, the project leader and author of the silicon design.
