HP Focus 32-bit NMOS Microprocessor - The First Single Chip 1 Micron 32-bit Microprocessor
Pikes Peak IEEE Life Member Affinity Group, Joint Electron Devices/Circuits and Systems Chapter, Solid State Circuits Chapter, Pikes Peak Section
April In-Person Meeting, Tuesday, April 7, 6:00 pm MDT
Downtown Panino's, 604 North Tejon Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903
HP Focus 32-bit NMOS Microprocessor
The First Single Chip 1 Micron 32-bit Microprocessor
Jim Mikkelson, Former HP Fort Collins, Project Manager
Jim Mikkelson is one of the most distinguished Semiconductor pioneers on Silicon Mountain. He was a co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Vitesse Semiconductor, a Colorado Springs GaAs integrated circuit manufacturer. This life history presentation will take you back to Jim's 1978 project to develop an advanced 1 micron NMOS process for HP Fort Collins who was the largest manufacturer of NMOS products at the time. Please understand that this required simultaneous development of lithography, deposition, etching, and metallization along with associated advancements in design tools to build the first 1 micron 32-bit Microprocessor. Please understand that Microprocessors in 1978 were 5 micron 8-bit processors going into things like the Apple 2. The resulting HP 9000 Model 520 released in 1982 was the most powerful desktop computer available (2-years before the IBM PC) and was widely deployed throughout the US Navy for tactical decision support. Setting the stage for HP's continued leadership in computing.
You don't want to miss this opportunity - Dinner is free!
Date and Time
Location
Hosts
Registration
-
Add Event to Calendar
- 604 North Tejon Street
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- United States 80903
- Building: Downtown Panino's Restaurant
- Starts 23 March 2026 06:00 AM UTC
- Ends 05 April 2026 06:00 PM UTC
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
Jim Mikkelson
HP Focus 32-bit NMOS Microprocessor, The First Single Chip 1 Micron 32-bit Microprocessor
Biography:
James Mikkelson is a IEEE Life Senior Member who has been involved with the semiconductor industry for 53-years. He has a BS, MS, and Electrical Engineer degrees from MIT. He was co-founder of Vitesse Semiconductor, a pioneering GaAs semiconductor supplier in 1984 and served as their Chief Technical Officer. He worked for Hewlett-Packard Company at their semiconductor facility in Loveland and Fort Collins, CO from 1973-1984 where he served as a Member of the Technical Staff and Project Manager of the development of leading edge 1 micron NMOS III process used for the development of the HP Focus 32-bit Microprocessor, that was the basis of HP’s 9000 Series 500 Engineering Workstations in the early 1980s.
Agenda
Introductions
Dinner
Presentations
Q&A