3 μm process

The 3 μm process (3 micrometer process) is the level of MOSFET semiconductor process technology that was reached around 1977,^[1]^[2] by companies such as Intel.

The 3 μm process refers to the minimum size that could be reliably produced. The smallest transistors and other circuit elements on a chip made with this process were around 3 micrometers wide.

Products featuring 3 μm manufacturing process

Intel's 8085 CPU, launched in 1976 was manufactured using its 3 μm NMOS (HMOS) process.^[1].
Intel 8086 CPU, launched in 1978, had a 3.2 μm minimum feature size.^[3]
Hitachi's 4 kbit HM6147 SRAM memory chip, launched in 1978, introduced the twin-well CMOS process, at 3 μm.^[4]
Motorola 68000 (MC68000) CPU, launched in 1979, was originally fabricated using an HMOS process with a 3.5 μm feature size.^{[citation needed]}
The ARM1 was launched in 1985 and manufactured on a 3 μm process.^[5]

References

1 2 Mueller, S (21 July 2006). "Microprocessors from 1971 to the Present". informIT. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
↑ Myslewski, R (15 November 2011). "Happy 40th birthday, Intel 4004!". TheRegister. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
↑ "8086 microprocessor, Intel, 1976". Computer History Museum. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
↑ "1978: Double-well fast CMOS SRAM (Hitachi)" (PDF). Semiconductor History Museum of Japan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
↑ "ARM's Race to Embedded World Domination".

Preceded by 6 μm process	MOSFET semiconductor device fabrication process	Succeeded by 1.5 μm process

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[informIT-1] 1 2 Mueller, S (21 July 2006). "Microprocessors from 1971 to the Present". informIT. Retrieved 11 May 2012.

[2] Myslewski, R (15 November 2011). "Happy 40th birthday, Intel 4004!". TheRegister. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2017.

[3] "8086 microprocessor, Intel, 1976". Computer History Museum. Retrieved 8 October 2026.

[4] "1978: Double-well fast CMOS SRAM (Hitachi)" (PDF). Semiconductor History Museum of Japan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.

[5] "ARM's Race to Embedded World Domination".

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Semiconductor device fabrication

MOSFET scaling (process nodes)
20 μm – 1968 10 μm – 1971 6 μm – 1974 3 μm – 1977 1.5 μm – 1981 1 μm – 1984 800 nm – 1987 600 nm – 1990 350 nm – 1993 250 nm – 1996 180 nm – 1999 130 nm – 2001 90 nm – 2003 65 nm – 2005 45 nm – 2007 32 nm – 2009 22 nm – 2012 14 nm – 2014 10 nm – 2016 7 nm – 2018 5 nm – 2020 3 nm – 2022 2 nm – 2025
Future 1 nm ~ 2027
Half-nodes Density CMOS Device (multi-gate) Moore's law Transistor count Semiconductor Industry Nanoelectronics
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