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The Am2903 is a 4-bit expandable bipolar microprocessor slice. The Am2903 performs all functions performed by the industry standard Am2901A and, in addition, provides a number of significant enhancements that are especially useful in arithmetic- oriented processors. Infinitely expandable memory and three- port, three-address architecture are provided by the Am2903. In addition to its complete arithmetic and logic instruction set, the Am2903 provides a special set of instructions which facilitate the implementation of multiplication, division, normalization, and other previously time-consuming operations. The Am2903 is supplied in a 48-pin dual in-line package.

The Am2903 is a high-performance cascadable 4-bit bipolar microprocessor slice designed for use in CPU's, peripheral controllers, microprogrammable machines, and numerous other applications. The 9-bit microinstruction selects the ALU sources, function, and destination. The Am2903 is cascadable with full lookahead or ripple carry, has three-state outputs, and provides various ALU status flag outputs. Advanced low-power Schottky processing is used to fabricate this 48-pin LSI circuit.

All data paths within the device are 4 bits wide. As shown in Fig. 1, the device consists of a 16-word by 4-bit two-port RAM with latches on both output ports, a high-performance ALU and shifter, a multi-purpose Q register with shifter input, and a 9-bit instruction decoder.

Any two RAM words addressed at the A and B address ports can be read simultaneously at the respective RAM A and B output ports. Identical data appears at the two output ports when the same address is applied to both address ports. The latches at the RAM output ports are transparent when the clock input, CP, is HIGH, and they hold the RAM output data when CP is LOW. Under control of the OE_B three-state output enable, RAM data can be read directly at the Am2903 DB I/O port.

External data at the Am2903 Y I/O port can be written directly into the RAM, or ALU shifter output data can be enabled onto the Y I/O port and entered into the RAM. Data is written into the RAM at the B address when the write enable input, WE, is LOW and the clock input, CP, is LOW.

The Am2903 high-performance ALU can perform seven arithmetic and nine logic operations on two 4-bit operands. Multiplexers at the ALU inputs provide the capability to select various pairs of ALU source operands. The E_A input selects either the DA external data input or RAM output port A for use as one ALU operand, and the 0E_B and I₀ inputs select RAM output port B, DB external data input, or the Q-register content for use as the second ALU operand. Also, during some ALU operations, zeros are forced at the ALU operand inputs. Thus, the Am2903 ALU can operate on data from two external sources, from an internal and external source, or from two internal sources. Table 1 shows all possible pairs of ALU source operands as a function of the E_A, OE_B, and I₀ inputs.

When instruction bits I₄, I₃, I₂, I₁, and I₀ are LOW, the Am2903 executes special functions. Table 4 defines these special functions and the operation which the ALU performs for each. When the 2903 executes instructions other than the nine special functions, the ALU operation is determined by instruction bits I₄, I₃, I₂, and I₁. Table 2 defines the ALU operation as a function of these four instruction bits.

Am2903's may be cascaded in either a ripple carry or lookahead carry fashion. When a number of Am2903's are cascaded, each slice must be programmed to be a most significant slice (MSS), intermediate slice (IS), or least significant slice (LSS) of the array. The carry generate, G, and carry propagate, P, signals required for a lookahead carry scheme are generated by the Am2903 and are available as outputs of the least significant and intermediate slices.

The Am2903 also generates a carry-out signal, C_n+4, which is generally available as an output of each slice. Both the carry-in, C_n, and carry-out, C_n+4, signals are active HIGH. The ALL generates two other status outputs. These are negative, N, and overflow, OVR. The N output is generally the most significant (sign) bit of the ALU output and can be used to determine positive or negative results. The OVR output indicates that the arithmetic operation being performed exceeds the available 2's complement number range. The N and OVR signals are available as outputs of the most significant slice. Thus the multi-purpose G/N and P /OVR outputs indicate G and P at the least significant and intermediate slices, and sign and overflow at the most significant slice. To some extent, the meanings of the C_n+4, P /OVR, and G/N signals vary with the ALL function being performed. Refer to Table 5 for an exact definition of these four signals as a function of the Am2903 instruction.

1Abstracted from "Am2903, The Superslice" and "Am2910 Microprogram Controller" specification sheets, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 1978.

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