Circuit digram collection

Dec 17, 2011 26 Replies

IBM invested *heavily* in ECL (A.K.A. CSEF) with one deviation into TTL (one series of mainframes) in the late '70s before CMOS finally buried it with density. ECL at those densities would be impossible to cool. As it was they spent a billion bucks on cooling/packaging to get as far as they did (early '90s). ECL is fast but not nearly dense enough to be usable for anything other than boutique parts (clock generators and such), today.

If you think there was no investment in ECL, you're quite mistaken. As far as twisted pair goes, no problem, though not needed. Single-ended microstrip works just fine. Even standard wirewrap, against a ground plane, was used for decades.

This is called a "power amplifier". Of course, it does not multiply the power of its own power supply. :)

Nah, the push-pull "bravery machine" is the best. I guess it takes more courage to push and pull some people than others. ;)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics 160 North State Road #203 Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 845-480-2058 hobbs at electrooptical dot net http://electrooptical.net

IBM mainframes were all ECL until the early '90s. You couldn't beat it for transconductance, but eventually the standby power got to be too much, and they switched over to CMOS for the System 390. (I think the

3090 series was the last ECL machine.) Fujitsu stayed with ECL for another generation, and ate IBM's lunch, briefly.

Of course IBM had its near-death experience along about then, mostly for reasons not involving Fujitsu.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics 160 North State Road #203 Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 845-480-2058 hobbs at electrooptical dot net http://electrooptical.net

formatting link

OK, use one to multiply voltage and another to multiply current. ...but I suppose the results would be in Craftsman watts. ;-)

The one exception was one series of the 3090s, which was at least partially TTL (at least the CPU was).

Yes, a "real estate" horror; one too many Akers.

:-)

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled." (Richard Feynman)

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