Chips and Technologies

Chips and Technologies, Inc. was an American fabless semiconductor company established in Milpitas, California, in December 1984 by Gordon A. Campbell and Dado Banatao. It became one of the important early suppliers to the IBM-compatible personal-computer industry, designing integrated circuits that replaced or consolidated collections of standard logic and proprietary system components. By integrating many motherboard functions into fewer chips, the company helped computer manufacturers reduce component counts, board complexity, and product cost. The company's first major product was a four-chip Enhanced Graphics Adapter-compatible chipset announced in September 1985. The set reproduced the principal functions of many of IBM's EGA chips and enabled third-party board makers to build compatible graphics adapters without designing an equivalent implementation from scratch. More than half a dozen companies were reported to have introduced EGA-compatible boards based on the chipset by COMDEX in November 1985. This achievement established C&T as an important independent source of PC graphics technology at a time when IBM's hardware designs strongly influenced the market. C&T subsequently broadened its portfolio into motherboard chipsets for IBM PC, XT, AT, and PS/2-compatible systems. Its products consolidated functions such as clock generation, bus control, interrupt handling, DMA, timers, real-time clock and nonvolatile memory, keyboard control, memory management, and power management. The 82C206 formed the core of the NEAT, or New Enhanced AT, chipset, while later SCAT and SCATsx products integrated AT-compatible functions for systems using 286- and 386-class processors. The company also developed 386-compatible processors and an 80387DX-compatible floating-point coprocessor, although these products did not achieve the same market position as processors from Intel, AMD, or Cyrix. Graphics remained a central part of the company's identity. C&T was the first company outside IBM to deliver a VGA-compatible chipset, the 82C451, in 1987, helping open the VGA-compatible adapter market to independent board manufacturers. It later produced Super EGA, IBM 8514/A-compatible, accelerated 2D, framebuffer, and local-bus graphics products. The Wingine board targeted high-speed framebuffer applications and gained particular recognition among users of NEXTSTEP on Intel processors. In the notebook market, C&T developed increasingly integrated graphics controllers with flat-panel and LCD direct-drive capabilities. Its HiQVision family included the 65550, 65554, 65555, 68554, 69000, and 69030 series. C&T controllers appeared in products from major computer manufacturers. Apple used several of the company's notebook graphics chips, including the 65525A in early NuBus PowerBook systems, the 65550 in the PowerBook 3400, and the faster 65554 in the PowerBook G3 model known as Kanga. The 65555 also won a graphics design in early Compaq Armada laptops. These design wins reflected the company's later emphasis on cost-effective, highly integrated notebook and LCD graphics rather than on competing directly for the highest-performance desktop graphics segment. Intel acquired Chips and Technologies in 1997, primarily to obtain its graphics-chip business. After the acquisition, the independent C&T brand gradually disappeared. Former C&T personnel formed Asiliant Technologies in January 2000 to continue supporting several C&T notebook and LCD graphics integrated circuits. Intel licensed Asiliant to build, sell, and service those components, and Asiliant supplied them for several years before closing. C&T is therefore remembered less as a surviving consumer brand than as an influential technology supplier that helped establish the commercial ecosystem of PC-compatible chipsets and graphics adapters.

Chips and Technologies emerged in the first major wave of independent semiconductor companies supplying the IBM-compatible personal-computer industry. Gordon A. Campbell and Dado Banatao founded the company in Milpitas, California, in December 1984. Unlike an integrated computer manufacturer, C&T operated as a fabless design company: it developed semiconductor architectures and relied on outside manufacturing capacity. Its commercial opportunity came from the rapidly growing market for compatible systems, where manufacturers needed reliable alternatives to IBM's proprietary components. C&T's breakthrough came with its first announced product in September 1985, a four-chip EGA-compatible chipset. IBM's Enhanced Graphics Adapter depended on a substantial collection of proprietary chips. C&T's design reproduced the important functions of that implementation in a smaller set of components, allowing independent graphics-board makers to produce compatible hardware more quickly and economically. Adoption was rapid enough that more than half a dozen companies had presented EGA-compatible boards based on C&T technology at COMDEX in November 1985. The product established the company's reputation as a practical supplier of compatibility-oriented system silicon. The company then moved beyond graphics into motherboard integration. Its 82C100 Super XT chip supported a broad range of 8086-, 8088-, and related compatible processors while combining functions traditionally implemented with separate logic devices. In 1986, C&T introduced the 82C206, the central component of the NEAT chipset. NEAT combined functions such as clock generation, bus control, programmable timing, interrupt control, DMA, real-time clock and nonvolatile memory into a PC/AT-compatible platform solution. These products were valuable to system builders because they reduced board space, component count, and design effort. C&T continued this integration strategy with products such as the 82C235 Single Chip AT, which supported expanded memory and shadow RAM, and the PEAK DM family for 386DX systems. The company also produced the 82C836 SCATsx device for 386SX-compatible systems, including support for the associated math coprocessor and optional external cache. It experimented with processor products, including the Super386 38600DX and 38600SX, designed through clean-room techniques, and with the SuperMath J38700DX floating-point coprocessor. These x86 products were technically notable but did not displace the leading processors from Intel, AMD, and Cyrix. Graphics remained the company's most visible business. C&T developed a Super EGA two-chip set and then the 82C451, identified in the reference material as the first VGA-compatible chipset delivered by a company outside IBM. VGA-compatible boards based on the part appeared in 1987, the same year VGA entered the market, helping create a broad independent graphics-adapter ecosystem. Competitors such as Trident Microsystems, Western Digital, Cirrus Logic, and Oak Technology later entered the increasingly crowded market. The company expanded into higher-performance and specialized graphics with the 82C480 and 82C481 series, which were compatible with IBM's 8514/A graphics controller and accelerated two-dimensional graphical operations through a 32-bit VRAM interface. C&T also offered Wingine, a high-speed framebuffer designed for a proprietary local-bus slot. Systems from Epson and JCIS included compatible motherboard slots, and the product became particularly attractive to users of NEXTSTEP on Intel processors because of its performance and operating-system support. During its later years, C&T focused increasingly on integrated notebook and flat-panel graphics. The HiQVision family, including the 65550, 65554, 65555, 68554, 69000, and 69030, combined graphics functions with features for direct LCD and flat-panel connectivity. Apple used C&T controllers in multiple PowerBook generations, including the PowerBook 1400, PowerBook 3400, and the Kanga version of the PowerBook G3. C&T's 65555 also secured a design in early Compaq Armada laptops. These examples show the company's transition from discrete desktop adapter technology toward embedded graphics for portable computers. Intel acquired Chips and Technologies in 1997, primarily for its graphics business. The transaction ended C&T as an independent company, and the brand eventually faded. Former employees later founded Asiliant Technologies in January 2000. Intel licensed Asiliant to manufacture, sell, and service selected C&T graphics integrated circuits, including notebook- and LCD-oriented parts such as the 65545, 65550, 65555, 69000, and 69030. Asiliant maintained and sold the components for several years before closing. C&T's lasting significance lies in its role in reducing the cost of PC-compatible hardware, accelerating the spread of third-party EGA and VGA products, and developing early integrated graphics solutions for notebooks and flat-panel displays.

• 2000

  Asiliant continues selected product support

  [1]Chips and Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Former C&T personnel form Asiliant Technologies, which operates under an Intel license to support and sell selected C&T graphics components.

• 1997

  Acquired by Intel

  [1]Chips and Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Intel acquires C&T, primarily for its graphics-chip business.

• 1989

  Single Chip AT platform

  [1]Chips and Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  The 82C235 SCAT integrates PC/AT-compatible functions and adds support for expanded memory and shadow RAM.

• 1987

  Super XT chip and VGA-compatible technology

  [1]Chips and Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  C&T releases the 82C100 Super XT system chip and delivers the 82C451, an early non-IBM VGA-compatible chipset.

• 1986

  NEAT chipset introduced

  [1]Chips and Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  The 82C206 becomes the core of the NEAT PC/AT-compatible chipset and integrates numerous motherboard control functions.

• 1985

  First EGA chipset announced

  [1]Chips and Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  C&T announces a four-chip EGA-compatible set that consolidates many functions of IBM's Enhanced Graphics Adapter implementation.

• 1984

  Company founded in California

  [1]Chips and Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Gordon A. Campbell and Dado Banatao establish Chips and Technologies in Milpitas, California, as a fabless semiconductor design company.

A design-focused semiconductor supplier for PC manufacturers and graphics-board makers, emphasizing IBM compatibility, system integration, cost reduction, and notebook display support.

• EGA-compatible graphics chipset · 1985

  Enhanced Graphics CHIPSet

  C&T's first major product was a four-chip EGA-compatible set comprising a graphics controller, sequencer, attributes controller, and CRT controller. It reproduced the core functions of IBM's EGA implementation in a smaller independent design, enabling third-party board manufacturers to offer compatible graphics adapters. Its early adoption helped establish C&T as a significant supplier to the PC-clone market.

• VGA-compatible graphics controller · 1987

  82C451

  The 82C451 was C&T's VGA-compatible graphics chipset and helped independent manufacturers enter the VGA adapter market. Boards based on the device appeared in 1987, as VGA-compatible products began to spread beyond IBM systems. The chip represents one of the company's most important contributions to the development of a competitive PC graphics ecosystem.

• PC/AT motherboard chipset · 1986

  NEAT chipset

  Built around the 82C206, NEAT consolidated many functions previously implemented with separate PC/AT logic devices. Its functions included clock generation, bus control, timers, interrupt controllers, DMA controllers, real-time clock and nonvolatile memory support, and related system controls. The integrated design reduced motherboard complexity for compatible-computer manufacturers.

• PC/XT system integration chip · 1987

  82C100 Super XT

  The 82C100 combined the functions of multiple PC/XT-era logic components and supported several 8086-, 8088-, and NEC-compatible processors. It also included expanded-memory control, dual-clock operation, power-management features, and system memory controls. The product illustrates C&T's early emphasis on replacing numerous board-level components with a smaller integrated solution.

• 386-compatible motherboard chipsets · 1989

  SCAT and SCATsx

  The 82C235 SCAT provided integrated PC/AT-compatible functions, support for LIM EMS 4.0, expanded memory capacity, and shadow RAM. The 82C836 SCATsx extended the concept to 386SX systems and supported an i387SX math coprocessor and optional external level-two cache. These products targeted system builders seeking compact and economical 286- and 386-class motherboard designs.

• Local-bus framebuffer graphics product

  Wingine

  Wingine was a high-speed framebuffer product designed for a proprietary local-bus slot implemented on selected motherboards. Epson and JCIS were among the manufacturers associated with systems offering the required slot. The product was especially notable among NEXTSTEP users on Intel processors, for whom it was regarded as one of the faster supported video solutions of its period.

• Notebook and LCD graphics controllers

  HiQVision family

  The HiQVision family included the 65550, 65554, 65555, 68554, 69000, and 69030 graphics integrated circuits. These devices focused on cost-effective, highly integrated graphics for portable computers and flat-panel displays, including direct-drive LCD and LVDS-related capabilities. Apple used several C&T notebook controllers, while the 65555 was selected for an early Compaq Armada design.

• x86-compatible processors and coprocessors

  Super386 and SuperMath

  C&T designed the Super386 38600DX and 38600SX through clean-room techniques and also offered the SuperMath J38700DX, an 80387DX-compatible floating-point coprocessor. These products expanded the company beyond chipsets and graphics, but the Super386 processors did not achieve the market success of competing 386-compatible parts from Intel, AMD, and Cyrix.

• 1997

  Intel acquisition focused on graphics technologyM&A

  Background

  C&T had developed a broad portfolio of PC chipsets but had become particularly associated with graphics controllers, including notebook and LCD-oriented products.

  Action taken

  Intel acquired Chips and Technologies primarily to obtain its graphics-chip business.

  Aftermath

  C&T ceased to operate as an independent company and its brand gradually disappeared. Selected products were later supported by Asiliant Technologies under an Intel license.

  Source

1. 1Chips and Technologiesen.wikipedia.org