Rockwell T-1 Communication Chip Silicon Wafer - R8070, Transceiver, 4", 100mm
About T-1 Communication Lines
Introduced in the 1960s, AT&T's T-1 carriers were the first high-speed, long-distance digital communications lines. The T-1 would allow 24 64Kbs data channels to be transmitted over two phone company twisted copper wire pairs. The total bandwidth was 1.5Mps. In the 1980s and 1990s, T-1s were the basic building blocks of the Internet. In the early 1980s, Rockwell introduced the first LSI computer chips that dramatically reduced the number of devices needed and the costs required for building T-1 transmitting and receiving equipment. The chips on this wafer were R8070 T-1 transceiver chips. These advanced chips could transmit and receive T-1 signals. The chip below the wafer is a completed R8070 chip mounted in a QUad-Inline Package (QUIP).
About Voice Communications and T-1 Lines
This four-inch silicon wafer was made by Rockwell International in 1984. The R8070 wafer has about 138 R8070 chips on it. The right 1/3 of the chip is the transmitter logic and the left 2/3s is the receiver logic. The receiver logic was larger due to the memory areas needed to reassemble the incoming data streams. Even today, genuine R8070 chips still sell for over $10. At 135 total chips on the wafers, this wafer would have a $1,300 value (given 100% yield). Back in the 1980s, they would have sold for much more. The transmitter logic formatted data streams to be serially transmitted according to T-1 specifications. It inserted bits to create frames for the data and address one of the 24 available channels. The receiver logic received the T-1 data stream. It then extracted data from the frames and reassembled the original data streams. It was also responsible for detecting data transmission errors.
About the Silicon Wafer and the R8070 Chip
This four-inch silicon wafer was made by Rockwell International in 1984. The R8070 wafer has about 138 R8070 chips on it. The right 1/3 of the chip is the transmitter logic and the left 2/3s is the receiver logic. The receiver logic was larger due to the memory areas needed to reassemble the incoming data streams. Even today, genuine R8070 chips still sell for over $10. At 135 total chips on the wafers, this wafer would have a $1,300 value (given 100% yield). Back in the 1980s, they would have sold for much more. The transmitter logic formatted data streams to be serially transmitted according to T-1 specifications. It inserted bits to create frames for the data and address one of the 24 available channels. The receiver logic received the T-1 data stream. It then extracted data from the frames and reassembled the original data streams. It was also responsible for detecting data transmission errors.
Framing:
The artwork is framed in an 8"x10" black shadow box frame, with glass. All framing materials are acid-free. A narrative about the artwork that includes the artist’s signature is placed on the back of the artwork.
Please note: The look of the artifacts in the artworks may vary, each piece is unique.