Reply to post: Re: "if a chip was stolen or illegally shipped to the Soviet Union, it was very visible"

Re: "if a chip was stolen or illegally shipped to the Soviet Union, it was very visible"

A chip like the 8080 is a part you can take the top off, manually read the circuit and replicate it. (seriously, people used to do it -- not for the 8080 but for parts like the 8272)

I wouldn't try that with a modern part. The geometry's too fine to read and the part's too complicated. You wouldn't bother, anyway. You design a functional equivalent, its much easier.

The most critical technology isn't processors, anyway. Its FPGAs.