Info on Clipper chip and fabrication of it

[tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May)]

Clipperpunks (Not!),

Someone in the know passed on some information to me about the
Clipper/Skipjack stuff. Here it is:

***begin quote***

An ARM processor will be used as a controller inside the Skipjack & ??
chips (don't think it's currently used in Clipper).

VLSI progammable logic (EEprom based?) is used to both
store the keys, and provide some other logic functions, so you can't read
anything if you take the chip apart. I don't think any other exotic
technologies are used. Mykotronix designs the mask- they're fabricated at
VLSI.

***end quote***

We knew all of this, except for the part about the ARM processor
(formerly the "Acorn Risc Machine") being used in the core. The ARM is
a high MIPS-per-watt processor that is being used in the Apple Newton
and the 3DO game machine.

(I'll leave it to you all to construct some theories about what this
might mean--but probably doesn't--for Newtons and 3DO containing
Skipkjack features.)

--Tim May





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