微处理机(microprocessor)是七十年代大型集成电路工艺飞速发展的成果。顾名思义,它是把一个小型或中型计算机的中央处理机(central processing unit)(包括2千到10万个晶体管)整个集缩在一个大约5毫米见方的硅晶片上。也就是说,在一片100毫米直径的硅晶片上可以制作200个这样的处理机。一个中等规模的半导体工厂,每周可以生产3,000片100毫 A microprocessor is the result of the rapid development of large-scale integrated circuit technology in the 1970s. As its name implies, it is a collection of central processing units (2 to 100,000 transistors) of a small or mid-sized computer on a single 5 mm square silicon wafer. That is, 200 such processors can be fabricated on a 100 mm diameter silicon wafer. A medium-sized semiconductor factory can produce 3,000 pieces of 100 milligrams per week