By the end of the 1970s, PALs had become the PLD (programmable logic device) of choice for system designers. They were an immensely successful product for Monolithic Memories Inc (MMI). They were also a great target for every other IC maker that wanted to enter the PLD arena. Several did just that. Bob Hartmann co-founded…
Part 1 of this article series discussed the earliest programmable ICs that could be used to implement logic circuits. Not quite programmable logic, Harris Semiconductor’s programmable diode arrays and PROMs laid the groundwork for PLDs (programmable logic devices) to come. This is where we return to Napoleone Cavlan, Ronald Cline, and the story of how…