1^st Generation Microprocessor :

At the end of the 70s a group of engineers developed a chip is able to processing data. This chip was called processor chip. Big processors were developed by using VLSI technology. Another successful try of engineers, in the developing a processor which worked in a controlled manner, was called microprocessor. Thus a single VLSI/LSI/VVLSI chips are able to processing data in a controlled manner was called the microprocessor.

The design team headed by Ted Hoff of Intel Corporation developed the 1st such controlled processor in 1969, but Intel began marketing its first microprocessor in the name of Intel 4004 in the year of1971. This was a 4-bit microprocessor which have16-pins hocused in a single chip of pMOS technology. This was called the first generation of the microprocessor.  The 4-bit microprocessor worked with 4-bit word .The Intel 4004 along with few other devices was used for developing calculators. The ability of changing functions of any system by only changing the programming rather than redesigning of the hardware was the key behind the growth of the microprocessors.

The Intel 8008 was developed in 1972 that worked with 8-bit word.

It required about 20 or more extra devices (chips) to design a functional CPU.

A few first generation microprocessors are listed in the Table: