Reverse-engineering the classic MK4116 16-kilobit DRAM chip

.hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} Back in the late 1970s, the most popular memory chip was Mostek's MK4116, holding a whopping (for the time) 16 kilobits. It provided storage for computers such as the Apple II, TRS-80, ZX Spectrum, Commodore PET, IBM PC, and Xerox Alto as well as video games such as Defender and Missile Command. To see how the chip is implemented I opened one up and reverse-engineered it. I expected the circuitry to be ...