RTX2010

Last updated
RTX 2010
General information
Launched1988;35 years ago (1988)
Common manufacturer(s)
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate 8 MHz
Data width8 and 16
Address width20

The RTX2010, manufactured by Intersil, is a radiation hardened stack machine microprocessor which has been used in numerous spacecraft.

Contents

Characteristics

Block diagram of the Harris RTX 2000 processor Harrys figura1.jpg
Block diagram of the Harris RTX 2000 processor

It is a two-stack machine, each stack 256 words deep, that supports direct execution of Forth. Subroutine calls and returns only take one processor cycle and it also has a very low and consistent interrupt latency of only four processor cycles, which lends it well to realtime applications.

History

In 1983, Chuck Moore implemented a processor for his programming language Forth as a gate array. As Forth can be considered a dual stack virtual machine, he made the processor, Novix N4000 (later renamed NC4016), as a dual-stack machine. In 1988, an improved processor was sold to Harris Semiconductor, who marketed it for space applications as the RTX2000. [1]

Example spacecraft that use the RTX2010

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References

  1. USExpired 5070451A,Moore, Charles H.&Murphy, Robert W.,"Forth specific language microprocessor",issued 1991-12-03, assigned to Intersil