{
 "title": "TI LAUNCHES A NEW EPROM CHIP",
 "date": "1977-10-01",
 "years": [
  "1977"
 ],
 "topics": [
  "Hardware"
 ],
 "params": {
  "when": "OCTOBER 1977",
  "image": "/media/history/images/timeline_eprom2716_1.jpg",
  "oc_id": 21,
  "source": {
   "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20221215134357/http://www.old-computers.com/history/detail.asp?n=21",
   "date": "2022-12-15"
  }
 }
}

<img src="/media/history/images/timeline_eprom2716_1.jpg"/> <br/><br/> <p>The first <b>2716 EPROM</b> was launched in October 1977 by Texas Instruments. <br/><br/> An EPROM (<b>E</b>rasable <b>P</b>rogrammable <b>R</b>ead <b>O</b>nly <b>M</b>emory) can be programmed and then erased enabling it to be re-used about 1000 times. Programming is accomplished through a device called Eprom programmer (or EPROM burner), erasure uses an Ultra Violet light source that shines through a quartz erasing window. <br/><br/> At the time, EPROM's were widely used to store boot-up programs in small systems or saving user's programs in computers that didn't featured tape recorder or floppy drive interface. Two types of EPROM chip were already used in 1977: <b>2704</b> (512 bytes) and <b>2708</b> (1 KB), but then users and computer manufacturers were requiring higher capacity chips. So came the 2716, wich was able to store 2 KB. The first TMS 2716 is actually a rarity because the chip needed 3 different voltages to run it, which was different than the 2716 Intel's and all others that manufacturers made later. So, TI quickly built a new Intel compatible chip, called it TMS2516 to differenciate it from the first version and sold hundred thousands of pieces. <br/><br/> </p><img src="/media/history/images/timeline_eprom2716_2.jpg"/>