Page "Motorola 68000" Paragraph 6

The original MC68000 was fabricated using an HMOS process with a 3. 5-micron feature size.

Formally introduced in September 1979, Initial samples were released in February 1980, with production chips available over the counter in November.

Initial speed grades were 4, 6, and 8 MHz.

10 MHz chips became available during 1981, and 12. 5 MHz chips by June 1982.

The 16. 67 MHz " 12F " version of the MC68000, the fastest version of the original HMOS chip, was not produced until the late 1980s.

Tom Gunter, retired Corporate Vice President at Motorola, is known as the " Father of the 68000.