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Ivan Jovanovski
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Ivan Jovanovski

Electrical Engineer building practical solutions in energy systems, automotive electronics, and embedded systems.

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AMD Am2900 Bit-Slice Processor Recreation

retro-computingVHDLbit-sliceAMDFPGAVivado
General

Project Overview

Recreated AMD's 1975 Am2901 4-bit ALU slice in VHDL using Vivado, simulating basic arithmetic and logic operations to explore how modular bit-slice processors worked.

Version:v1.0
Time:~8.0 hours
Cost:$0 (simulation only)
Status:complete

Materials

  • 74LS181 ALU ICs × 4
  • 74LS670 Register File ICs × 8
  • 74LS169 Counter ICs × 4
  • 74LS157 Multiplexer ICs × 8
  • 74LS374 Octal D Flip-Flop ICs × 4
  • EEPROM for Microcode Storage × 2
  • Custom PCBs × 4
  • LED Displays for Status × 2

Tools

  • AMD Vivado
  • VHDL

Build Steps

1. Architecture Study

⏱️ ~2.0h

Studied the Am2901 4-bit ALU slice architecture from AMD's 1975 bit-slice family, understanding the register file, ALU functions, and data paths.

2. VHDL Implementation

⏱️ ~4.0h

Implemented the Am2901 in VHDL, modeling the 16 registers, ALU operations, and control signals.

3. Simulation & Verification

⏱️ ~2.0h

Simulated the design in Vivado, running simple arithmetic and logic operations to verify correct behavior.

Results

Successfully simulated the Am2901 bit-slice ALU in VHDL.

  • Word Size: 4 bits
  • Registers: 16

Safety Notes

Standard TTL voltage levels (5V). Use ESD protection when handling ICs.