Western Design Center
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2023) |
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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics |
| Founded | 1978 in Mesa, Arizona, United States |
| Founder | Bill Mensch |
| Headquarters | Mesa, Arizona , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bill Mensch |
| Products | Microprocessors, microcontrollers, support devices |
| Owner | Bill Mensch |
| Website | wdc65xx |
The Western Design Center (WDC), located in Mesa, Arizona, is a company which develops intellectual property for, and licenses manufacture of, MOS Technology 65xx based microprocessors, microcontrollers (µCs), and related support devices. WDC was founded in 1978 by a former MOS Technology employee and co-holder of the MOS Technology 6502 patent, Bill Mensch.[1] Prior to leaving MOS Technology in 1977 Bill was the microprocessor design manager at MOS Technology.
Beyond discrete devices, WDC offers device designs in the form of semiconductor intellectual property cores (IP cores) to use inside other chips such as application-specific integrated circuit (ASICs), and provides ASIC and embedded systems consulting services[2] revolving around their processor designs. WDC also produces C compilers, assembler/linker packages, simulators, development–evaluation printed circuit boards,[3] and in-circuit emulators for their processors.
Hardware products
[edit]The first product developed by WDC was the WDC 65C02, a CMOS version of the NMOS based MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. The 65C02 reduced the power consumption, improved noise immunity and added some new instructions. The 65C02 was subsequently adopted for use in the Apple IIc computer and, later, in an enhanced version of the Apple IIe.[4]
Mensch's next design, which was to become an important product at WDC, was a 65C02-compatible 16-bit microprocessor, the 65C816, later designated W65C816S. The 65C816's design came about following consultation with Apple and was adopted by them for use in the Apple IIGS computer. The 65C816 was later chosen as the core of the Ricoh 5A22 processor that powered the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.[4]
Devices
[edit]| Name | Type | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| W65C02S | 8-bit microprocessor | Enhanced static core CMOS version of the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor |
| W65C816S | 16-bit microprocessor | Extended version of the W65C02S, featuring larger instruction set, selectable register sizes and 24-bit memory addressing |
| W65C134S | 8-bit microcontroller | Microcontroller with W65C02S core and mask-programmable ROM |
| W65C265S | 16-bit microcontroller | Microcontroller with W65C816S core and mask-programmable ROM |
| W65C21N | I/O device | Drop-in replacement for MOS Technology 6520 & Motorola 6820/6821 peripheral interface adapters (PIA) |
| W65C21S | I/O device | Lower power, higher performance version of the W65C21N PIA |
| W65C22N | I/O device | Drop-in replacement for the MOS Technology 6522 versatile interface adapter (VIA) |
| W65C22S | I/O device | Modified version of the MOS Technology 6522 VIA, with totem-pole IRQ output |
| W65C51N | I/O device | Drop-in replacement for the MOS Technology 6551 asynchronous communications interface adapter (ACIA) |
Personal computer
[edit]The Mensch Computer is a W65C265 and W65C22-based hobbyist experimental personal computer named after company founder Bill Mensch.
References
[edit]- ^ Cass, Stephen (September 16, 2021). "Q&A With Co-Creator of the 6502 Processor: Bill Mensch on the microprocessor that powered the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64". IEEE Spectrum.
- ^ "Integrated Circuit (IC) | the Western Design Center, Inc".
- ^ "Single Board Computers (SBC) | the Western Design Center, Inc".
- ^ a b "research!rsc: The MOS 6502 and the Best Layout Guy in the World". research.swtch.com. Retrieved August 1, 2024.