First-Hand:Cryo CMOS and 40+ layer PC Boards - How Crazy is this?

How it started

It was in the early 80's.  Control Data (CDC) had launched the CYBER - 205 with modest success and the team was now focused on the next generation machine, the 2XX as I recall.  Speed, cost and meeting the schedule were all key objectives.  Speed because Cray Research under the guidance of Seymour Cray was setting the milestones.  Cost, since Supercomputers were extremely expensive.  Schedules since the CYBER - 205 had established as a machine that may never get out the door and this just could not be repeated.

A conventional evolutionary approach for Integrated Circuit (IC) logic was selected.  Motorola, with some prodding, agreed to launch an 8,000 gate equivalent ECL (emitter-coupled-logic - the circuitry of choice for high performance processing units) provided Control Data do the development.  There were insufficient customers for Motorola to commit their resources to this lofty development.  They did, however, commit their advanced ECL processes to CDC and a joint team was developed with the two companies.