On April 21st, Zilog announced that semiconductor foundries will cease accepting new orders for the iconic Z80 chips by mid-June.
Zilog will manage and schedule Last Time Buy (LTB) orders for the Z80 based on customer demand, with WFM providing actual delivery dates thereafter. The company may impose stricter requirements on minimum and maximum quantities based on overall LTB demand.
Originally conceived as a project alongside the Intel 8080, the Zilog Z80 eventually emerged as one of the most popular and widely used 8-bit CPUs in gaming and general computing devices.
The Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor, the first product of Zilog, conceived by Federico Faggin in late 1974 and officially released in July 1976.
With the Z80, Zilog established its own chip factory and grew to over a thousand employees in the following two years.
The Zilog Z80 is a software-compatible extension and enhancement of the Intel 8080, primarily aimed at embedded systems, like its predecessor.
Despite its embedded focus, the Z80 became one of the most widely used CPUs in desktop and home computers from the 1970s to the mid-1980s.
Several home computers and game consoles were built around the capabilities of the Z80, including Sega's Master System and SG-1000, and Nintendo's Game Boy and Game Boy Color.
Many classic arcade games also utilized the Z80, including the original version of Pac-Man. Additionally, 8-bit processors were common in military applications, music synthesizers like the Roland Jupiter-8, and various other electronic devices.
