Playstation 1 - MIPS R3051 CPU : weekend die-shot

Playstation 1 CPU - CXD8530CQ based on 33.8688 MHz MIPS R3051 core manufactured at 800nm technology, 3 layers of metalization.

CPU designed by LSI Logic Corp. Die size 8.15x8.1 mm.



Polysilicon layer:


Columns of standard cells looks like this:
You can notice that there is some space between cell columns - apparently 3 layers of metalization is not enough to place&route this chip denser.


We decapped this chip for a group of insane russian enthusiasts who are working on recovering schematic of all main Playstation 1 chips in order to build perfect simulator. Website of the project is psxdev.ru (russian language only).