William Rivas
02-09-2014
MR. Jones
NT1110

A History of BIOS and CMOS

The relationship between the BIOS and CMOS is important to the proper functionality of any computer. The BIOS is an integrated circuit which tells the CPU or Processor how to act. BIOS is neither hardware or software and is called firmware. Firmware is essentially software on a “chip” or integrated circuit, “chip” being the slang term. The BIOS is the “network administrator of each individual computer”, in other words, it is the reason all the physical parts i.e. motherboard, keyboard , cd drive, monitor, etcetera are able to communicate with each other. The CMOS chip or Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor chip is a different integrated circuit in which the BIOS is dependent upon for storage of computer configuration settings. CMOS memory is attached to the motherboard upon assembly at the factory and uses DC power, from a battery to store BIOS settings. It is not the same as RAM (Random Access Memory) which is used by the Operating System to access instructions from different software added by the end user to perform whatever function desired. This type of memory is lost when power is shut down on the computer.
The history of the CMOS appears to begin somewhere around 1963 in a conference paper by C.T. Sah and Frank Wanlass. In 1965 RCA and Somerville Manufacturing pioneered the production of CMOS technology. IN 1968 they created what would prove to be the forerunner of engine control processors for Chrysler automobiles. 1974 was the start of mass production of CMOS circuits, in items such as digital watches and other electronic components which did not require any type of speed. That same year manufacturers began scaling, which is the packing of thousands of transistors on to one chip. This actually gave Gordon Moores’ theory of transistor doubling scientific basis.
It would appear that as I research deeper into this subject that CMOS is the catalyst and enabler technology with which personal computers, specifically integrated circuits, has evolved around MOS technology. From silicon gate technology created in the early 1960’s to today’s CMOS IC’s, which is a type of Random Access Memory.
SO in summary, it would seem that without CMOS technology, there could be no BIOS and therefore be no personal computer as we know it today.
William Rivas
02-09-2014
NT1110
MR Jones

Sources; ComputerHistory.org Thestarman.pcministry.com Computerrites.com Pcguide.com