68EC000

The 68EC000 is a variant of Motorola's popular 68000 microprocessor family. It is a 16-bit data bus version of the original 68000, featuring a 24-bit address bus. This configuration allows the 68EC000 to access up to 16 megabytes of memory, a significant amount for its time. Internally, it maintains the 32-bit architecture of its larger siblings, including 32-bit registers and data paths, providing a degree of upward compatibility for software.

This cost-reduced version was designed for applications where the full 16.7 million memory addresses of the standard 68000 were not required, but the processing power and programming model of the 68000 family were still desirable. The 68EC000 found its way into a variety of embedded systems, personal computers, and arcade game machines, offering a balance of performance and affordability. It was often employed in devices where the cost of the processor was a critical factor in the overall product design. Its instruction set is largely compatible with other 68000 family processors, simplifying development for systems utilizing this chip.