Career details 2/5 1977 – 1983｜Osaka University & Graduate School (Electronics)
Hand-building a computer—and a lithography system
Entered Osaka University in 1977. Just two years after the launch of the Apple II, he built his own full-graphics PC; in graduate school he went on to build an electron-beam lithography system from a converted SEM. Completed the master's program in electronics at Osaka University in 1983.
A self-built full-graphics CPU board (2nd year)
Two years after the Apple II. Literally everything self-made—from the CPU board to the photomasks, plating equipment, and fonts.
- 640×480-pixel graphics plus an 80×40 character display, powered by a 6809 CPU
- An all-TTL design—video sync generation and DRAM control all built from TTL logic
- All photomasks drawn by hand; beyond etching, he also built the nickel-plating solution, plating rig, and plating power supply
- Designed his own fonts and entered them by hand with a self-built ROM writer
- Also built a ROM writer with HEX display and ROM-emulator function
- For debugging, built a simple logic analyzer displaying 8 waveforms on a TV
- Programs were stored as audio signals on cassette tape
- Modified a TV to widen its bandwidth for use as a high-resolution monitor
An electron-beam lithography system (1st year of graduate school)
Converted an SEM (scanning electron microscope), hand-building all the large-scale hardware. Published in the magazine "Interface."
- Built an electron-beam lithography system by modifying an SEM
- CPU/GDC unit, frame- and character-memory unit, writing controller, blanking controller—all large-scale hardware built by hand
- Successfully wrote actual patterns; submitted to the magazine "Interface"
