East German CPU’s

(Updated 10/30/2016)
Thanks to Mr Rüdiger for his help

East Germany was a powerhouse of CPU development for the Soviet States.
There were 3 institutions manufacturing IC’s in East Germany (their names changed a few times making it appear there were more). One each in Frankfurt (Oder), Erfurt, and Dresden.

The plant in Erfurt was initially called VEB Funkwerk Erfurt, short FWE. In 1983 the plant was renamed VEB Mikroelektronik “Karl Marx“ Erfurt, short MME. Its products were marked with the stylized ‘fwe’, the letters ‘FWE’, or the letters ‘MME’. From 1992 until 1999 the plant continued under the name Thesys Gesellschaft für Mikroelektronik mbH and the ICs were marked THESYS.

The plant in Dresden was initially Institut für Mikroelektronik Dresden (IMD) and used the logic gate logo. In around 1980 IMB became VEB Zentrum für Forschung und Technologie Mikroelektronik (ZFTM).In 1986 ZFTM became part of the Carl Zeiss Jena organization (the other two plants remained part of an organization called Kombinat Mikroelektronik). The Carl Zeiss logo was apparently only used for the 1Mbit DRAM chips from Dresden (U61000). In 1987 the plant was again renamed, this time to VEB Forschungszentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden (ZMD).

It helps to remember that IC’s were made different in East Germany. There was not so much corporations as we think of them in the West such as Intel or AMD that made this or that. In East Germany (and the USSR) IC’s (and most everything else) were made by institutions, that were typically a government organization, or sanctioned by the government to do/make certain things. These could be changed, consolidated, opened/closed at the whim of the government resulting in a lot of confusion in identity. Add to that the changes brought with the fall of communism, and these institutions transition to modern corporation and you get some very interesting collecting opportunities.

Often East German CPUs will be referred to as DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik),
the initials of the East German state.

Initials	Name	Logo	Notes:
Frankfurt/Oder
HFO (1971-~1991)	Halbleiterwerk Frankfurt/Oder		Stylized ‘f’ Logo
Dresden
IMD (pre-1980)	Institut für Mikroelektronik Dresden		Predecessor to ZTFM
ZTFM (1980-1986	VEB Zentrum für Forschung und Technologie Mikroelektronik Dresden		Developed from IMD, consolidated under Carl Zeiss Jena in 1986
ZMD (1987+)	VEB Forschungszentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden		Carl Zeiss logo used primarily on U61000s Typically ICs used the ZTFM logo or were marked ‘ZMD’
Erfurt
FWE (pre-1983)	VEB Funkwerk Erfurt		Often Marked FWE
MME (1983-1992)	VEB Mikroelektronik “Karl Marx“ Erfurt		Also marked FWE or MME
THESYS (1992-1999)	Thesys Gesellschaft für Mikroelektronik mbH		Formerly FWE/MME also marked ‘THESYS’

East German CPUs are dated in the following manner:

Year	Value	Month	Value
1975	F	January	1
1976	H	February	2
1977	I (J)	March	3
1978	K	April	4
1979	L	May	5
1980	M	June	6
1981	N	July	7
1982	P	August	8
1983	R	September	9
1984	S	October	0
1985	T	November	N
1986	U	December	D
1987	V	This UB880D was made in December 1988
1988	W
1989	X
1990	A
1991	B

Return to Eastern Bloc ID Guide

	DDR CPUs and MCUs
	FWEU808D Western equivalent: Intel 8008 Clock frequency: 740KHz Package: PDIP418 Voltage: 5V
	MME UB880D Western equivalent: Zilog Z80 Clock frequency: 2.5 MHz Package: PDIP40 Voltage: 5V
	MME UA880D Western equivalent: Zilog Z80A Clock frequency: 4MHz Package: PDIP40 Voltage: 5V
	MME VB880D Western equivalent: Zilog Z80 mil spec Clock frequency: 2.5 MHz Package: PDIP40 Voltage: 5V The VB880D is a military processor. That means it has an enhanced temperature range to operate in of -25 to 85°C.
	MME U880D Western equivalent: Zilog Z80 Clock frequency: 1MHz Package: PDIP40 Voltage: 5V
	MME UB8001C Western equivalent: Zilog Z8001 CS 16-bit CPU Clock frequency: 4MHz Package: CDIP48 Voltage: 5V
	MME UB8002D Western equivalent: Zilog Z8002 DS Clock frequency: 4MHz 16-bit CPU Package: PDIP48 Voltage: 5V
	MME UB8810D Western equivalent: Zilog Z8601 Clock frequency: 8MHz 8-bit MCU Package: PDIP40 Voltage: 5V
	MME UC8810D Western equivalent: None Clock frequency: 5MHz 8-bit MCU Package: PDIP40 Voltage: 5V
	MME UB8820M Western equivalent: None Clock frequency: 8MHz 8-bit MCU Package: ZIP64 Voltage: 5V
	MME UB8830D Western equivalent: None Clock frequency: 8MHz 8-bit MCU with BASIC interpreter Package: PDIP40 Voltage: 5V
	ZMD U8032 C1 Western equivalent: none 16-bit Arithmetic Co-processor Clock frequency: 4MHz Package: CDIP40 Voltage: 5V