Signetics
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| Industry | Integrated circuits |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired by Philips |
| Founded | United States (1961) |
| Founder | David Allison, David James, Lionel Kattner and Mark Weissenstern |
| Website | www |
Signetics was an American electronics pioneer, it was the first electronics manufacturer specifically established to make integrated circuits. Founded in 1961, they went on to develop a number of early microprocessors and support chips, as well as the widely used 555 timer chip. They were bought by Philips in 1975 and incorporated in Philips Semiconductors (now NXP).
Signetics was started in 1961, by a group of engineers—David Allison, David James, Lionel Kattner, and Mark Weissenstern—who left Fairchild Semiconductor. At the time, Fairchild was concentrating on its component business (mostly transistors), and its management felt that by making integrated circuits (ICs) it would alienate its customers. Signetics founders believed that ICs were the future of electronics (much like another contemporary Fairchild spinoff, Amelco) and wished to commercialize them. The name came from Signal Network Electronics.
The venture was financed by a group organized through Lehman Brothers, who invested $1M. The initial idea was to design and manufacture ICs for specific customers. In order to facilitate this goal, Signetics did not have a separate R&D lab; instead, the engineering was all done in technical development department, and was closely tied to marketing.
Signetics first developed a series of standard DTL ICs, which it announced in 1962. However, it was struggling to sell custom-made circuits, which was the original goal, and was quickly exhausting the initial investment money, and new investors had to be found. In November 1962, Corning Glass invested another $1.7M in Signetics, in exchange for 51% ownership. This money enabled Signetics to survive, and much of it was put into a marketing and sales campaign.
In 1963, the Department of Defense made a decision to begin a shift towards microelectronics and ICs, due to their small size, higher reliability, and lower power consumption. As a result, military contractors began to explore the field, and as Signetics was one of the few firms selling custom circuits, it benefited greatly. In the fall of 1963 and throughout most of 1964, sales grew quickly, and the company finally became profitable. Signetics also grew rapidly, hiring more engineers and increasing its manufacturing space. In 1964, Signetics opened a large new manufacturing plant in Sunnyvale, California. At this time it was by far the largest manufacturer of ICs in Silicon Valley. It later expanded also to factories in Orem, Utah and Albuquerque, New Mexico where there were two fabs, FAB22(4") and FAB23(6").
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