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1950 - 60s Overview - Robert Noyce and Jack Kilby co-invented the integrated circuit in 1959. Their invention revolutionized the electronics industry. Now miniature electronic circuits could be mass-produced on thin slices of silicon, called wafers. Many of the electronic circuits in this era were designed for military, aerospace, and industrial applications. National Semiconductor started by making silicon mesa transistors for industrial and military uses. The company grew quickly after 1967 under CEO Charlie Sporck and new management, moving headquarters from Danbury, Connecticut, to Santa Clara, California in the heart of today's Silicon Valley.
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National's first products are
high quality NPN diffused
silicon "mesa" transistors
(shown in first annual report). |
The planar transistor was the
first transistor with an oxide
coating, and the basis for the
first integrated circuit. |
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May 27, 1959
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National Semiconductor is founded in Danbury, Connecticut, by eight former engineers of Sperry Rand Corporation.
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Mariner 10 Venus probe
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National Semiconductor founders
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1961
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The company makes its first profit of $38,222 on $2.97 million in sales. Its 289 employees ship 85% of all transistors to military accounts.
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1962
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National enters the integrated device market with INCH™, one of the first volume production ICs used on a space probe, including the Mariner Venus flight.
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1963
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Products include integrated circuits, micro transistors, and VHF power. Clark Semiconductor, maker of UHF transistors, is acquired. 1.1 million devices shipped
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1965
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Danbury, Connecticut, employment increases to 484, with the addition of a 15,000-square-foot plant in Commerce Park. Molectro Corporation in Santa Clara, California, is acquired in July as a wholly owned subsidiary, giving National an entry into the monolithic integrated circuit market.
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| 1966 |
Peter Sprague named Chairman of the Board |
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1967
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Charlie Sporck leaves Fairchild Semiconductor to become CEO. Headquarters moves to Santa Clara, California.
The average age of National's 20 key employees is less than 35.
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Charlie Sporck, left, and
Peter Sprague
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| 1968 |
National produces its first integrated circuit product, the LM-100 voltage regulator. Product offering expands to include a broad-based line of linear integrated circuits, complex types of bipolar digital circuits, and a family of MOS memory-type circuits. The MM420, a monolithic Read-Only Memory system, contains 32 logic gates, a differential sense amplifier, four counter decoder and address logic registers, and 256 bits of memory in an area less than 0.1 inch square. Singapore assembly and test facility opens. |
| 1969 |
Manufacturing facilities open in Greenock, Scotland; Furstenfeldbruck, Germany; Hong Kong. DynaCraft lead-frame manufacturing acquired. |
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1959 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000
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