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16-702: Dr. Nathan Zommer founded IXYS Corporation in 1983 in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara, California. IXYS was originally a fabless power semiconductor device company. In 1989, IXYS provided power MOSFETs for the General Motors EV1 . IXYS provided high-power IGBTs for the KTX-II high-speed train. In 2001, the company acquired the British semiconductor manufacturer Westcode. In December 2009, IXYS Corporation announced that it will buy Zilog , which

32-415: A large part of the circuit design in modern microprocessors . Compared to microcode , another popular design technique, random logic offers faster execution of processor opcodes , provided that processor speeds are faster than memory speeds. A disadvantage is that it is difficult to design random logic circuitry for processors with large and complex instruction sets. The hard-wired instruction logic occupies

48-513: A standard CDC Aerospace Computer and was used in the Spy in the Sky Satellites in addition to other classified satellite programs. GIM was reluctant to proceed with the next phase of the program, which it deemed to be too technically challenging. The GIM engineers who had worked on the project were encouraged by CDC to form their own company to provide five new custom circuits. This resulted in

64-430: Is a semiconductor circuit design technique that translates high-level logic descriptions directly into hardware features such as AND and OR gates. The name derives from the fact that few easily discernible patterns are evident in the arrangement of features on the chip and in the interconnects between them. In VLSI chips, random logic is often implemented with standard cells and gate arrays . Random logic accounts for

80-442: Is now the company's wholly owned subsidiary. In July 2013, IXYS Corporation finished acquiring Samsung Electronics ' 4- and 8-bit microcontroller business, and the 4- and 8-bit microcontrollers acquired from Samsung will be offered by Zilog, Inc. In August 2017, IXYS Corporation was acquired by Littelfuse Inc in exchange for $ 750 million in cash and stocks. In January 2018, Littelfuse finished acquiring IXYS Corporation and IXYS

96-477: Is the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing their fabrication (or fab ) to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry . These foundries are typically, but not exclusively, located in the United States , China , and Taiwan . Fabless companies can benefit from lower capital costs while concentrating their research and development resources on

112-568: The ICs. These parts were given the designation LSI3201, LSI3202, LSI3203, LSI3204 and LSI3205. Another successful space program completed by LSI/CSI was the upgrade to class S of a Standard Brushless DC Motor Commutator/Controller Chip, LS7262, which was implemented in satellites. In 1994, Jodi Shelton , along with a half a dozen CEOs of fabless companies, established the Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA) to promote

128-433: The assembly and testing of their own chips. As with most technology-intensive industries, the silicon manufacturing process presents high barriers to entry into the market, especially for small start-up companies. But integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) had excess production capacity. This presented an opportunity for smaller companies, relying on IDMs, to design but not manufacture silicon. These conditions underlay

144-466: The birth of the fabless business model . Engineers at new companies began designing and selling integrated circuits (ICs) without owning a fabrication plant. Simultaneously, the foundry industry was established by Dr. Morris Chang with the founding of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC). Foundries became the cornerstone of the fabless model, providing a non-competitive manufacturing partner for fabless companies. The co-founders of

160-420: The end market. Some fabless companies and pure play foundries (like TSMC ) may offer integrated-circuit design services to third parties. Prior to the 1980s, the semiconductor industry was vertically integrated . Semiconductor companies owned and operated their own silicon-wafer fabrication facilities and developed their own process technology for manufacturing their chips. These companies also carried out

176-780: The fabless business-model globally. In December 2007, the FSA transitioned to the GSA, the Global Semiconductor Alliance . The organizational transition reflected the role FSA had played as a global organization that collaborated with other organizations to co-host international events. The fabless manufacturing model has been further validated by the conversion of major IDMs to a completely fabless model, including (for example) Conexant Systems , Semtech , and most recently, LSI Logic . Today most major IDMs including Apple Inc. , Infineon and Cypress Semiconductor have adopted

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192-463: The first fabless semiconductor company, LSI Computer Systems, Inc. (LSI/CSI) LSI/CSI, worked together at General Instrument Microelectronics (GIM) in the 1960s. In 1969 GIM was hired to develop three full custom CPU circuits for Control Data Corporation (CDC). These CPU ICs operated at 5 MHz (state of the art at the time) and were incorporated in the CDC Computer 469. The Computer 469 became

208-455: The following: CDC's Aerospace Computer 469 weighed one pound, consumed a total of 10 watts and ran at 5 MHz. CDC ran a parallel program, developing a chipset of eight similar parts that were to operate at 2.5 MHz with the identical environmental and Class S requirements. CDC had initial difficulties with this project, but eventually awarded another contract to LSI/CSI to manage the processing, inspection, visuals, assembly, and testing of

224-452: The formation of LSI Computer Systems, Inc. (LSI/CSI) in 1969. The new chips were power-efficient random logic circuits with extremely high circuit densities. These new circuits also operated at 5 MHz. These devices were designated LSI0101, LSI0102, LSI0103, LSI0104, and LSI0105 and were manufactured in compact 40-pin metal flat packs with 0.050 inches (1.3 mm) spacing. In creating the fabless semiconductor industry, LSI/CSI had to do

240-644: The practice of outsourcing chip manufacturing as a significant manufacturing strategy. The top 5 sales leaders for fabless companies in 2023 were: The top 5 sales leaders for fabless companies in 2020 were: The top 5 sales leaders for fabless companies in 2019 were: The top 5 sales leaders for fabless companies in 2017 were: The top 5 sales leaders for fabless companies in 2013 were: The top 5 sales leaders for fabless companies in 2011 were: The top 5 sales leaders for fabless companies in 2010 were: The top 5 sales leaders for fabless companies in 2003 were: Random logic Random logic

256-512: Was delisted from NASDAQ. IXYS products included MOSFETs like a 2000V N-Channel power MOSFET, designed to be used in high voltage applications as well as integrated circuits used in Solid State Relays and Line Card Access Switches. The RF Power Semiconductors convert high rates electricity for amplification or reception. In addition, IXYS provides laser diode drivers, direct copper bond (DCB). Fabless Fabless manufacturing

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