Texas Instruments
Encyclopedia
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American
company based in Dallas, Texas
, United States
, which develops and commercializes semiconductor
and computer
technology. TI is the third largest manufacturer of semiconductors worldwide after Intel and Samsung
, the second largest supplier of chips for cellular handsets
after Qualcomm
, and the largest producer of digital signal processor
s (DSPs) and analog
semiconductors, among a wide range of other semiconductor products.
After the acquisition of National Semiconductor in 2011, the company has a combined portfolio of nearly 45,000 analog products, customer design tools. In 2011, Texas Instruments ranked 175 in the Fortune 500
.
Texas Instruments was founded by Cecil H. Green, J. Erik Jonsson
, Eugene McDermott
, and Patrick E. Haggerty
in 1951. McDermott was one of the original founders of Geophysical Service
in 1930. McDermott, Green, and Jonsson were GSI employees who purchased the company in 1941 on the day before Pearl Harbor
was attacked. In November, 1945, Patrick Haggerty was hired as general manager of the Laboratory and Manufacturing (L&M) division. By 1951, the L&M division, with its defense contracts, was growing faster than GSI's Geophysical division. The company was reorganized and initially renamed General Instruments Inc. Because there already existed a firm named General Instrument
, the company was rechristened Texas Instruments that same year. Geophysical Service Inc. became a subsidiary of Texas Instruments which it remained until early 1988, when most of GSI was sold to the Halliburton
Company.
and Eugene McDermott founded Geophysical Service, an early provider of seismic exploration
services to the petroleum
industry. In 1939 the company reorganized as Coronado Corp., an oil company with Geophysical Service Inc (GSI), now as a subsidiary. On December 6, 1941, McDermott along with three other GSI employees, J. Erik Jonsson, Cecil H. Green, and H.B. Peacock purchased GSI. During World War II
, GSI expanded their services to include electronics
for the U.S. Army
, Signal Corps
, and the U.S. Navy
. In 1951 the company changed its name to Texas Instruments, GSI becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the new company.
An early success story for TI-GSI came in the 1950s when GSI was able (under a Top Secret
government contract) to monitor the Soviet Union
's underground nuclear weapon
s testing
from outcrop bedrock
found in Oklahoma
.
Texas Instruments also continued to manufacture equipment for use in the seismic industry, and GSI continued to provide seismic services. After selling (and repurchasing) GSI, TI finally sold the company to Halliburton
in 1988, at which point GSI ceased to exist as a separate entity.
electronics
market starting in 1942 with submarine detection equipment, building on the seismic exploration technology developed for the oil industry. This business was known over time as the Laboratory & Manufacturing Division, the Apparatus Division, the Equipment Group and the Defense Systems & Electronics Group (DSEG).
During the early 80s Texas Instruments instituted a quality program which included Juran
training, as well as promoting Statistical process control
, Taguchi methods
and Design for Six Sigma
. In the late 80s, the company, along with Eastman Kodak
and Allied Signal, began involvement with Motorola
institutionalizing Motorola's Six Sigma
methodology. Motorola, who originally developed the Six Sigma methodology, began this work in 1982. In 1992 the DSEG division of Texas Instruments' quality improvement efforts were rewarded by winning the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
for manufacturing.
The following are some of the major programs of the former TI defense group.
In 1956 TI began research on infrared
technology that led to several line scanner contracts and with the addition of a second scan mirror the invention of the first forward looking infrared
(FLIR) in 1963 with production beginning in 1966. In 1972 TI invented the Common Module FLIR concept, greatly reducing cost and allowing reuse of common components.
TI went on to produce side-looking radar systems, the first terrain following radar and surveillance radar systems for both the military and FAA. TI demonstrated the first solid-state radar called Molecular Electronics for Radar Applications (MERA). In 1976 TI developed a microwave landing system
prototype. In 1984 TI developed the first inverse synthetic aperture radar
(ISAR). The first single-chip gallium arsenide radar module was developed. In 1991 the Military Microwave Integrated Circuit (MIMIC) program was initiated – a joint effort with Raytheon.
anti-radiation missile
. This led later to the prime on the high-speed anti-radiation missile
(AGM-88 HARM) development contract in 1974 and production in 1981.
In 1964 TI began development of the first laser
guidance system for precision-guided munition
s (PGM) leading to the Paveway
series of laser-guided bomb
s (LGB)s. The first LGB was the BOLT-117
.
In 1969 TI won the Harpoon (missile) Seeker contract. In 1986 TI won the Army FGM-148 Javelin
fire-and-forget
man portable anti-tank guided missile in a joint venture
with Martin Marietta
. In 1991 TI was awarded the contract for the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon
(JSOW).
. In 1991 TI won the F-22 Radar and Computer development contract.
in 1997 for $2.95 billion. The Department of Justice required that Raytheon divest the TI Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit
(MMIC) operations after closing the transaction. The TI MMIC business accounted for less than $40 million in 1996 revenues, or roughly two percent of the $1.8 billion in total TI defense revenues was sold to TriQuint Semiconductor
, Inc. Raytheon retained its own existing MMIC capabilities and has the right to license TI's MMIC technology for use in future product applications from TriQuint.
Shortly after Raytheon acquired TI DSEG, Raytheon then acquired Hughes Aircraft
from General Motors
Raytheon then owned TI's Mercury Cadmium Telluride detector business and Infrared
(IR) systems group. In California, it also had Hughes infrared detector and an IR systems business. When again the US government forced Raytheon to divest itself of a duplicate capability, the company kept the TI IR systems business and the Hughes detector business. As a result of these acquisitions these former arch rivals of TI systems and Hughes detectors work together.
Immediately after acquisition, DSEG was known as Raytheon TI Systems (RTIS). It is now fully integrated into Raytheon
and this designation no longer exists.
Electric Co., the manufacturing arm of AT&T, for $25 000. By the end of that year, it was already manufacturing and selling them. TI Vice President Patrick Haggerty was the visionary at TI who realized the future of this technology in the electronics industry. Later that year responding to an ad in the New York Times for a research director, Gordon K. Teal
was hired by Haggerty. Teal, who worked for Bell Labs
at Murray Hill, New Jersey
but was from Dallas, desired to return to his native Texas.
Teal started at TI on January 1, 1953, bringing with him his expertise in growing semiconductor crystals. Haggerty had hired him to establish a team of scientists and engineers to keep TI at the leading edge of the new and rapidly expanding semiconductor industry
. Teal's first assignment was to organize what became TI's Central Research Laboratories (CRL). Because of Teal's background, this new department was based on Bell Labs.
Among his new hires was Willis Adcock
who joined TI early in 1953. Adcock, who like Teal was a physical chemist, began leading a small research group focused on the task of fabricating "grown-junction silicon
single-crystal small-signal transistors. Adcock later became the first TI Principal Fellow.
In 1954, Texas Instruments designed and manufactured the first transistor radio
. The Regency TR-1
used germanium transistors, as silicon transistors were much more expensive at the time. This was an effort by Haggerty to increase market demand for transistors.
Jack Kilby
, an employee at TI's Central Research Labs, invented the integrated circuit
in 1958. Kilby recorded his initial ideas concerning the integrated circuit in July 1958 and successfully demonstrated the world's first working integrated circuit on September 12, 1958. Six months later Robert Noyce
of Fairchild Semiconductor
(who went on to co-found Intel) independently developed the integrated circuit with integrated interconnect, and is also considered an inventor of the integrated circuit. Kilby won the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for his part of the invention of the integrated circuit. Noyce's chip, made at Fairchild, was made of silicon
, while Kilby's chip was made of germanium
. In 2008 TI named its new development laboratory "Kilby Labs" after Jack Kilby.
In 2011, Intel, Samsung, LG, ST-Ericsson, Huawei's HiSilicon Technologies subsidiary, Via Telecom and three other undisclosed chipmakers licensed the C2C link specification developed by Arteris Inc. and Texas Instruments.
The 7400 series
of transistor-transistor logic
(TTL) chips, developed by Texas Instruments in the 1960s, popularized the use of integrated circuits in computer logic. The military grade version of this was the 5400 series.
in 1967 (they cost $2,500 each) and the single-chip microcomputer
in 1971, and was assigned the first patent on a single-chip microprocessor
(invented by Gary Boone) on September 4, 1973. This was disputed by Gilbert Hyatt, formerly of the Micro Computer Company, in August 1990 when he was awarded a patent superseding TI's. This was over-turned on June 19, 1996 in favor of TI. (Note: Intel is usually given credit with Texas Instruments for the almost-simultaneous invention of the microprocessor.)
speech synthesizer. In 1976 TI began a feasibility study memory intensive applications for bubble memory then being developed. They soon focused on speech applications. This resulted in the development the TMC0280 one-chip Linear predictive coding
(LPC) speech synthesizer which was the first time a single silicon chip had electronically replicated the human voice. This was used in several TI commercial products beginning with Speak & Spell
which was introduced at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in June 1978. In 2001 TI left the speech synthesis business, selling it to Sensory Inc. of Santa Clara, California.
. Several spin-offs, such as the Speak & Read
and Speak & Math
, were introduced soon thereafter.
In 1979, TI entered the home computer
market with the TI99/4, a competitor to such entries as the Apple II
, Tandy
/RadioShack
TRS-80
and the later Atari
400/800 series, Commodore
VIC-20 and Commodore 64
. It discontinued the TI-99/4A (1981), the sequel to the 99/4, in late 1983 amidst an intense price war waged primarily against Commodore. At the 1983 Winter CES, TI showed models 99/2 and the Compact Computer 40 (CC-40)
, the latter aimed at professional users. The TI Professional (1983) ultimately joined the ranks of the many unsuccessful DOS
and x86-based—but non-compatible—competitors to the IBM PC
. (The founders of Compaq
, an early leader in PC compatibles, all came from TI.) The company for years successfully made and sold PC-compatible laptops before withdrawing from the market and selling its product line to Acer
in 1997.
. It developed and sold the Explorer
computer family of LISP machine
s. For the Explorer a special 32bit LISP microprocessor was developed, which was used in the Explorer II and the TI MicroExplorer (a LISP Machine on a NuBus
board for the Apple Macintosh
).
of sensor
, control, protection, and RFID products for the automotive, appliance, aircraft, and other industries. The S&C division was headquartered in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
In 2006, Bain Capital LLC, a private equity firm, purchased the Sensors & Controls division for $3.0 billion in cash. The RFID portion of the division remained part of TI, transferring to the Application Specific Products business unit of the Semiconductor division, with the newly formed independent company based in Attleboro taking the name Sensata Technologies.
in 1997. It is now part of Computer Associates. TI still owns small pieces of software though, i.e. software for calculators like TI Interactive!
. TI also creates a significant amount of target software for its Digital Signal Processors, along with host based tools for creating DSP applications.
products account for approximately 96 percent of TI's revenues. TI's semiconductor-related product areas include digital signal processor
s in the TMS320
series, high speed digital-to-analog
and analog-to-digital
converters, power management
solutions, and high performance analog circuits.
TI’s Wireless Business Unit (WBU) produces wireless solutions for products such as smartphones and eBooks, tablets, consumer electronics and other portable devices. Wireless communications has been a primary focus for TI, with around 50 percent of all cellular phones sold worldwide containing TI chips.
The Mixed Signal Automotive group is a business unit that manufactures mixed signal and analog solutions for transportation and automotive applications. In the power space, this unit produces DC/DC Controllers and Converters, LDOs (Low Dropout Voltage Regulators), Voltage References and Voltage Supervisors. In the networking space, MSA has solutions for CAN
and LIN. Safety-related solutions include airbags and anti-lock braking.
Another business unit of the Semiconductor division called Application Specific Products (ASP) develops specific products that cater to a broad range of DSP applications, such as digital still camera
s, cable modem
s, Voice over IP
(VOIP), streaming media, speech compression and recognition
, wireless LAN
and gateway products (residential and central office), and RFID.
TI makes a broad range of digital signal processors and a suite of tools called eXpressDSP
, used to develop applications on these chips.
In the past, TI has also sold microcontrollers based on ARM7 (TMS470) and 8051 cores.
In addition to its microcontrollers, Texas Instruments also produces several multi-core processor lines.
, and ahead of Toshiba
and STMicroelectronics
. For more information, refer to the Semiconductor sales leaders by year. Some of its main competitors include Microchip Technology
, Cypress Semiconductor
, Integrated Device Technology
, Qualcomm
, Samsung Electronics
, and Xilinx
.
TI has the largest market share in the analog semiconductor industry which has an estimated market TAM exceeding US$37 Billion. TI is reported to have 14% of the market, leading ahead of competitors ST Microelectronics, Infineon and NXP Semiconductors according to latest reports from Gartner
.
being one of the most popular early calculator
s. TI has also developed a line of graphing calculator
s, the first being the TI-81
, and most popular being the TI-83 Plus (with the TI-84 Plus being an updated equivalent).
) came with a built-in BASIC interpreter, through which simple programs could be created. The TI-85
was the first TI calculator to allow assembly programming (via a shell called "ZShell"), and the TI-83 was the first in the series to receive native assembly. While the earlier BASIC programs were relatively simple applications or small games, the modern assembly-based programs rival what one might find on a Game Boy
or PDA
.
Around the same time that these programs were first being written, personal web pages were becoming popular (through services such as Angelfire
and GeoCities
), and programmers began creating websites to host their work, along with tutorials and other calculator-relevant information. This led to the formation of TI calculator webrings, and eventually a few large communities, including the now-defunct TI-Files, and active titalc.org.
TI graphing calculators generally fall into two distinct groups, those powered by the Zilog Z80
and those running on the Motorola 68000
series. Although a derivative of the Z80 was in the original Game Boy
, the 68000 is far more powerful, and therefore better suited for gaming and processor-intensive applications.
Both these lines of calculators are locked by TI to disable use of custom flash applications and custom operating systems (standard applications are however freely usable), through the signing of this software, with checks in the hardware. However the keys used were found by brute force and published in 2009. TI responded by sending invalid DMCA takedown notices, causing the Texas Instruments signing key controversy
. However, at least one of the receivers filed a DMCA Section 512 counter-notice, to which TI has not responded, and the keys are now available again. Enthusiasts had already been creating their own operating systems before the finding of the keys, which could be installed with other methods.
The TI-84 Plus Silver Edition comes preloaded with several student-oriented apps, including App4Math, a computer algebra system
developed for the calculator.
In 2007, TI released the TI-Nspire family of calculators, as well as computer software that has similar capabilities to the calculators.
There is an ongoing debate among financial calculator fans as to whether the TI BA II Plus is superior to the Hewlett Packard HP-12C from 1981. The TI BA II Plus continues to maintain popularity due to its simple and intuitive layout compared to the HP 12c (which uses reverse polish notation
). The TI BA II Plus and the TI BA II Plus Professional version are two of only four calculators permissible in the Chartered Financial Analyst
exams (the others being the HP-12C and the HP-12C Platinum).
There are many TI calculators still selling without graphing capabilities. The TI-30
has been replaced by the TI-30X IIS
. There are some financial calculators for sale on the TI website.
In five consecutive years (2007 through 2011), TI made it to the list of most ethical companies in the world, compiled by Ethisphere Institute. TI is the only company to appear in all five years' lists in the Electronics/Semiconductor category.
A more complete list of TI's awards and recognition can be found at the Texas Instruments website.
for $6.5 billion in cash. Texas Instruments will pay $25 per share of National Semiconductor stock. This is an 80% premium over the share price of $14.07 as of April 4, 2011 close. The deal made Texas Instruments one of the world's largest makers of analog technology components.
On September 19, 2011, the Chinese minister approved the merger, the last approval required. The companies formally merged on September 23, 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company based in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which develops and commercializes semiconductor
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
and computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
technology. TI is the third largest manufacturer of semiconductors worldwide after Intel and Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, the second largest supplier of chips for cellular handsets
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
after Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
, and the largest producer of digital signal processor
Digital signal processor
A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
s (DSPs) and analog
Analogue electronics
Analogue electronics are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital electronics where signals usually take only two different levels. The term "analogue" describes the proportional relationship between a signal and a voltage or current that represents the signal...
semiconductors, among a wide range of other semiconductor products.
After the acquisition of National Semiconductor in 2011, the company has a combined portfolio of nearly 45,000 analog products, customer design tools. In 2011, Texas Instruments ranked 175 in the Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
.
History
J. Erik Jonsson
John Erik Jonsson was a co-founder and former president of Texas Instruments Incorporated. A skillful businessman, he became mayor of Dallas, a major factor in the creation of DFW airport and a philanthropist in later years....
, Eugene McDermott
Eugene McDermott
Eugene McDermott was a geophysicist and co-founder of first of Geophysical Service and later of Texas Instruments.Born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 12, 1899. He graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1919 with a mechanical engineering degree.-Early career:Upon graduation,...
, and Patrick E. Haggerty
Patrick E. Haggerty
Patrick Eugene Haggerty was an American engineer and businessman. He was a co-founder and former president and chairman of Texas Instruments, Incorporated. Haggerty is most responsible for turning a small Texas oil exploration company into the leader in semiconductors that Texas Instruments is today...
in 1951. McDermott was one of the original founders of Geophysical Service
Geophysical Service Incorporated
Geophysical Service Inc. was founded by John Clarence Karcher and Eugene McDermott in 1930 for the purpose of using refraction and reflection seismology to explore for petroleum deposits. It became one of the most successful seismic exploration contractors in the industry for many years...
in 1930. McDermott, Green, and Jonsson were GSI employees who purchased the company in 1941 on the day before Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
was attacked. In November, 1945, Patrick Haggerty was hired as general manager of the Laboratory and Manufacturing (L&M) division. By 1951, the L&M division, with its defense contracts, was growing faster than GSI's Geophysical division. The company was reorganized and initially renamed General Instruments Inc. Because there already existed a firm named General Instrument
General Instrument
General Instrument was an electronics manufacturer based in Horsham, PA specializing in semiconductors and cable television equipment. The company was active until 1997, when it split into which was later acquired by Vishay Intertechnology in 2001, CommScope and NextLevel Systems General...
, the company was rechristened Texas Instruments that same year. Geophysical Service Inc. became a subsidiary of Texas Instruments which it remained until early 1988, when most of GSI was sold to the Halliburton
Halliburton
Halliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
Company.
Geophysical Service Incorporated
In 1930, Dr. J. Clarence KarcherJ. Clarence Karcher
John Clarence Karcher was an American geophysicist and businessman. He invented and eventually commercialized the reflection seismograph, applying for patents on this in 1919. In doing this he created the means by which most of the world's oil reserves have been discovered...
and Eugene McDermott founded Geophysical Service, an early provider of seismic exploration
Reflection seismology
Reflection seismology is a method of exploration geophysics that uses the principles of seismology to estimate the properties of the Earth's subsurface from reflected seismic waves. The method requires a controlled seismic source of energy, such as dynamite/Tovex, a specialized air gun or a...
services to the petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
industry. In 1939 the company reorganized as Coronado Corp., an oil company with Geophysical Service Inc (GSI), now as a subsidiary. On December 6, 1941, McDermott along with three other GSI employees, J. Erik Jonsson, Cecil H. Green, and H.B. Peacock purchased GSI. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, GSI expanded their services to include electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
for the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, Signal Corps
United States Army Signal Corps
The United States Army Signal Corps develops, tests, provides, and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of United States Army Major Albert J. Myer, and has had an important role from...
, and the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. In 1951 the company changed its name to Texas Instruments, GSI becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the new company.
An early success story for TI-GSI came in the 1950s when GSI was able (under a Top Secret
Security clearance
A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information, i.e., state secrets, or to restricted areas after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is also sometimes used in private organizations that have a formal...
government contract) to monitor the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's underground nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s testing
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
from outcrop bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
found in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
Texas Instruments also continued to manufacture equipment for use in the seismic industry, and GSI continued to provide seismic services. After selling (and repurchasing) GSI, TI finally sold the company to Halliburton
Halliburton
Halliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
in 1988, at which point GSI ceased to exist as a separate entity.
Defense electronics
Texas Instruments was also active in the defenseDefense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
market starting in 1942 with submarine detection equipment, building on the seismic exploration technology developed for the oil industry. This business was known over time as the Laboratory & Manufacturing Division, the Apparatus Division, the Equipment Group and the Defense Systems & Electronics Group (DSEG).
During the early 80s Texas Instruments instituted a quality program which included Juran
Joseph M. Juran
Joseph Moses Juran was a 20th century management consultant who is principally remembered as an evangelist for quality and quality management, writing several influential books on those subjects. He was the brother of Academy Award winner Nathan H...
training, as well as promoting Statistical process control
Statistical process control
Statistical process control is the application of statistical methods to the monitoring and control of a process to ensure that it operates at its full potential to produce conforming product. Under SPC, a process behaves predictably to produce as much conforming product as possible with the least...
, Taguchi methods
Taguchi methods
Taguchi methods are statistical methods developed by Genichi Taguchi to improve the quality of manufactured goods, and more recently also applied to, engineering, biotechnology, marketing and advertising...
and Design for Six Sigma
Design for Six Sigma
Design for Six Sigma is a separate and emerging business-process management methodology related to traditional Six Sigma. While the tools and order used in Six Sigma require a process to be in place and functioning, DFSS has the objective of determining the needs of customers and the business, and...
. In the late 80s, the company, along with Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
and Allied Signal, began involvement with Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
institutionalizing Motorola's Six Sigma
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a business management strategy originally developed by Motorola, USA in 1986. , it is widely used in many sectors of industry.Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and...
methodology. Motorola, who originally developed the Six Sigma methodology, began this work in 1982. In 1992 the DSEG division of Texas Instruments' quality improvement efforts were rewarded by winning the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the only formal recognition of the performance excellence of both public and private U.S. organizations given by...
for manufacturing.
The following are some of the major programs of the former TI defense group.
Infrared and Radar systems
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
technology that led to several line scanner contracts and with the addition of a second scan mirror the invention of the first forward looking infrared
Forward looking infrared
Forward looking infrared cameras, typically used on military aircraft, use an imaging technology that senses infrared radiation.The sensors installed in forward looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal imaging cameras, use detection of infrared radiation, typically emitted from a...
(FLIR) in 1963 with production beginning in 1966. In 1972 TI invented the Common Module FLIR concept, greatly reducing cost and allowing reuse of common components.
TI went on to produce side-looking radar systems, the first terrain following radar and surveillance radar systems for both the military and FAA. TI demonstrated the first solid-state radar called Molecular Electronics for Radar Applications (MERA). In 1976 TI developed a microwave landing system
Microwave landing system
A microwave landing system is an all-weather, precision landing system originally intended to replace or supplement instrument landing systems...
prototype. In 1984 TI developed the first inverse synthetic aperture radar
Inverse synthetic aperture radar
Inverse synthetic aperture radar is a technique to generate a two-dimensional high resolution image of a target.ISAR technology utilizes the movement of the target rather than the emitter to create the synthetic aperture...
(ISAR). The first single-chip gallium arsenide radar module was developed. In 1991 the Military Microwave Integrated Circuit (MIMIC) program was initiated – a joint effort with Raytheon.
Missiles and Laser-guided bombs
In 1961 TI won the guidance and control system contract for the defense suppression AGM-45 ShrikeAGM-45 Shrike
AGM-45 Shrike is an American anti-radiation missile designed to home in on hostile antiaircraft radars. The Shrike was developed by the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake in 1963 by mating a seeker head to the rocket body of an AIM-7 Sparrow. It was phased out by U.S...
anti-radiation missile
Anti-radiation missile
An anti-radiation missile is a missile which is designed to detect and home on an enemy radio emission source. Typically these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communication can also be targeted in this manner.- Air-to-Ground :Most ARM designs...
. This led later to the prime on the high-speed anti-radiation missile
AGM-88 HARM
The AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile is a tactical, air-to-surface missile designed to home in on electronic transmissions coming from surface-to-air radar systems. It was originally developed by Texas Instruments as a replacement for the AGM-45 Shrike and AGM-78 Standard ARM system...
(AGM-88 HARM) development contract in 1974 and production in 1981.
In 1964 TI began development of the first laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
guidance system for precision-guided munition
Precision-guided munition
A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, and to minimize damage to things other than the target....
s (PGM) leading to the Paveway
Paveway
Paveway is a generic term for Laser Guided Bombs .Pave or PAVE is sometimes used as an acronym for precision avionics vectoring equipment; literally, electronics for controlling the speed and direction of aircraft...
series of laser-guided bomb
Laser-guided bomb
A laser-guided bomb is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser homing to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. LGBs are one of the most common and widespread guided bombs, used by a large number of the world's air forces.- Overview :Laser-guided munitions use a...
s (LGB)s. The first LGB was the BOLT-117
BOLT-117
The Texas Instruments BOLT-117 , retrospectively redesignated as the GBU-1/B was the world's first laser-guided bomb . It consisted of a standard M117 750-pound bomb case with a KMU-342 laser guidance and control kit...
.
In 1969 TI won the Harpoon (missile) Seeker contract. In 1986 TI won the Army FGM-148 Javelin
FGM-148 Javelin
The FGM-148 Javelin is a United States-made man-portable third generation anti-tank missile fielded to replace the Dragon antitank missile.-Overview:Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance...
fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget is a third-generation method of missile guidance. The military uses the term for a type of missile which does not require further guidance after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance , and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the...
man portable anti-tank guided missile in a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of The Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. The combined company became a leader in chemicals, aerospace, and electronics. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. The...
. In 1991 TI was awarded the contract for the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon
AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon
The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon is the product of a joint venture between the United States Navy and Air Force to deploy a standardized medium range precision guided weapon, especially for engagement of defended targets from outside the range of standard anti-aircraft defenses, thereby...
(JSOW).
Military computers
Because of TI's dominance in military temperature range (silicon) transistors and integrated circuits (ICs), TI won contracts for the first IC-based computer for the U.S. Air Force in 1961 and for ICs for the Minuteman Missile the following year. In 1968 TI developed the data systems for Mariner ProgramMariner program
The Mariner program was a program conducted by the American space agency NASA that launched a series of robotic interplanetary probes designed to investigate Mars, Venus and Mercury from 1963 to 1973...
. In 1991 TI won the F-22 Radar and Computer development contract.
Divestiture to Raytheon
As the defense industry consolidated, TI sold its defense business to RaytheonRaytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
in 1997 for $2.95 billion. The Department of Justice required that Raytheon divest the TI Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit
Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit
A Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit, or MMIC , is a type of integrated circuit device that operates at microwave frequencies . These devices typically perform functions such as microwave mixing, power amplification, low noise amplification, and high frequency switching...
(MMIC) operations after closing the transaction. The TI MMIC business accounted for less than $40 million in 1996 revenues, or roughly two percent of the $1.8 billion in total TI defense revenues was sold to TriQuint Semiconductor
TriQuint Semiconductor
TriQuint Semiconductor is a semiconductor company that designs, manufactures, and supplies high-performance RF modules, components and foundry services. TriQuint primarily works with the semiconductor gallium arsenide, or GaAs, and is the number-three worldwide leader in GaAs devices and the...
, Inc. Raytheon retained its own existing MMIC capabilities and has the right to license TI's MMIC technology for use in future product applications from TriQuint.
Shortly after Raytheon acquired TI DSEG, Raytheon then acquired Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
from General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
Raytheon then owned TI's Mercury Cadmium Telluride detector business and Infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
(IR) systems group. In California, it also had Hughes infrared detector and an IR systems business. When again the US government forced Raytheon to divest itself of a duplicate capability, the company kept the TI IR systems business and the Hughes detector business. As a result of these acquisitions these former arch rivals of TI systems and Hughes detectors work together.
Immediately after acquisition, DSEG was known as Raytheon TI Systems (RTIS). It is now fully integrated into Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
and this designation no longer exists.
Semiconductors
Early in 1952 Texas Instruments purchased a patent license to produce (germanium) transistors from WesternElectric Co., the manufacturing arm of AT&T, for $25 000. By the end of that year, it was already manufacturing and selling them. TI Vice President Patrick Haggerty was the visionary at TI who realized the future of this technology in the electronics industry. Later that year responding to an ad in the New York Times for a research director, Gordon K. Teal
Gordon K. Teal
Gordon Kidd Teal invented a method of applying the Czochralski method to produce extremely pure germanium single crystals used in making greatly improved transistors. He, together with Morgan Sparks invented a modification of the process that produced the configuration necessary for the...
was hired by Haggerty. Teal, who worked for Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
at Murray Hill, New Jersey
Murray Hill, New Jersey
Murray Hill is an unincorporated area within portions of both Berkeley Heights and New Providence, located in Union County in northern New Jersey, United States....
but was from Dallas, desired to return to his native Texas.
Teal started at TI on January 1, 1953, bringing with him his expertise in growing semiconductor crystals. Haggerty had hired him to establish a team of scientists and engineers to keep TI at the leading edge of the new and rapidly expanding semiconductor industry
Semiconductor industry
The semiconductor industry is the aggregate collection of companies engaged in the design and fabrication of semiconductor devices. It formed around 1960, once the fabrication of semiconductors became a viable business...
. Teal's first assignment was to organize what became TI's Central Research Laboratories (CRL). Because of Teal's background, this new department was based on Bell Labs.
Among his new hires was Willis Adcock
Willis Adcock
Dr. Willis Alfred Adcock was a Canadian-American physical chemist, electrical engineer, and university professor who worked on the first atomic bomb and assisted with the invention of the silicon transistor, as well as the integrated circuit...
who joined TI early in 1953. Adcock, who like Teal was a physical chemist, began leading a small research group focused on the task of fabricating "grown-junction silicon
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
single-crystal small-signal transistors. Adcock later became the first TI Principal Fellow.
First silicon transistor and integrated circuits
In January 1954, M Tanenbaum et al. at Bell Labs created the first workable silicon transistor. This work was reported in the spring of 1954 at the IRE off-the-record conference on Solid State Devices and later published in the Journal of Applied Physics, 26, 686-691(1955). Working independently in April 1954, Gordon Teal at TI created the first commercial silicon transistor and tested it on April 14, 1954. On May 10, 1954 at the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) National Conference on Airborne Electronics, in Dayton, Ohio. Teal also presented a paper, "Some Recent Developments in Silicon and Germanium Materials and Devices," at this conference.In 1954, Texas Instruments designed and manufactured the first transistor radio
Transistor radio
A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver using transistor-based circuitry. Following their development in 1954 they became the most popular electronic communication device in history, with billions manufactured during the 1960s and 1970s...
. The Regency TR-1
Regency TR-1
The Regency TR-1 was the first commercially sold transistor radio.-History:Two companies working together, Texas Instruments of Dallas, Texas and Industrial Development Engineering Associates of Indianapolis, Indiana, were behind the unveiling of the Regency TR-1, the world's first...
used germanium transistors, as silicon transistors were much more expensive at the time. This was an effort by Haggerty to increase market demand for transistors.
Jack Kilby
Jack Kilby
Jack St. Clair Kilby was an American physicist who took part in the invention of the integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments in 1958. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 2000. He is credited with the invention of the integrated circuit or microchip...
, an employee at TI's Central Research Labs, invented the integrated circuit
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
in 1958. Kilby recorded his initial ideas concerning the integrated circuit in July 1958 and successfully demonstrated the world's first working integrated circuit on September 12, 1958. Six months later Robert Noyce
Robert Noyce
Robert Norton Noyce , nicknamed "the Mayor of Silicon Valley", co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel in 1968...
of Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. is an American semiconductor company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1957, it was a pioneer in transistor and integrated circuit manufacturing...
(who went on to co-found Intel) independently developed the integrated circuit with integrated interconnect, and is also considered an inventor of the integrated circuit. Kilby won the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for his part of the invention of the integrated circuit. Noyce's chip, made at Fairchild, was made of silicon
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
, while Kilby's chip was made of germanium
Germanium
Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is a lustrous, hard, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors tin and silicon. The isolated element is a semiconductor, with an appearance most similar to elemental silicon....
. In 2008 TI named its new development laboratory "Kilby Labs" after Jack Kilby.
In 2011, Intel, Samsung, LG, ST-Ericsson, Huawei's HiSilicon Technologies subsidiary, Via Telecom and three other undisclosed chipmakers licensed the C2C link specification developed by Arteris Inc. and Texas Instruments.
Standard TTL
7400 series
The 7400 series of transistor-transistor logic integrated circuits are historically important as the first widespread family of TTL integrated circuit logic. It was used to build the mini and mainframe computers of the 1960s and 1970s...
of transistor-transistor logic
Transistor-transistor logic
Transistor–transistor logic is a class of digital circuits built from bipolar junction transistors and resistors. It is called transistor–transistor logic because both the logic gating function and the amplifying function are performed by transistors .TTL is notable for being a widespread...
(TTL) chips, developed by Texas Instruments in the 1960s, popularized the use of integrated circuits in computer logic. The military grade version of this was the 5400 series.
Microprocessor
Texas Instruments invented the hand-held calculatorCalculator
An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...
in 1967 (they cost $2,500 each) and the single-chip microcomputer
Microcomputer
A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers...
in 1971, and was assigned the first patent on a single-chip microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
(invented by Gary Boone) on September 4, 1973. This was disputed by Gilbert Hyatt, formerly of the Micro Computer Company, in August 1990 when he was awarded a patent superseding TI's. This was over-turned on June 19, 1996 in favor of TI. (Note: Intel is usually given credit with Texas Instruments for the almost-simultaneous invention of the microprocessor.)
First speech synthesis chip
In 1978, Texas Instruments introduced the first single-chip LPCLinear predictive coding
Linear predictive coding is a tool used mostly in audio signal processing and speech processing for representing the spectral envelope of a digital signal of speech in compressed form, using the information of a linear predictive model...
speech synthesizer. In 1976 TI began a feasibility study memory intensive applications for bubble memory then being developed. They soon focused on speech applications. This resulted in the development the TMC0280 one-chip Linear predictive coding
Linear predictive coding
Linear predictive coding is a tool used mostly in audio signal processing and speech processing for representing the spectral envelope of a digital signal of speech in compressed form, using the information of a linear predictive model...
(LPC) speech synthesizer which was the first time a single silicon chip had electronically replicated the human voice. This was used in several TI commercial products beginning with Speak & Spell
Speak & Spell (toy)
The Speak & Spell line is a series of electronic handheld educational toys created by Texas Instruments that consist of a speech synthesizer, a keyboard, and a receptor slot to receive one of a collection of ROM game library modules...
which was introduced at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in June 1978. In 2001 TI left the speech synthesis business, selling it to Sensory Inc. of Santa Clara, California.
Consumer electronics and computers
TI continued to be active in the consumer electronics market through the 1970s and 1980s. Early on this also included two digital clock models one for desk and the other a bedside alarm. From this sprang what became the Time Products Division with the LED watches. Though these LED watches enjoyed early commercial success thanks to excellent quality, it was short lived due to poor battery life. LEDs were replaced with LCD watches for a short time but these could not compete because of styling issues, excessive makes and models, and price points. The watches were manufactured in Dallas and then Lubbock Texas. In 1978, Texas Instruments introduced the first single chip speech synthesizer and incorporated it in a product called Speak & Spell, which was later immortalized in the movie E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
. Several spin-offs, such as the Speak & Read
Speak & Read
Speak & Read was an electronic learning aid made in 1980, by Texas Instruments. Speak and Read was part of a family of learning toys aimed at different subjects, i.e. "Speak & Math" and "Speak and Spell"....
and Speak & Math
Speak & Math
The Speak & Math was a popular and revolutionary electronic toy created by Texas Instruments in 1980. Speak & Math was one of a three-part talking educational toy series that also included Speak & Spell and Speak & Read...
, were introduced soon thereafter.
In 1979, TI entered the home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
market with the TI99/4, a competitor to such entries as the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, Tandy
Tandy Corporation
Tandy Corporation was a family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas. Tandy was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store, and acquired RadioShack in 1963. The Tandy name was dropped in May 2000, when RadioShack Corporation was made the official name.-History:Tandy began in 1919...
/RadioShack
RadioShack
RadioShack Corporation is an American franchise of electronics retail stores in the United States, as well as parts of Europe, South America and Africa. As of 2008, RadioShack reported net sales and operating revenues of $4.81 billion. The headquarters of RadioShack is located in Downtown...
TRS-80
TRS-80
TRS-80 was Tandy Corporation's desktop microcomputer model line, sold through Tandy's Radio Shack stores in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first units, ordered unseen, were delivered in November 1977, and rolled out to the stores the third week of December. The line won popularity with...
and the later Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
400/800 series, Commodore
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
VIC-20 and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
. It discontinued the TI-99/4A (1981), the sequel to the 99/4, in late 1983 amidst an intense price war waged primarily against Commodore. At the 1983 Winter CES, TI showed models 99/2 and the Compact Computer 40 (CC-40)
Texas Instruments Compact Computer 40
The Texas Instruments Compact Computer 40 or CC-40 is a battery-operated portable computer that was manufactured and released by Texas Instruments in March 1983. Priced at US$249, it weighs 600 grams and can be powered by four AA batteries or an AC adapter...
, the latter aimed at professional users. The TI Professional (1983) ultimately joined the ranks of the many unsuccessful DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and x86-based—but non-compatible—competitors to the IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
. (The founders of Compaq
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
, an early leader in PC compatibles, all came from TI.) The company for years successfully made and sold PC-compatible laptops before withdrawing from the market and selling its product line to Acer
Acer (company)
Acer Incorporated is a multinational information technology and electronics corporation headquartered in Xizhi, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Acer's products include desktop and laptop PCs, tablet computers, servers, storage devices, displays, smartphones and peripherals...
in 1997.
Artificial intelligence
Texas Instruments was active in the 1980s in the area of artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
. It developed and sold the Explorer
TI Explorer
The Texas Instruments Explorer is a family of Lisp Machine computers. These computers were sold by Texas Instruments in the 1980s. The Explorer is based on a design from Lisp Machines Incorporated, which is based on the MIT Lisp Machine....
computer family of LISP machine
Lisp machine
Lisp machines were general-purpose computers designed to efficiently run Lisp as their main software language. In a sense, they were the first commercial single-user workstations...
s. For the Explorer a special 32bit LISP microprocessor was developed, which was used in the Explorer II and the TI MicroExplorer (a LISP Machine on a NuBus
NuBus
NuBus is a 32-bit parallel computer bus, originally developed at MIT as a part of the NuMachine workstation project. The first complete implementation of the NuBus and the NuMachine was done by Western Digital for their NuMachine, and for the Lisp Machines Inc. LMI-Lambda. The NuBus was later...
board for the Apple Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
).
Sensors and controls
Texas Instruments was a major OEMOriginal Equipment Manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
of sensor
Sensor
A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...
, control, protection, and RFID products for the automotive, appliance, aircraft, and other industries. The S&C division was headquartered in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
In 2006, Bain Capital LLC, a private equity firm, purchased the Sensors & Controls division for $3.0 billion in cash. The RFID portion of the division remained part of TI, transferring to the Application Specific Products business unit of the Semiconductor division, with the newly formed independent company based in Attleboro taking the name Sensata Technologies.
Software
TI sold its software division (along with its main product, the IEF) to Sterling SoftwareSterling Software
Sterling Software was an American software company founded in Dallas, Texas in 1981 by Sterling Williams and brothers Sam and Charles Wyly. The company was acquired by Computer Associates International in 2000 in a stock-for-stock transaction worth $3.3 billion.Computer Associates sold Sterling...
in 1997. It is now part of Computer Associates. TI still owns small pieces of software though, i.e. software for calculators like TI Interactive!
TI Interactive!
TI InterActive! is a Texas Instruments computer program which combines the functionality of all of the TI graphing calculators with extra features into a text editor which allows you to save equations, graphs, tables, spreadsheets, and text onto a document. TI InterActive! also includes a web...
. TI also creates a significant amount of target software for its Digital Signal Processors, along with host based tools for creating DSP applications.
Company Divisions
Today, TI is made up of two main divisions: Semiconductors (SC) and Educational Technology (ET).Semiconductors
SemiconductorSemiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
products account for approximately 96 percent of TI's revenues. TI's semiconductor-related product areas include digital signal processor
Digital signal processor
A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
s in the TMS320
Texas Instruments TMS320
Texas Instruments TMS320 is a blanket name for a series of digital signal processors from Texas Instruments. It was introduced on April 8, 1983 through the TMS32010 processor, which was then the fastest DSP on the market....
series, high speed digital-to-analog
Digital-to-analog converter
In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
and analog-to-digital
Analog-to-digital converter
An analog-to-digital converter is a device that converts a continuous quantity to a discrete time digital representation. An ADC may also provide an isolated measurement...
converters, power management
Power management
Power management is a feature of some electrical appliances, especially copiers, computers and computer peripherals such as monitors and printers, that turns off the power or switches the system to a low-power state when inactive. In computing this is known as PC power management and is built...
solutions, and high performance analog circuits.
TI’s Wireless Business Unit (WBU) produces wireless solutions for products such as smartphones and eBooks, tablets, consumer electronics and other portable devices. Wireless communications has been a primary focus for TI, with around 50 percent of all cellular phones sold worldwide containing TI chips.
The Mixed Signal Automotive group is a business unit that manufactures mixed signal and analog solutions for transportation and automotive applications. In the power space, this unit produces DC/DC Controllers and Converters, LDOs (Low Dropout Voltage Regulators), Voltage References and Voltage Supervisors. In the networking space, MSA has solutions for CAN
CAN
- Organizations :* Andean Community of Nations, a South American trade bloc with Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru* Campus Antiwar Network, an American network of students opposing the occupation of Iraq...
and LIN. Safety-related solutions include airbags and anti-lock braking.
Signal Processing
Digital Light Processing is a trademark under which Texas Instruments sells technology regarding TVs and Video Projectors.Another business unit of the Semiconductor division called Application Specific Products (ASP) develops specific products that cater to a broad range of DSP applications, such as digital still camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s, cable modem
Cable modem
A cable modem is a type of network bridge and modem that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a HFC and RFoG infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable Internet, taking advantage of the high...
s, Voice over IP
Voice over IP
Voice over Internet Protocol is a family of technologies, methodologies, communication protocols, and transmission techniques for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol networks, such as the Internet...
(VOIP), streaming media, speech compression and recognition
Speech recognition
Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
, wireless LAN
Wireless LAN
A wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...
and gateway products (residential and central office), and RFID.
TI makes a broad range of digital signal processors and a suite of tools called eXpressDSP
EXpressDSP
eXpressDSP is a software package produced by Texas Instruments. This software package is a suite of tools used to develop applications on Texas Instruments Digital Signal Processing line of chips.It consists of:...
, used to develop applications on these chips.
Microcontrollers and Processors
Texas Instruments maintains several lines of microcontrollers, including:- MSP430: low cost, low power consumption, and general purpose 16-bit MCU for use in embedded applications
- TMS320C2xxx: 16 and 32 bit MCU family optimized for real-time control applications.
- C24X: 16 bit, fixed point, 20 to 40 MHz
- C28X: 32 bit, fixed or floating point, 100 to 150 MHz
- Stellaris ARMARM architectureARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
Cortex-M3 based 32-bit MCU family
In the past, TI has also sold microcontrollers based on ARM7 (TMS470) and 8051 cores.
In addition to its microcontrollers, Texas Instruments also produces several multi-core processor lines.
- OMAP systems-on-chipsSystem-on-a-chipA system on a chip or system on chip is an integrated circuit that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip. It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single chip substrate...
(SoC's) are designed for low-powered applications, and originally targeted mobile phoneMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s. As a rule they contain an ARM application processorARM architectureARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
(currently Cortex-A8ARM Cortex-A8The ARM Cortex-A8 is a processor core designed by ARM Holdings implementing the ARM v7 instruction set architecture. Compared to the ARM11 core, the Cortex-A8 is dual-issue superscalar, achieving roughly twice the instructions executed per clock cycle....
, previously ARM11ARM11ARM11 is an ARM architecture 32-bit RISC microprocessor family which introduced the ARMv6 architectural additions. These include SIMD media instructions, multiprocessor support and a new cache architecture...
or ARM9), a DSP (currently C64xTexas Instruments TMS320Texas Instruments TMS320 is a blanket name for a series of digital signal processors from Texas Instruments. It was introduced on April 8, 1983 through the TMS32010 processor, which was then the fastest DSP on the market....
, previously often C55), and sometimes other cores. - DaVinciTexas Instruments DaVinciThe Texas Instruments DaVinci Technology combines TI's offering of digital signal processing chips, software, tools and support for developing a broad spectrum of optimized digital video end equipments...
SoC's contain a C64 series DSP core, an ARM9 core for applications processing, and specialized video processing peripherals.
Competitors
TI has always been among the Top 10 of the semiconductor sales leaders. In 2005, TI was number 3, after Intel and SamsungSamsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, and ahead of Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
and STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics is an Italian-French electronics and semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.While STMicroelectronics corporate headquarters and the headquarters for EMEA region are based in Geneva, the holding company, STMicroelectronics N.V. is registered in Amsterdam,...
. For more information, refer to the Semiconductor sales leaders by year. Some of its main competitors include Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology is an American manufacturer of microcontroller, memory and analog semiconductors. Its products include microcontrollers , Serial EEPROM devices, Serial SRAM devices, KEELOQ devices, radio frequency devices, thermal, power and battery management analog devices, as well as...
, Cypress Semiconductor
Cypress Semiconductor
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation is a Silicon Valley-based semiconductor design and manufacturing company founded by T. J. Rodgers and others from Advanced Micro Devices. It was formed in 1982 with backing by Sevin Rosen and went public in 1986. The company initially focused on the design and...
, Integrated Device Technology
Integrated Device Technology
Integrated Device Technology, Inc. is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, that designs, manufactures, and markets low-power, high-performance mixed-signal semiconductor solutions for the advanced communications, computing, and consumer industries. The company...
, Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
, Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...
, and Xilinx
Xilinx
Xilinx, Inc. is a supplier of programmable logic devices. It is known for inventing the field programmable gate array and as the first semiconductor company with a fabless manufacturing model....
.
TI has the largest market share in the analog semiconductor industry which has an estimated market TAM exceeding US$37 Billion. TI is reported to have 14% of the market, leading ahead of competitors ST Microelectronics, Infineon and NXP Semiconductors according to latest reports from Gartner
Gartner
Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001....
.
Educational technology
Texas Instruments produces a range of calculators, with the TI-30TI-30
The TI-30 was a scientific calculator manufactured by Texas Instruments, the first model of which was introduced in 1976. While the original TI-30 left production in 1983 after several design revisions, TI maintains the TI-30 designation as a branding for its low and mid-range scientific...
being one of the most popular early calculator
Calculator
An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...
s. TI has also developed a line of graphing calculator
Graphing calculator
A graphing calculator typically refers to a class of handheld calculators that are capable of plotting graphs, solving simultaneous equations, and performing numerous other tasks with variables...
s, the first being the TI-81
TI-81
The TI-81 is the first graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments. It was designed in 1990 for use in algebra and precalculus courses. Since its original release, it has been superseded several times by newer calculators - the TI-82, the TI-83, the TI-83 Plus, TI-83 Plus Silver Edition, the...
, and most popular being the TI-83 Plus (with the TI-84 Plus being an updated equivalent).
TI calculator community
In the 1990s, with the advent of TI's graphing calculator series, programming became popular among some students. The TI-8x series of calculators (beginning with the TI-81TI-81
The TI-81 is the first graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments. It was designed in 1990 for use in algebra and precalculus courses. Since its original release, it has been superseded several times by newer calculators - the TI-82, the TI-83, the TI-83 Plus, TI-83 Plus Silver Edition, the...
) came with a built-in BASIC interpreter, through which simple programs could be created. The TI-85
TI-85
The TI-85 was a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments based around the Zilog Z80 microprocessor. Designed in 1992 as TI's second graphing calculator , it has since been replaced by the TI-86, which has also been discontinued....
was the first TI calculator to allow assembly programming (via a shell called "ZShell"), and the TI-83 was the first in the series to receive native assembly. While the earlier BASIC programs were relatively simple applications or small games, the modern assembly-based programs rival what one might find on a Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
or PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
.
Around the same time that these programs were first being written, personal web pages were becoming popular (through services such as Angelfire
Angelfire
Angelfire is an Internet service offering free space for web sites. It was founded in 1996 and was originally a combination web site building and medical transcription service. Eventually the site dropped the transcription service and focused solely on web site hosting, offering both free and...
and GeoCities
GeoCities
Yahoo! GeoCities is a web hosting service, currently available only in Japan.GeoCities was originally founded by David Bohnett and John Rezner in late 1994 as Beverly Hills Internet . In its original form, site users selected a "city" in which to place their web pages...
), and programmers began creating websites to host their work, along with tutorials and other calculator-relevant information. This led to the formation of TI calculator webrings, and eventually a few large communities, including the now-defunct TI-Files, and active titalc.org.
TI graphing calculators generally fall into two distinct groups, those powered by the Zilog Z80
Zilog Z80
The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...
and those running on the Motorola 68000
Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
series. Although a derivative of the Z80 was in the original Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
, the 68000 is far more powerful, and therefore better suited for gaming and processor-intensive applications.
Both these lines of calculators are locked by TI to disable use of custom flash applications and custom operating systems (standard applications are however freely usable), through the signing of this software, with checks in the hardware. However the keys used were found by brute force and published in 2009. TI responded by sending invalid DMCA takedown notices, causing the Texas Instruments signing key controversy
Texas Instruments signing key controversy
The Texas Instruments signing key controversy refers to the controversy which resulted from Texas Instruments' response to a project to factorize the 512-bit RSA cryptographic keys needed to write custom firmware to TI devices.-Project:...
. However, at least one of the receivers filed a DMCA Section 512 counter-notice, to which TI has not responded, and the keys are now available again. Enthusiasts had already been creating their own operating systems before the finding of the keys, which could be installed with other methods.
The TI-84 Plus Silver Edition comes preloaded with several student-oriented apps, including App4Math, a computer algebra system
Computer algebra system
A computer algebra system is a software program that facilitates symbolic mathematics. The core functionality of a CAS is manipulation of mathematical expressions in symbolic form.-Symbolic manipulations:...
developed for the calculator.
In 2007, TI released the TI-Nspire family of calculators, as well as computer software that has similar capabilities to the calculators.
There is an ongoing debate among financial calculator fans as to whether the TI BA II Plus is superior to the Hewlett Packard HP-12C from 1981. The TI BA II Plus continues to maintain popularity due to its simple and intuitive layout compared to the HP 12c (which uses reverse polish notation
Reverse Polish notation
Reverse Polish notation is a mathematical notation wherein every operator follows all of its operands, in contrast to Polish notation, which puts the operator in the prefix position. It is also known as Postfix notation and is parenthesis-free as long as operator arities are fixed...
). The TI BA II Plus and the TI BA II Plus Professional version are two of only four calculators permissible in the Chartered Financial Analyst
Chartered Financial Analyst
The Chartered Financial Analyst Program is a graduate level self-study program offered by the CFA Institute to investment and financial professionals...
exams (the others being the HP-12C and the HP-12C Platinum).
There are many TI calculators still selling without graphing capabilities. The TI-30
TI-30
The TI-30 was a scientific calculator manufactured by Texas Instruments, the first model of which was introduced in 1976. While the original TI-30 left production in 1983 after several design revisions, TI maintains the TI-30 designation as a branding for its low and mid-range scientific...
has been replaced by the TI-30X IIS
TI-30
The TI-30 was a scientific calculator manufactured by Texas Instruments, the first model of which was introduced in 1976. While the original TI-30 left production in 1983 after several design revisions, TI maintains the TI-30 designation as a branding for its low and mid-range scientific...
. There are some financial calculators for sale on the TI website.
Industry recognition
In 2007, Texas Instruments was awarded the Manufacturer of the Year for Global Supply Chain Excellence by World Trade magazine.In five consecutive years (2007 through 2011), TI made it to the list of most ethical companies in the world, compiled by Ethisphere Institute. TI is the only company to appear in all five years' lists in the Electronics/Semiconductor category.
A more complete list of TI's awards and recognition can be found at the Texas Instruments website.
Acquisitions
- In 1997, TI acquired Amati Communications for $395 million.
- In 1998, TI acquired GO DSP.
- In 1999, TI acquired Butterfly VLSI, Ltd. for approximately $50 million.
- In 1999, TI acquired Telogy Networks for $457 million.
- In 2000, TI acquired Burr-Brown CorporationBurr-Brown CorporationThe Burr-Brown Corporation was a United States technology company in Tucson, Arizona, which designed, manufactured, and marketed a broad line of proprietary, standard, high-performance, analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits used in electronic signal processing...
for $7.6 billion. - In 2009, TI acquired Luminary MicroLuminary MicroLuminary Micro was a company based in Austin. It was acquired by Texas Instruments for an undisclosed amount in 2009....
. - In 2011, TI acquired National SemiconductorNational SemiconductorNational Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer, that specialized in analog devices and subsystems,formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The products of National Semiconductor included power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers,...
National Semiconductor acquisition
On April 4, 2011, Texas Instruments announced that it has agreed to buy National SemiconductorNational Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer, that specialized in analog devices and subsystems,formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The products of National Semiconductor included power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers,...
for $6.5 billion in cash. Texas Instruments will pay $25 per share of National Semiconductor stock. This is an 80% premium over the share price of $14.07 as of April 4, 2011 close. The deal made Texas Instruments one of the world's largest makers of analog technology components.
On September 19, 2011, the Chinese minister approved the merger, the last approval required. The companies formally merged on September 23, 2011.
See also
- Anylite TechnologyAnylite TechnologyAnylite Technology is a the name of a solar technology used in some calculators made by Texas Instruments. They are intended to be able to function with less light than other solar calculators. This was essentially achieved by using a relatively large solar panel. Anylite Technology originated in...
- TI ASC
- TI-990TI-990The TI-990 was a series of 16-bit minicomputers sold by Texas Instruments in the 1970s and 1980s. The TI-990 was a replacement for TI's earlier minicomputer systems, the TI-960 and the TI-980...
- TI-BASICTI-BASICTI-BASIC is the unofficial name of a BASIC-like language built into Texas Instruments 's graphing calculators, including the TI-83 series, TI-84 Plus series, TI-89 series, TI-92 series , TI-73, and TI-Nspire...
- Calculators
- EnOceanEnOceanEnOcean is a German wireless, energy harvesting technology used primarily in building automation systems, based in Oberhaching. It is not set out for international, European or national standardization; however, EnOcean GmbH is offering its technology and licenses for the patented features under...
- Symbian