1947
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Company Milestones
Eric Lidow and his father, Leon Lidow, found International Rectifier in August 1947 with just six employees at the facility in Inglewood, CA
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Global Milestones
- U.S. Atomic Energy Commission is founded on Jan 1
- The transistor effect is discovered by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley of Bell Labs
- Edwin H. Land announces his invention of a camera and film system that develops pictures inside the camera in about a minute
|
1948
Company Milestones
- IR introduces selenium plates 50% larger than existing plates
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Global Milestones
- Physicist Peter Mark Goldmark develops the first long-playing record in the U.S.
- Andrew Moyer patented the first method of industrial production of penicillin in 1948
- The discovery of the transistor is announced to the world
Ampex develops the first U.S. audio recorder using magnetic tape
|
1949
Company Milestones
- IR introduces selenium photo cells and selenium diodes and selenium cartridge rectifiers
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Global Milestones
- John Mauchly and John Eckert build BINAC, the first electronic stored-program computer in the U.S.
- July 27, the first jet airliner, the Comet, makes its first flight
|
1950
Company Milestones
- Leon Lidow Purhases a former frozen meatball and pasta warehouse in El Segundo for expansion
- Single crystal P-N junction technology emerges in the early 1950s. Because of this innovation
rectifiers can be made smaller and withstand greater temperature extremes. IR immediately installs these new process techniques.
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Global Milestones
- John Eckert and John Mauchly found the first company (the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation), to commercialize computers. Together, they
invent the first general-purpose electronic digital computer (ENIAC), present the first course in computing topics (the Moore School Lectures).
|
1951
Company Milestones
- IR relocates from original facility on Victoria St. in Inglewood to frozen meatball and pasta warehouse at 1521 Grand Ave. in El Segundo
- IR introduces selenium stack rectifiers for battery charging
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Global Milestones
- The first video tape recorder is developed by Armour Research
- Western Electric starts the first commercial production of transistors
- Chrysler introduces power steering for automobiles
- In March, the Univac 1, designed by John Eckert and John Mauchey, the first commercially available computer to store data on magnetic tape, is installed
the U.S. census bureau
|
1952
Company Milestones
- IR introduces line of sub-miniature selenium diodes for bias supplies, sensitive relays,
hearing aids and many space-restricted applications
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Global Milestones
- The first hearing aids with junction transistors are introduced
|
1953
Company Milestones
 IR begins production of selenium rectifiers for the new color TV
- New products include germanium diodes and the largest single selenium rectifier stack in the world
- IR begins production of a series of selenium rectifiers for color televisions.
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Global Milestones
Commercial color television begins in the U.S. A successful color television system began commercial broadcasting, first
authorized by the FCC on December 17, 1953 based on a system designed by RCA.
- Percy L. Spencer patents the first microwave oven for restaurants
- Transistor radio invented by Texas Instruments.
|
1954
Company Milestones
- The use of selenium diodes to replace vacuum tubes was a major stepping stone in reducing the cost of color TVs for home use.
- IR offers germanium rectifiers for use in atomic energy installations, chemical manufacturing, anodizing and electroplating.
 IR introduces "Sun Battery" self-generating selenium photo electric cell
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Global Milestones
- The first commercial use of IR selenium diodes was in the Hoffman and Admiral television set produced in 1954.
- Texas Instruments introduces the silicon transistor
 The first transistor radio, the Regency, is introduced at $49.95
- The Soviet Union completes the first small nuclear reactor intended primarily to produce electric power
|
1955
Company Milestones
- July 1, IR opens new facility at 201 Nevada St. in El Segundo to produce selenium rectifiers for the radio and television industry.
- IR offers selenium cartridge rectifier for use in geiger counters
- IR offers tiny silicon diodes for use in radios, televisions, etc.
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Global Milestones
- Bell Telephone builds the first computer to use transistors instead of vacuum tubes
- Tappan introduces the first microwave oven for home use
- On July 17, electricity generated by nuclear power is used for the first time in Arco, Idaho
|
1956
Company Milestones
- IR the first company to introduce the space-saving silicon cartridge rectifier
IR introduces sub-miniature selenium diodes to provide bias for tubes in diversified commercial and military applications
that must withstand severe environmental conditions
- Construction crews of IR Japan uncover an ancient Shinto shrine.
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Global Milestones
- Univac introduces the first commercially available computer
- The Lip Company in France produces the first commercial watch to run on electric batteries
- Ampex brings its first video tape recorder to market
- On October 17, Calder Hall in England is the first large-scale nuclear plant designed for generating electricity
- The first computer hard disk used.
- The hovercraft is invented by Christopher Cockerell.
- Bette Nesmith Graham invented "Mistake Out," later renamed Liquid Paper, to paint over mistakes made with a typewriter.
|
1957
|
Company Milestones
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Global Milestones
- Fortran (computer language) invented by John Backus and IBM
- Smith Corona makes a portable electric typewriter
- Ampex brings its first video tape recorder to market
- Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce found Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation
- On October 4, the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, is launched by the Soviet Union
|
1958
Company Milestones
- When the Atlas missile, the Air Force's "Sundy Punch" weapon, soared from its Cape Canaveral launching pad August 2, 1958, IR selenium stack rectifiers played a part in the launching.
- The U.S. Military chooses IR products for use in the USAF X-15 jet.
- IR introduces silicon semiconductor technology to Japan when IR establishes joint venture with Kyozan Electric (ground breaking January 8, 1958)
- IR goes public, offers shares of common stock for public trading
- IR is one of the few companies to provide solar cells and panels for the early space satellite program
- IR opens sales office in Ottawa, Canada
- International Rectifier Great Britain Ltd. begins as a joint venture with Lancashire Dynamo Holdings
- IR begins production of silicon solar cells that form sun-powered batteries with scores of military, industrial and commercial applications.
- IR begins production of zener diodes that find many uses in missile launchers, radio transmiters, alarm systems, auto light controls,
battery chargers, and electroplating machinery
 IR's selenium photoelectric cells used in the Bell & Howell 8mm Electric Eye movie camera
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Global Milestones
- Fairchild markets their first silicon diffusion mesa transistors to RCA
- Commercial cesium clocks become available, costing $20,000 each
- In 1958, Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow theorized about a visible laser, an
invention that would use infrared and/or visible spectrum
- Bell introduces the Modem dataphone
- Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments invents the integrated circuit
 Jan 31, the U.S. launches its first satellite and first of the Explorer series
|
1959
Company Milestones
- IR forms a joint venture with N.V. Diode in the Netherlands.
- IR introduces the "thyrode," a three terminal device capable of performing many of the functions of a thyratron
- IR introduces first silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) caled the "thyrode" thyristor
- Initiated accelerated program to open facilities in Tokyo, London, Paris, Copenhagen, Geneva, Milan and Ottawa
- IR opens pilot plant at 200 Center St. in El Segundo for the manufacture of encapsulated miniature silicon diodes for use in radios and hi-fi-sets
|
Global Milestones
- The first commercial Xerox copier is introduced
 The Soviet space probe, Lunik 2 becomes the first human-produced object to reach the moon
- Fairchild Semiconductor produces a “flat” or planar transistor that will later become the main method used for integrated circuits
- A number of manufacturers announce transistorized computers, they include IBM, NCR and RCA
- The first nuclear reactor for producing electricity in France opens in Marcoule
|
1960
Company Milestones
- The manufacture of selenium rectifier plates begins at Laboratoire D'Etudes Sur Le Selenium (LESSEL) in France.
- Company's securities were listed (IRF) on the New York and Pacific stock exchanges on December 12, 1960
- IR introduces world's first solar powered car in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City
- Production begins at new 80,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility at 222 Kansas St.
IR acquires Dallons Laboratories for the manufacture of specialized medical electronic equipment like the ground support equipment used to monitor the heart action of U.S. astronaut Alan Shepard during his historic space flight.
- IR supplies solar cells for TIROS 1 weather satellite, it's first picture-taking weather satellite. IR remained an important supplier to subsequent TIROS weather satellite projects.
- IR forms Rachelle Labs, a manufacturer of ethical (prescription) pharmaceutical drugs.
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Global Milestones
- In 1960 Maimen invents the first laser by ruby crystal
- The halogen lamp is introduced
- Theodore Maiman develops the first laser
- Fairchild Semiconductor produces a “flat” or planar transistor that will later become the main method used for integrated circuits
- Echo, the first passive communications satellite, is launched on August 12
- Remington Rand completes the Livermore Advanced Research Computer (LARC) with 60,000 transistors, the first scientific computer to use transistors
- Tiros 1, first weather satellite, is launched on April 1
|
1961
Company Milestones
- IR acquires Xaloy, Inc. the world's largest manufacturer of bimetallic extruder cylinders used in industrial equipment for the production of rubber, plastic, paper and paint, etc.
- Dallons manufactures the ground support equipment used to monitor the heart action of U.S. astronaut Alan Shepard during his historic space flight.
- Dallons moves from Hollywood to a larger facility at 120 Kansas St. in El Segundo
- Purchase of Honolulu's Industrial Research Laboratories (Metallurgical Technology)
 Operations begin at IR Italy (Turin) as a joint venture with Fiat
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Global Milestones
- The premier of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in September, 1961, was a
turning point, persuading consumers to go out and purchase color televisions.
- Fairchild Semiconductor offers the first commercially available integrated circuits
- IBM introduces the Selectric typewriter
- On May 5, Alan Shepard accomplishes the first U.S. space flight in the Mercury 3
 On April 12, Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union makes the first orbital space flight making a single orbit in the Vostok 1
|
1962
1963
Company Milestones
- IR introduces advanced epitaxial process for power rectifiers and SCRs
- Radiation resistant solar cells for space applications introduced
- Light actuated switches for computers and control systems introduced
|
Global Milestones
- NASA launches the IMP satellite, the first to contain integrated circuits
- On July 10, Telstar, the first active communications satellite is launched
- Semiconductor diodes that use electron tunneling go on sale only 6 years after the tunneling effect is discovered by Leo Esaki of Japan
|
1964
|
Company Milestones
- Dallons loans 20th Century Fox Studios sophicticated electronic equipment for use in the movie "Fantastic Voyage."
- Plant completed and equipment installed in IR India (New Delhi)
|
Global Milestones
- IBM develops the first CAD (computer aided design) system
- Zenith develops the Arcadia, a hearing aid equipped with an integrated circuit
|
1965
Company Milestones
- IR begins manufacture of selenium rectifiers in India as Usha Rectifier
- IRGB enlarged to accomodate new product lines
- IR sells its interest in LESSEL.
- IR begins operations at IR India for the manufacture of selenium rectifiers
- IR introduces breakthrough selenium rectifier cell processing that establishes new standards for power handing capability
|
Global Milestones
- The DIP package is introduced by Fairchild in 1965, soon adopted by other semicondcutor companies
- The compact disk invented by James Russell
- The first portable consumer video recorder is introduced by Sony
- Digital Equipment introduces the first mini-computer, marking the beginning of widespread computerization in business and education
- Designers produce chips with a component density of 1000 per square centimeter, marking the beginning of middle scale integration (MSI)
- On March 23, the first American multi-person space crew of Virgil Grissom and John Young are launched on the three-orbit Gemini 3 mission
|
1966
1967
Company Milestones
- IR establishes Rachelle Laboratories Italia, S.p.A.
- Rachelle Labs is named the largest antibiotic fermentation plant in the Western United States
|
Global Milestones
- Using an improved electron tube introduced in Japan
- Raytheon introduces the first small, affordable microwave oven
- The first handheld calculator invented
|
1968
1969
Company Milestones
- IR becomes first Japanese/American joint venture to be listed on the Tokyo stock exchange
- IR supplies zener voltage regulators for the Saturn Booster of Apollo 11
- IR supplies the world's largest zener diode
- Dallons provides sophisticated equipment to Universal Studios for the filming of the first segment of their new series, "The Bold Ones."
|
Global Milestones
- Some banks in the U.S. begin to install individual automated teller machines, but they are not linked with other machines
- The first U.S. lunar landing with Apollo 11, manned by Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Aldrin
- The first portable two-way radios introduced during World War II weighed up to
35 pounds apiece, but the HT-220 weighed just 22 ounces--in part because it was
the first portable radio to use integrated circuits instead of discrete
transistors.
|
1970
Company Milestones
- Crydom Controls Division moves from Santa Ana to 1521 E. Grand Ave in El Segundo, CA
|
Global Milestones
- The floppy disk is introduced for storing data used by computers
- The daisy wheel printer is introduced for use with computers
- Charles Burrus develops the light-emitting diode (LED)
- RCA introduces metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) technology
- The first jumbo jet, the Boeing 747 goes into service
|
1971
Company Milestones
- IR introduces first commercially viable line of photo-isolated solid state power relays
- IR Sells Dallons to Ohio Nuclear, Inc., a subsidiary of BBC Industries
- IR begins operations in Newry, Northern Ireland for the manufacture of high voltage silicon cartridge rectifiers for use in color television sets and X-ray machines
 IR introduces the PACE-Pak for DC drives and power supplies.
As a result, IR is the first company to introduce the power module concept. The PACE-Pak was the first of a full range of power modules that includes diode bridges, T-modules, the ADD-A-Pak, MAGN-A-Pak, INT-A-Pak and HEX-Pak
- IR's Crydom Laboratories unveils its new line of photo-isolated solid state power relays (replacing electromechanical functions with solid state functions), the first developed by a semiconductor company.
|
Global Milestones
- US Centron introduces dot matrix printers
- Gary Boone and Michael Cochran develop the first microprocessor chip to be patented, the TMS 1000; the chip is widely applied in pocket calculators
- Texas Instruments introduces the first pocket calculator, the Pocketronic
- Seymour Cray leaves Control Data Corporation to found his own computer manufacturing company, Cray Researchd.
- Liquid Chrystal Displays are introduced by George Heilmeier. Liquid crystals are organic substances that
reflect light when voltage is applied
- Intel publicly introduces the world's first single chip microprocessor invented by Intel
engineers Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff, and Stan Mazor.
- The first (video cassete recorder) VCR is sold by Sony in 1971.
|
1972
Company Milestones
IR introduces the first commercially viable power Schottky device for use in computer power supplies and telephone switching equipment
|
Global Milestones
- Lexitron introduces word processing with the first word processing system
- Philips Corporation of the Netherlands introduces a disk-laser recording system called Laservision
- Magnavox develops “Odyssey,” the first video game
|
1973
Company Milestones
- IR is the first to introduce the power module concept with the PACE-Pak, the first of a full range of power modules that includes diodes bridges, T-modules, the ADD-A-Pak, MAGN-A-Pak, INT-A-Pak and HEX-Pak
- IR begins operations at Rectificadores Internacionales (IR Mexico) in March.
|
Global Milestones
- The age of large scale integration begins when 10,000 components are placed on a chip of 1 square centimeter
May 25, the first U.S. space station, Skylab 2, is launched
- The beginning of the end of inexpensive energy around the world is marked by the first oil embargo imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
|
1974
Company Milestones
- N.V. Diode changes its name to B.V. Diode for the manufacture of semiconductors and rectifier stacks
IR enters the most sophisticated segment of the transistor market with bipolar and Darlington transistors using glass passivation
|
Global Milestones
- The first electronic scanners for reading bar codes are introduced in a few U.S. supermarkets
- Panasonic demonstrates high-definition television
- Hewlett Packard introduces the programmable pocket calculator
|
1975
Company Milestones
- IR receives patent cash settlement of $33 million for broad spectrum antibiotics
 IR supplies rectifiers for U.S. Postal Service battery powered delivery vans
- IR supplies SCRs and diodes for production welding equipment used to fabricate off-shore drilling platforms
- IR power transistors appear in ignition systems to conserve fuel and eliminate costly tune-ups
|
Global Milestones
- Xerox develops Ethernet
- IBM introduces the laser printer
- Edward Roberts introduces in the U.S. the first personal computer kit, the Altair 8800
- Engineers from several electronics firms found Zilog Corporation to manufacture microprocessor chips
|
1976
Company Milestones
- IR acquires full ownership of its joint venture European semiconductor companies
- Xaloy Europe closed
- Company sells its line of replacement products for TV repairmen
- IR introduces epitaxial-based high energy transistors
- Lockheed's L-1011 uses IR rectifiers in on-board generators and SCRs in control systems. IR's HEXFET power MOSFET opens tremendous
opportunities to provide government and space applications because of the power handling and reliability of this new technology.
|
Global Milestones
- JVC introduces the VHS (video home system) format for videotape
- IBM develops the ink jet printer
- May 24, The French-English Concorde becomes the first supersonic airliner to operate a regularly scheduled passenger service
 June 19, Viking 1 lands on Mars, making it the first spacecraft ever to soft-land on a planet other than Earth
|
1977
Company Milestones
- Totally-owned European operations
- The first of several new series of high-power, high temperature SCRs are introduced to meet the new industry standards for extra
overload current handing capability for motor control systems
|
Global Milestones
- Paul Allen and William Gates found Microsoft
- Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak introduce the Apple II, the first assembled personal computer
- The first linked ATM machines are introduced
- The first solar-powered water heater is installed
|
1978
Company Milestones
- IR is the first in the industry to establish a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) lab to develop the world's highest power rated field effect transistor (FET)
- IR introduces planar MOSFET technology
- IR supplies rectifiers and SCRs for Lockheed's L-1011 aircraft
|
Global Milestones
- Apple brings out the first disk drive for use with personal computers
- Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston invent the VisiCalc spreadsheet, the first spreadsheet program
- The artificial heart Jarvik-7 is invented by Robert K. Jarvik
|
1979
Company Milestones
Eric and Alex Lidow believe the HEXFET has placed the company two years ahead in technology.
- Alex Lidow and Tom Herman of International Rectifier invent the HEXFET, the first power MOSFET to employ a six-sided cell structure
- HEXFET introduced in June, creating MOS power transistor industry
- November, IR breaks ground for HEXFET wafer fab at 330 Kansas St. in El Segundo
|
Global Milestones
 The introduction of the first Sony Walkman
- Cell phones introduced for mass market.
- Cray supercomputer is invented by Seymour Cray
- Philips and Sony bring the videodisc to market
- The first commercial network of cellular phones is set up in Tokyo, and later in the year in Chicago
- Steven Hofstein invents the field-effect transistor, using metal oxide technology
- March 1979 three Mile Island nuclear accident
|
1980
Company Milestones
- IR expands line of Schottky rectifiers with 100-volt devices
- IR offers 1000A/1800V inverter thyristors for energy-efficient AC motor drives
|
Global Milestones
- The first fax standard is set at one page per minute
- Sony introduces the consumer camcorder
- Voyager 1 sends back images of Saturn and its moons, one billion miles away
- A 25 lb. portable computer is favorite of reporters who send news from field
|
1981
Company Milestones
- Xaloy Metallurgical business segment sold to two sets of private investors
- New HEXFET manufacturing facility opens at 330 Kansas St. in El Segundo, CA
|
Global Milestones
- MS-DOS introduced
- The first IBM PC introduced
- Michell Kapor develops Lotus 1-2-3 for the PC
 The DOS-based IBM PC is introduced
- The laptop computer is introduced by Tandy
- Solarplant One in California is completed, the world’s largest solar power generating station
- The solar-powered airplane "Solar Challenger" makes its maiden flight in the summer
- On April 12, the first reusable space shuttle, the Columbia, marks the first landing of a U.S. spacecraft on land
|
1982
Company Milestones
- IR intensifies its research and development of high power thyristors
|
Global Milestones
- In October, compact disk (CD) players are introduced by CBS/Sony and Philips - the first CD is 52nd Street by Billy Joel.
- Compaq introduces its Portable Computer, the first IBM-PC clone that is portable
- Kodak camera uses film on a disc cassette
|
1983
Company Milestones
- Rachelle fermentation facility put up for sale, following settlement of lawsuit
- IR granted broad, fundamental patents on its power MOSFET technology
 IR Crydom Controls Division introduces the ChipSwitch power IC, its first power interface circuit (PIC)
for use in small lamps, solenoids, valves and high power motor starters
|
Global Milestones
- The first regular U.S. cellular phone system goes into operation
- Compaq builds the first fully compatible IBM clone
- Computer chip holds 288,000 bits of memory
- Audio music cassettes outsell LP records
- Sony and Philips introduce first CD player
|
1984
Company Milestones
 Leon Lidow passes
- Plans for building HEXFET America, a highly-automated, manufacturing facility dedicated to the high-volume, low-cost production of HEXFET power MOSFETs
- IR Crydom Controls Division introduces the Photovoltaic Relay (PVR)
- IR introduces the 10JQ, one of the industry's first and only surface-mount single Schottky rectifier for use in the Sony Walkman and 8mm movie cameras
|
Global Milestones
- CD ROM invented
- The Apple Macintosh is introduced
- Philips and Sony introduce the CD-ROM (compact disk read only memory)
 Apple introduces the Macintosh
- Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to walk in space in July
- A television set can be worn on the wrist
- The one-megabyte memory chip is introduced
|
1985
Company Milestones
- Technology transfer with People's Republic of China
- IR Far East sales office opens in November (wholly-owned branch sales office in Japan)
- IR begins construction of 285,000 sq. ft. HEXFET America facility in Temecula, CA
|
Global Milestones
- Microsoft develops Windows for the PC
- Cellphones go into cars
- Desktop publishing becomes popular
- Sony builds a credit card size radio
- Synthetic text-to-speech computer pronounces 20,000 words
- America Online founded as Quantum Computer Services
|
1986
Company Milestones
- IR sells its remaining holdings in IR Japan
- IR sells Rachelle Labs
 HEXSense introduced
|
Global Milestones
- The largest dam in the world is built in Venezuela to supply electricity to that country
- A subway system controlled by computers using fuzzy logic starts operation in Sendai, Japan
- Voyager 2 sends back images of Uranus
|
1987
Company Milestones
- HEXFET America, first plant to use in-line wafer fabrication, goes into production
- IR enters licensing agreement with Hitachi
- Crydom sold to Silicon Power Cube
- IR is first manufacturer to offer radiation-resistant MOSFETs (RAD-Hard)
- IR introduces first high voltage power IC
|
Global Milestones
- Sega Electronics introduces a three-dimensional video game
- Apple’s Macintosh II and Macintosh SE become the most powerful personal computers available
- IBM offers a computer with VGA, giving a choice of 262,144 colors
- Windows 2.0, MS/OS 2
|
1988
Company Milestones
- IR Japan changes its name to Nihon Inter
- IR2110 Bridge Driver introduced
- IR purchases Secowest and incorporates with IR Italy
- Trade agreement with Sanken
- IR Southeast Asia sales office opens in Singapore
- IR introduces IGBT family that features 50% faster switching without losing conduction efficiency for use in motor control of applications like heating and air conditioning systems and household appliances
|
Global Milestones
- First transatlantic telephone call over fiber optics line
- AT&T develops a transistor that responds to the flow of a single electron
 Sony introduces the Pocket Discman
|
1989
Company Milestones
- IR2100 Buck Converter introduced
- IR announces two divisions: Electronic Products and Power Products
- IR opens sales office in Hong Kong, which becomes the springboard for IR's expansion into the huge Chinese market.
|
Global Milestones
 Voyager 2 sends back images of Neptune
- High definition television introduced
- It didn't quite fit into a shirt pocket, and its non-QWERTY keyboard wasn't the
most intuitive of input devices. But the first Sharp Wizard helped popularize the concept of a
small, lightweight electronic address book and calendar, thereby becoming the
granddaddy of the modern personal digital assistant.
- Philips and Sony bring the videodisc to market
|
1990
Company Milestones
 IR introduces the IR8400P, the industry's first quad high-side switch
- Federal District Court upholds IR cellular MOS structure patents and Siliconix Incorporated pays heavy damages for infringement. They enter into a royalty-bearing license agreement with IR in May.
|
Global Milestones
- The World Wide Web/Internet protocol (HTTP) and WWW language (HTML) created by Tim Berners-Lee.
- Color FAX machines become commercially available
- IBM develops a transistor that can operate at 75 billion cycles per second
- World Wide Web originates at CERN in Europe
|
1991
Company Milestones
- Following the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, IR is one of the first companies to open sales offices in Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland
 IR offers breakthrough IR2121 and IR2125 high voltage current-limiting ICs
|
Global Milestones
- Philips of the Netherlands introduces a light bulb that has no parts that wear out and lasts for 60,000 hours
- Scientists in Japan develop a p-n junction transistor based on diamond that resists ionizing radiation and high temperatures better than conventional transistors
- The Web gets "servers"; planners talk about hypertext and browsers
|
1992
Company Milestones
- IR sets up sales offices in Korea
- IR introduces world's fastest power diode
- IR opens sales offices in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia
- IR introduces the HEXFRED
|
Global Milestones
- IBM develops the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) bipolar transistor for the highest operational frequency ever before achieved
- Text-based browser opens World Wide Web for general usage; new Web terms: HTTP and URL
|
1993
Company Milestones
- IR launches initiative with motor drive chipset
- IR introduces IR6000 high-side power switch
- IR introduces 900V IGBTs
- IR introduces IRSF3010, its first SmartFET
 IR introduces SOT-223 SMT package
- IR introduces Ultrafast 500V IGBTs
|
Global Milestones
- The pentium processor invented.
- March 22, Intel introduces its Pentium microprocessor
- Compaq brings out Concerto, a pen-based notebook PC
- Nokia sends text messages between mobile phones
- HTML introduced as the code for web design
- The first bus powered by a fuel cell was completed in 1993
A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces electricity.
|
1994
Company Milestones
- Manufacturing capacity expansion at HEXFET America
- IR opens representative sales office in Beijing, China and technical support sites in Xi'an and Shanghai.
|
Global Milestones
- Digital satellite TV service, DirecTV, offered in the U.S.
- The HP OfficeJet personal printer-fax-copier for home offices.
- Hewlett Packard combines printer, fax, and copier into one machine.
- Almost 1/3 of all American homes has a computer.
|
1995
Company Milestones
- Company establishes office of the Chairman
- IR's Gen 5 process produces industry's first four-mask power MOSFET
- IR launches development and manufacturing of first joint venture, IR Weigwang, in China
- After IR opens sales office in Russia, it has sales representatives or distributors in Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic States
- IR launches Web site www.irf.com
- IR Canada closes when IR withdraws from the open assemblies business
- IR HEXFET power MOSFETs can be found in the EV-1 anti-lock braking and airbag systems. An IR Schottky module in the power inverter system
converts the DC battery voltage into AC voltage to drive the motor.
|
Global Milestones
- Toy Story is the first totally digital feature-length feature film
- Over 90 percent (by value) of all transactions in the U.S. are made electronically
- The first electric car, the EV-1, is introduced by General Motors
- The Java computer language invented.
- DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) invented.
- Sony demonstrates a flat TV set.
- Computer TouchPad offers substitute for the mouse.
- 15 February, the very first IP (internet) phone is introduced with software launched by Israeli company VocalTec
|
1996
Company Milestones
 IR introduces the FETKY
- IR begins test marketing of "plug-an-play" (IRPT5051) subsystems for industrial, commercial and home appliances
- The secong joint venture in China, IR PERI, begins pilot packaging of IR IGBTs in modules
|
Global Milestones
- Computer makers sell flat-panel displays
- A pocket telephone/computer comes on the market
 The PalmPilot 1000 "personal data assistant" small enough to fit in your shirt pocket
|
1997
Company Milestones
- IR sets up sales office Taiwan
- IR introduces the world's first 1200V control IC (PowIRtrain)
 IR introduces WarpSpeed IGBTs
- IR Mexico relocates to its new 150,000 sq.ft. facility in Tijuana, Mexico
|
Global Milestones
- Palm produces the first handheld device with the Palm OS
- DVDs go on sale
- Daimler Benz and Toyota launch prototype fuel-cell powered cars
|
1998
Company Milestones
- IR Builds Assembly Plant in Wales to Meet Rapid Rise in Demand for Proprietary
Modules
- IR Chip Set First to Meet Intel Laptop Power Guidelines
|
Global Milestones
- HP introduces the Jornada PDA (personal digital assistant)
Apple unveils the colorful iMac computer
|
1999
Company Milestones
- SOIC HEXFET® Power MOSFETs set industry standard for lowest RDS(on)
|
Global Milestones
- The Ikonos satellite can detect an object on Earth as small as a card table
|
2000
Company Milestones
- IR expands analog business with acquisition of Unisem Inc.
- IR introduces a unique motor drive power management architecture called
Accelerator™
- IR expands HiRel proprietary business with the acquisitions of Lambda Advanced
Analog Inc. and Magnitude-3
- International Rectifier purchases Zing Technologies, Inc. and its Wholly-owned
Subsidiary, Omnirel
|
Global Milestones
- AOL buys Time Warner
- Financial disaster for many dot-com companies as venture capital and high stock
prices dry up, resulting in layoffs, bankruptcies, and the nickname "dot bombs"
- Bluetooth lets computers converse via low power radio signals
- Sony Playstation 2 uses DVD for home video games
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2001
Company Milestones
- IR Introduces iPOWIR™ Building Block Technology for Synchronous Buck Converters
- IR launches Chinese language web site
- International Rectifier Expands Power Management Advanced-Circuit Design
Capability with a New Design Center in Quonset Point, Rhode Island
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Global Milestones
- Microsoft xBox and Nintendo Gamecube released
- Apple Computer introduces its new operating system OS-X
Apple introduces iTunes and the iPod on January 10, 2001 at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.
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2002
2003
Company Milestones
- IR takes initiative to produce lead-free products
- IR rings the closing bell on the New York stock exchange
- IR Breaks Ground On New Site in Xi'an China
- IR introduces industry-first, one-amp ultra compact low drop-out regulator for
noise-sensitive circuitry
- IR modules play important role in powering Mars landers, Spirit and Opportunity.
- IR and SANYO form joint venture called IR-SA to drive technological innovation with integrated solutions for
appliance motor control
- IR launches die sales business
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Global Milestones
- After the Columbia disaster, NASA desperately needs a boost, a success that would restore people's faith in
space exploration. This year the agency got two: the twin Mars Exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
- Infrared fever screening system used in public buildings to scan for people with a high temperature from a fever or
SARS, invented by Singapore Technologies Electronics and the Singapore Defense Science and Technology Agency
- Atari Games Corporation (Midway Games West) goes out of business
- Roxio purchases the legal remains of Napster in order to re-release it as
“legitimate”
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2004
Company Milestones
- IR power management technology is onboard Cassini-Huygens Space Mission, orbiting Saturn
- IR acquires ATMI’s epitaxial services operation
- IR opens IC design center in North Carolina
- IR opens HiRel power management research and design center in Denmark
 IR Introduces Industry's First Dual Output, Two-Phase DC-DC Power Blocks
- International Rectifier's XPhase™ Chip Set Wins EDN Innovation of the Year Award
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Global Milestones
- iPod holds 10,000 tunes, but fits into a shirt pocket
- 1.5 billion cell phones worldwide
 RCA sells 61-inch-wide TV sets 6.5 inches thick
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2005
Company Milestones
- IR wins California’s Flex Your Power energy efficiency award
- IR opens new manufacturing facility in Xi'an, China
- IR wins industry environmental award
- IR opens customer service center in Shenzhen, China
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Global Milestones
- 2005 sees a plethora of digital cameras and camcorders, from the Samsung SC-X105L with a remote lens that you can strap to
your helmet to capture your POV while cycling or skiing, to the Pentax Optio WPI that works even if it's under 5 ft. of water for 30 minutes.
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2006
Company Milestones
- The high performance point-of-load (POL) chipset for non-isolated, DC-DC buck converters wins the "Top 10 DC-DC Award"
from Electronic Products China (EPC) magazine.
- International Rectifier Corporation and Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. reach an agreement for the sale of IR's Power Control
Systems (PCS) business to Vishay.
- Reed Electronics Group has selected IR chairman and founder Eric Lidow as this year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement
Award.
- International Rectifier and Vishay Announce Agreement for the Sale of IR's Power Control Systems Business
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Global Milestones
- The global consumer electronics industry has grown by an average 9 percent a year between 2001 and 2005
and factory revenues totaled over $310 billion in 2006, according to market research group iSuppli.
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2007
Company Milestones
- The IRS2136D and the IRMCF341 innovations from IR’s iMOTION™ integrated design platform family have won “Product of the Year” awards from analogZONE, a premier online publication for analog design engineers.
- International Rectifier was selected as a finalist in three EDN Innovation Award categories including Innovator of the Year and two Innovation of the Year award categories. EDN, the premier electronics design magazine, is part of Reed Electronics Group, the electronics industry’s largest global information provider.
- IR finalizes agreements with two semiconductor suppliers, headquartered in different regions of the world, to license International Rectifier’s DirectFET® packaging technology.
- IR’s innovative SmartRectifier™ IC has won the 2006 Analog/Mixed Signal IC Editor’s Choice Market Application Award given by Electronic Engineering and Product World (EEPW).
- International Rectifier completes the previously announced sale of its Power Control Systems (PCS) business to Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. for approximately $290 million in cash.
- The IR1167 SmartRectifier(TM) IC wins an EDN Innovation of the Year Award in the Power IC category.
- International Rectifier chairman and founder Eric Lidow received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the third Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE) Awards Gala, in recognition of his contributions to the power management industry over the last 60 years.
- IR CEO Alex Lidow gives presentation entitled "An Electrified Approach to Energy Conservation" at the PCIM Conference in Nuremberg, Germany; where he highlighted the need for effective use of Power Management Technologies
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Global Milestones
- It may be years before you can buy a Chevy powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Tired of waiting?, Shanghai-based Horizon Fuel
Cell Technologies decided to design and market the H-racer, a 6-in.-long toy car that does what Detroit still can't. It runs
on hydrogen extracted from plain tap water using the solar-powered Hydrogen Station, and can travel more than 300 ft.
in a single fuel-up. The car's miniature scale gives it one advantage over full-size prototypes: since it uses only a trace
amount of flammable hydrogen, there's no risk of it pulling a Hindenburg in your living room.
- Today's hybrids are all basically the same: they're powered by a conventional gasoline engine and drivetrain, or they're
running on electric power. The car's computer brain decides which, depending on driving conditions and how much charge you have
in your batteries. The Chevy Volt, a concept car, is an aggressive-looking four-door sedan running on what Chevrolet
calls its E-Flex platform. The Volt has both a fuel-burning engine -- which can be configured to run on gasoline, E85 or
biodiesel -- and an electric drive. But unlike the current hybrids, the internal combustion engine isn't connected to the
drivetrain: it charges the batteries. It's a full-on electric vehicle with range-extending capabilities.
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IR introduces the Unistac TV 500 silicon rectifier, a universal replacement for selenium stack rectifiers
Tube base mounted silicon rectifiers
replace certain vacuum tubes
IR supplies 12F20 12-amp diode for Sylvania's Sun Gun flood light
On July 10, Telstar, the first active communications satellite is launched
Fuel injection for automobile engines is developed in Great Britain
IR acquires Crydom Controls Division
The first computer is made with integrated circuits
IR Introduces DirectFET MOSFET power packaging technology
The first commercially successful domestic robot, the iRobot Roomba Intelligent Floorvac, is introduced
