SGS (''Società Generale Semiconduttori'',
English: ''General Semiconductor Company'') was an Italian manufacturer of
semiconductor devices
A semiconductor device is an electronic component that relies on the electronics, electronic properties of a semiconductor material (primarily silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well as organic semiconductors) for its function. Its co ...
, most notably
diodes
A diode is a two- terminal electronic component that conducts electric current primarily in one direction (asymmetric conductance). It has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other.
...
,
transistors
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...
and
DIP ICs.
History
In 1957,
Mario Tchou, an engineer from
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been owned b ...
, convinced
Adriano Olivetti
Adriano Olivetti (11 April 1901 – 27 February 1960) was an Italian engineer, entrepreneur, politician, and industrialist. He was known worldwide during his lifetime as the Italian manufacturer of Olivetti brand typewriters, calculators, and com ...
to found an Italian electronic manufacturing company for production of
solid-state electronic
Solid-state electronics are semiconductor electronics: electronic equipment that use semiconductor devices such as transistors, diodes and integrated circuits (ICs). The term is also used as an adjective for devices in which semiconductor electr ...
devices. Olivetti sent his son Roberto Olivetti and Mario Tchou to negotiate with Virgilio Floriani, president of Telettra, to establish a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
. Within the same year, Olivetti and Telettra founded ''Società Generale Semiconduttori'' (SGS). One of the reasons for SGS's foundation was the need of parts (diodes and transistors in particular) for
Elea, a
mainframe
A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...
that was being developed by Olivetti. The headquarters of the company was located in
Agrate Brianza
Agrate Brianza ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan.
Notable people
* Clement Vismara (1897–1988), missionary
* Valentino Giambel ...
.
In 1960,
Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. was an American semiconductor company based in San Jose, California. It was founded in 1957 as a division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument by the " traitorous eight" who defected from Shockley Semi ...
acquired one third of the company and a joint venture called SGS-Fairchild was formed. That gave SGS access to Fairchild's newly invented
planar manufacturing technology.
The partnership ended in 1968 and Fairchild sold its SGS stocks to IRI-STET, predecessor of
TIM.
In December 1971, SGS merged with an Italian semiconductor company named ATES and forms SGS-ATES. On 23 April 1985, the company changes its name to SGS Microelettronica. 2 years later, SGS Microelettronica merged with
Thomson Semiconductors to form SGS-Thomson, which later became
STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics Naamloze vennootschap, NV (commonly referred to as ST or STMicro) is a European multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the largest of such companies in Europe. ...
in 1998.
See also
*
Leonardo
*
Zilog
Zilog, Inc. is an American manufacturer of microprocessors, microcontrollers, and application-specific embedded System on a chip, system-on-chip (SoC) products.
The company was founded in 1974 by Federico Faggin and Ralph Ungermann, who were soo ...
*
Mostek
Mostek Corporation was a semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturer, founded in 1969 by L. J. Sevin, Louay E. Sharif, Richard L. Petritz and other ex-employees of Texas Instruments. At its peak in the late 1970s, Mostek held an 85% market sh ...
*
Thomson-CSF
Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market.
Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Hous ...
References
{{Reflist
Electronics companies established in 1957
Electronics companies of Italy