Cypress Semiconductor
Encyclopedia
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 development of high speed CMOS
SRAM
s, EEPROM
s, PAL device
s, and TTL logic devices. Two years after going public the company switched from the NASDAQ
to the New York Stock Exchange. In October 2009, the company announced it would switch its listing to the NASDAQ on November 12, 2009. Its headquarters are in San Jose, California
, and it has divisions in the United States
, Ireland
, India
and the Philippines
as well as a fabrication plant in Minnesota.
Some of its main competitors include Microchip Technology
, Integrated Device Technology
, Samsung Electronics
, and Xilinx
.
In addition, Cypress has incorporated some of its technology into subsidiaries, in order to speed up development of such products as the PSoC
Programmable System-on-Chip (SoC) that integrates analog and digital components with a microcontroller on a single chip to form a complete solution for embedded system
s. In November 0f 2011, Cypress also backed a packaging firm called Deca Technologies, Inc.
, and Second Harvest Food Bank.
AgigaTech, Inc. sells non-volatile random-access memory (RAM
) and is based in San Diego, California. It was acquired during the Simtek purchase in August 2008, and marks the second time that Cypress acquired a start-up venture from founder, Ron Sartore (who co-founded Anchor Chips as well.)
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
-based semiconductor design and manufacturing company founded by T. J. Rodgers
T. J. Rodgers
Thurman John Rodgers, better known as T.J. Rodgers, is the founder and chief executive officer of Cypress Semiconductor. He is known for his public relations acumen, brash personality, and strong advocacy of laissez-faire capitalism.-Early life:...
and others from Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
. It was formed in 1982 with backing by Sevin Rosen
Sevin Rosen Funds
Sevin Rosen Funds is a venture capital firm that was established in 1980 by L. J. Sevin and Ben Rosen. SRF was involved in the financing of Citrix, Cypress Semiconductor, Electronic Arts, Lotus Development Corporation, Silicon Graphics, and Vitesse Semiconductor...
and went public
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
in 1986. The company initially focused on the design and development of high speed CMOS
CMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits...
SRAM
Static random access memory
Static random-access memory is a type of semiconductor memory where the word static indicates that, unlike dynamic RAM , it does not need to be periodically refreshed, as SRAM uses bistable latching circuitry to store each bit...
s, EEPROM
EEPROM
EEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory and is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices to store small amounts of data that must be saved when power is removed, e.g., calibration...
s, PAL device
Programmable Array Logic
The term Programmable Array Logic is used to describe a family of programmable logic device semiconductors used to implement logic functions in digital circuits introduced by Monolithic Memories, Inc. in March 1978. MMI obtained a registered trademark on the term PAL for use in "Programmable...
s, and TTL logic devices. Two years after going public the company switched from the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
to the New York Stock Exchange. In October 2009, the company announced it would switch its listing to the NASDAQ on November 12, 2009. Its headquarters are in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, and it has divisions in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
as well as a fabrication plant in Minnesota.
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...
, 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...
, Samsung Electronics
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, 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....
.
Acquisition strategy
Since its founding, Cypress has acted as an incubator for wholly owned subsidiaries which are given a degree of autonomy and has acquired other small technology companies. Since the mid-2000s these acquisitions have included:- Timing Technology:
- IC Design
- IC Works
- International Microcircuits Inc.
- USB Technology:
- Anchor Chips
- In-System Design
- ScanLogic
- SRAMStatic random access memoryStatic random-access memory is a type of semiconductor memory where the word static indicates that, unlike dynamic RAM , it does not need to be periodically refreshed, as SRAM uses bistable latching circuitry to store each bit...
Technology:- Galvantech, Inc.
- Cascade Semiconductor Corporation
- Simtek
- Radio FrequencyRadio frequencyRadio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
Technology:- Alation
- RadioCom
- Solar CellSolar cellA solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
Technology (distributed to CY shareholders in 2008 as SPWRB stock)- SunPowerSunPowerSunPower Corporation designs and manufactures high-efficiency crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, roof tiles and solar panels based on a silicon all-back-contact solar cell invented at Stanford University. SunPower Corporation is publicly traded on the NASDAQ as SPWRA and SPWRB...
- PowerLight
- SunPower
- Image SensorImage sensorAn image sensor is a device that converts an optical image into an electronic signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices...
s- Silicon Light Machines
- FillFactory
- SMaL Camera Technologies(Sold to Sensata Technologies in 2007)
- Datacom/Telecom
- Arcus
- Silicon Packets
- Lara Networks
- HiBand Semiconductors
In addition, Cypress has incorporated some of its technology into subsidiaries, in order to speed up development of such products as the PSoC
PSoC
PSoC is a family of integrated circuits made by Cypress Semiconductor. These chips include a CPU and mixed-signal arrays of configurable integrated analog and digital peripherals.- History :...
Programmable System-on-Chip (SoC) that integrates analog and digital components with a microcontroller on a single chip to form a complete solution for embedded system
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...
s. In November 0f 2011, Cypress also backed a packaging firm called Deca Technologies, Inc.
Major product offerings
- Cypress TrueTouch Multi-touchMulti-touchIn computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface...
Sensing Systems - PSoCPSoCPSoC is a family of integrated circuits made by Cypress Semiconductor. These chips include a CPU and mixed-signal arrays of configurable integrated analog and digital peripherals.- History :...
a software configured, mixed-signal array with a built-in MCU core - General Purpose Programmable Clock generatorClock generatorA clock generator is a circuit that produces a timing signal for use in synchronizing a circuit's operation. The signal can range from a simple symmetrical square wave to more complex arrangements...
s - Control CommunicationsControl communicationsIn telecommunication, control communications is the branch of technology devoted to the design, development, and application of communications facilities used specifically for control purposes, such as for controlling industrial processes, movement of resources, electric power generation,...
- Image sensorImage sensorAn image sensor is a device that converts an optical image into an electronic signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices...
s - MemoryMemoryIn psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
- Optical Sensors
- Physical LayerPhysical layerThe physical layer or layer 1 is the first and lowest layer in the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking. The implementation of this layer is often termed PHY....
Devices - Programmable Logic DeviceProgrammable logic deviceA programmable logic device or PLD is an electronic component used to build reconfigurable digital circuits. Unlike a logic gate, which has a fixed function, a PLD has an undefined function at the time of manufacture...
s - Universal Serial BusUniversal Serial BusUSB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
- West BridgeWest BridgeThe West Bridge is a growing architectural approach, originally developed by Cypress Semiconductor, which enhances and modularizes a peripheral controller in an embedded computer architecture. Conceptually, the West Bridge parallels and complements the decentralization represented by the North...
ultra high-speed peripheral controllers - WirelessWirelessWireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
- CyFi 2.4 GHz RF Solution
Locations
Cypress is headquartered in San Jose, CA and has manufacturing plants and design facilities in the United States (including San Jose CA, Lynnwood WA, Colorado Springs CO, Bloomington MN, Lexington KY, San Diego CA, Beaverton OR), the Philippines (Manila), India (Bangalore, Chennai), China (Shanghai), and Ireland (Cork). Former sites which have been closed down include Hyderabad (India), UK (London), as well as several in the United States (Austin TX, Round Rock TX, Nashua NH, Starkville MS, Boise ID, Boston MA, and Moscow ID). Cypress has divested a large portion of its San Jose campus to SVTC, SunPowerSunPower
SunPower Corporation designs and manufactures high-efficiency crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, roof tiles and solar panels based on a silicon all-back-contact solar cell invented at Stanford University. SunPower Corporation is publicly traded on the NASDAQ as SPWRA and SPWRB...
, and Second Harvest Food Bank.
Subsidiaries
Cypress Envirosystems provides products and solutions that save energy and improve productivity for older plants and buildings. The subsidiary is based in San Jose, California. The formation of Cypress Envirosystems was announced in January 2009.AgigaTech, Inc. sells non-volatile random-access memory (RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
) and is based in San Diego, California. It was acquired during the Simtek purchase in August 2008, and marks the second time that Cypress acquired a start-up venture from founder, Ron Sartore (who co-founded Anchor Chips as well.)
See also
- SunPowerSunPowerSunPower Corporation designs and manufactures high-efficiency crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, roof tiles and solar panels based on a silicon all-back-contact solar cell invented at Stanford University. SunPower Corporation is publicly traded on the NASDAQ as SPWRA and SPWRB...
- Warp (Cypress)Warp (Cypress)Warp is a VHDL low cost development system for CPLD by Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. The cost is low because of its simple architecture...
- List of semiconductor fabrication plants