TEXAS INSTRUMENTS COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR.

Texas Instruments completes acquisition of National Semiconductor

National becomes part of TI's Analog business and expands company's ability to deliver more products, expertise and support for customers

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today announced the acquisition of National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) is complete.
"National is now a strategic part of TI's Analog growth engine. Together, we're focused on accelerating semiconductor innovation to improve performance and power efficiency for our customers' electronic systems," said Rich Templeton, TI's chairman, president and chief executive officer.
More than 5,000 National employees will immediately become part of TI. The two companies will begin the work to integrate National as a unit of TI's Analog business, which will have a combined portfolio of nearly 45,000 analog products, strong customer design tools, and a sales force that is 10 times larger than National's previous footprint.
"The closing of this transaction allows TI to expand its market presence with more leading-edge analog products, greater manufacturing capacity, and the largest sales and applications team in the industry. Together, we will serve more customers in more markets," Templeton said.
The transaction, announced on April 4, 2011, cleared all required regulatory reviews and was approved by National's shareholders. TI will include National's contribution to financial performance in the company's third-quarter earnings announcement on October 24.
With today's close, TI's Analog semiconductor business now represents more than 50 percent of the company's revenue.
TI will continue to operate National's manufacturing sites, located in Maine, Scotland and Malaysia, as well as business headquarters in Santa Clara and sales/design support around the world.
For more information, see www.ti.com/deliveringmoretogether
History:

• Founded in 1930 as a geophysical exploration company that used seismic signal processing technology to search for oil
• Adopted the name Texas Instruments Incorporated in 1951
• Introduced the first commercial silicon transistor in 1954.

Patents:

• TI patents issued worldwide cumulatively: more than 38,000
• 2010 TI patents issued worldwide: more than 1,200.

• TI was the first semiconductor company to go global.
• TI’s analog chips are used in electronics ranging from portable ultrasound equipment to set-top boxes, from eBooks to computer servers, and from robotics to LED streetlights.
• A single 100-watt light bulb consumes as much power as 60 million MSP430™ microcontrollers.
• TI connectivity chips power about 50 percent of all mobile phone Wi-Fi connections.
• TI has shipped more than 1 billion wireless connectivity chipsets to date.
• TI’s Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit in 1958.
• TI invented the handheld calculator in 1967.
• The use of graphing calculators leads to significantly better student attitudes toward math.
• DLP® imaging technology is so flexible it can light up a 100-foot movie screen or project an image from a cell phone.
• TI has won two Emmy® Awards for DLP technology.
• TI was the first semiconductor company to earn certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for constructing environmentally responsible manufacturing facilities.
• TI recycled 95 percent of its total waste worldwide in 2010.

National Semiconductor Birth of Industry and Silicon Valley

The analog industry was started by pioneering engineers such as National’s Bob Widlar. In 1967, National developed the first integrated voltage regulator, the LM100. National went on to develop the industry’s first modern operational amplifier (LM101), which is still in use today. National developed the first band-gap voltage reference (LM113) and the first low-dropout (LDO) regulator (LM2930). Over time, the analog industry has grown to $37.5 billion in worldwide revenue, driven by some of the industry’s most profitable companies. Many of these companies can trace their histories back to products, packaging technology and processes -- as well as people -- from National Semiconductor.
National Semiconductor founded May 27, 1959Eight former engineers from Sperry Rand Corporation founded National Semiconductor in Danbury, Connecticut, on May 27, 1959, to make the new silicon transistors.
1966 Peter Sprague named chairman
Young entrepreneur Peter Sprague notices the fledging transistor startup and provides the funding to help the company move forward. Sprague is named chairman and appoints CEO Charlie Sporck. National moves into production of silicon diffused-junction transistors and hybrid integrated circuits.
1967 CEO Charlie Sporck initiates headquarters move to Silicon Valley
Charlie Sporck moves company headquarters to Silicon Valley, from Danbury, Connecticut, to Santa Clara, California, as a pioneer of developing today's Silicon Valley.
1967 Launches industry’s first voltage regulator and operational amplifier ICs
National’s acquisition of Molectro Corporation paves its entry into the monolithic integrated circuit market and lays the foundation for two of the company’s most successful and enduring businesses – power management and operational amplifiers. Robert Widlar, who joined National from Molectro, designs the first integrated circuit, the LM100 voltage regulator. He also designs the industry’s first operational amplifier with today’s modern architecture, the LM101, which uses a modern input stage with high gain and the industry’s first fully integrated, monolithic voltage regulator, the LM109, which gained wide acceptance and led to National’s large industry portfolio of linear regulators.
1971 Develops industry’s first band-gap voltage reference
In 1971, Robert Widlar introduces the LM113, the industry’s first band-gap reference. Prior to the debut of the bandgap reference, designers had to put up with noisy, drifty, higher-voltage Zener diodes. The LM113 used conventional junction-isolated bipolar IC technology to make a stable low-voltage (1.220 V) reference. This type of reference becomes popular as a stable voltage reference for low-voltage circuits, such as in 5V data acquisition systems where zener diodes were not suitable.

The Cold War & the Space Race Era

Growth in the early days of the industry was driven by the Cold War and the Space Race. Robust integrated circuits allowed lightweight payloads to exit the atmosphere and survive in harsh environments. National’s highly reliable products were used in 32 NASA programs, including the Venus probe and the Mars Rover, which is still roving the surface and sending back photos today.
1961 Launches Mil-Aerospace businessNational ships 85% of its transistors to military accounts, laying the foundation for National’s continued successful military and aerospace business.
1962 Launches INCH volume ICs as one of the first volume production ICs on space probeNational launches the INCH™ integrated chopper in 1962, one of the first volume production ICs used on a space probe, including the Mariner Venus flight - the first flight to study another planet.
1970: Develops linear circuits for 32 NASA space and missile programsIn 1969 National’s linear circuits are used in 32 U.S. space and missile programs. National receives NASA’s line certification, one of the military’s most rigid IC production qualifications. In addition, the company established the industry’s first standard high-reliability IC product line – circuits processed to a rigorous military standard and placed in inventory for immediate shipment.

Mainframes and Telecom Era

1973 Introduces the industry’s first single-card 16-bit µPNational introduces the first single-card 16-bit microprocessor, the IMP-16C in 1973. It consisted of a 16-bit microprocessor, clock system, input/output bus drivers, 256 words of read/write memory. The next year it introduces the IMP-8, an 8-bit single-card microprocessor. With these low-cost, small-size and powerful microprocessor cards, National’s products move further into computer-oriented equipment such as data terminals, test systems, communication equipment, process controllers, and peripheral device controllers.
1973 Introduces Datachecker point-of-sale terminals (POS)National’s DataChecker point-of-sale terminal systems began popping up in retail and grocery stores, growing the business into worldwide leadership in the manufacture, sale, and service of point-of-sale systems. In a few short years, National’s DataChecker point-of-sale systems enhanced the operation of mainframe computers by gathering data to monitor electrical power usage, labor and inventory control, shrinkage control, and other useful efficiencies. Power management systems sharply reduced electrical consumption that plagued supermarket operations, and computer controls using an advanced range of sensors regulated traditional power-eaters such as lighting, heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration units.
1973 Creates advanced “Epoxy B” packaging formulation enabling industry volume production of chipsNational introduces an innovative molded package called “Epoxy B,” which upgraded the reliability of the low-cost molded dual in-line package (DIP). Epoxy B practically eliminates thermal intermittent open connections which had previously created costly reject rates during production testing. Epoxy B also has better moisture resistance than previous epoxies, making it useful for telco and national defense/aerospace applications.
1976 Builds IBM compatible mainframe computersNational leverages its microprocessor and memory expertise and products to build its own mainframe computers. Itel contracted with National and Hitachi in 1976 to build and sell IBM-compatible mainframe computers. National shipped its 100th IBM 370 compatible mainframe computer 14 months later. Due to its success, National forms the Advanced Systems Division in 1980, dedicated to selling its IBM-compatible mainframes, and ships more than 900 mainframes three years later to more than 2,000 customer sites. NAS shifted from manufacturing mainframes and began marketing IBM-compatible systems from Hitachi. NAS is sold to Hitachi Data Systems in 1989.
1977/78 First semiconductor company to deliver CODEC devicesUntil the late 1970s, digital switching and transmission in the telephone system had been expensive, high-speed discrete systems which handle as many as 20 lines. National is the first company to develop and deliver to several telephone companies worldwide a more efficient and lower-cost way of performing this conversion on a line-by-line basis: Bi-FET/CMOS monolithic CODEC (coder/decoder) devices, which convert voice signals to a standardized digital code and back. National also supports the telephone marketplace with a product line that includes signal filters, modems, and touchtone generators and receivers.
1980 Digitalker™ speech synthesizerDataChecker Digitalker™ technology introduced first speech synthesizer, consisting of random access memory (RAM) and a speech processor. Two years later, designers used DataChecker's POSitalker™ technology to build cash registers that call out prices in a clear human voice.

Early Consumer Electronics Era

Launches consumer devices
Leading IC makers begin to develop vertically into consumer products as they work to replace electromechanical devices. National is a leader in consumer electronics products, producing watches and video games that leveraged our competences in ICs and LEDs. Handheld calculators and digital watch lines under the Novus name are introduced in 1973. In 1974 National introduces 16 families of power transistors, including the Durawatt series of horizontal drivers, video, and chroma outputs for the U.S. color TV industry.
Enters LED marketIn 1972, the company entered the light-emitting diode (LED) and custom circuit business.
Helps with automotive safetyIn 1973, National contributed to automotive control and safety devices, including programs for fuel injection, seat belt interlocks, and anti-skid controls. By 1976, the company is working with every major automobile manufacturer on a variety of programs with transducer ICs, transistors and microprocessors.
Introduces all-IC calculatorNational introduces one of the first all-IC calculators.
One of the first major electronics companies to enter gaming and electronic toy marketsIn 1975 National became one of the first major electronics companies to enter the toy and game market with electronic video games with the introduction of the Whiz Kid and Quiz Kid educational toys. In 1977 the company introduced its Adversary TV add-on video game series.
Invents Bi-FET ProcessNational engineers invent the Bi-FET product technology, which combines junction field transistors with bipolar transistors on a single chip. This pairing achieves performance previously attained only by expensive hybrid circuits or combinations of various discrete components. This technology allows National to introduce an entirely new product line aimed at data acquisition, a market not previously served by integrated circuits.
Launches telecom Combo coding/decoding/filtering deviceCOMBO I, which combined coding/decoding and filtering functions in the same device, is used on nearly half of the world's non-captive analog line cards, or about 200 million telephones. At the same time, National’s NSVOICE provides customers with a complete solution for digital answering machines.
First integrated ADC1978/79 National introduces the first single-chip data acquisition system, the ADC0816. National was an early leader in using metal-gate CMOS (metal gate) for data acquisition.

The PC Era

The PC era drove the next significant growth phase for the industry. In addition to being the first company to develop a full 32-bit microprocessor, National led the industry in the development of mixed-signal interface and communication devices, such as the first 10 Megabit-per-second (Mb/s) Ethernet chips, which were to become the industry’s de facto standard. National also pioneered Low-Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS), now a worldwide standard interface used in notebook PCs, LCD displays and a wide variety of multi-media applications.
1981 Launches industry’s first silicon-gate advanced CMOS uPIn 1981 the NSC800™, the industry's first silicon-gate advanced CMOS microprocessor, is introduced.
1984 Launches industry’s first 32-bit central processing unit (CPU)In 1984, National introduces the NS32032, the world’s first commercial full 32-bit microprocessor. National also introduces 256K dynamic RAM (DRAM).
1986 First junction-isolated Vertically Integrated PNP (VIP) process drives new thin-film transistor (TFT) flat-panel displaysThe Vertically Integrated PNP (VIP) process for high-performance linear circuits drives new thin-film transistor (TFT) flat-panel displays. Five years later, National’s Arlington, Texas, fabrication facility develops the VIP10 process, a high-speed, dielectrically-isolated, complementary bipolar process, to design the most power-efficient, performance-oriented high-speed amplifiers. This process, as well as the VIP50 silicon-on-insulator BiCMOS process, continues to provide dramatic improvements in power consumption and noise levels.
1987 Acquires Fairchild SemiconductorIn 1987, National acquired Fairchild Semiconductor for $122 million from Schlumberger Ltd. the following year to strengthen its technology portfolio and production capability with additional wafer fabrication and assembly facilities as well as new processes. National sold majority ownership of Fairchild to a private equity group in 1997.
1998 Joins with Acer to integrate critical PC functions into Super I/O chipMouse over: In 1998, National formed a strategic alliance with Acer to create the Super I/O controller chip, which pulled one half dozen critical functions common to all computers into a single chip. The Super I/O later becomes a PC industry standard with National as the leading supplier of integrated Super I/O products, having shipped more than 137 million units in 10 years.

Connected PC and the Internet Era

1990 Establishes industry’s first Power Management GroupNational redefines the meaning of power management, addressing the complexity and increasing importance of modern power supply design. Recognizing the growing complexity in power supply design beyond simple voltage regulation toward complete power management of varying power domains, National organized the industry’s first Power Management Group.
1990 Introduces design software-enabled SIMPLE SWITCHER regulatorsThe first family of its kind, National introduces design software-enabled SIMPLE SWITCHER® regulators to enable circuit designers with little experience in switch-mode power design to build their power supplies – and in less time. The devices included an easy, step-by-step guide for selection of critical external components. These products continue to be popular with design engineers nearly 20 years later. The portfolio of more than 500 products includes a variety of feature-set, packaging, voltage, and current options.
1990 Launches industry’s First 10 Mbps TransceiverNational’s chipset becomes the defacto standard for 10 Mb/s (IEEE 802.3) Ethernet. Novell introduces the NE2000 NIC based on a National reference design comprising DP8390 (NIC), DP8391 (SNI), DP8392 (CTI). The success of this card, and subsequent clones, is widely recognized as establishing Ethernet as the most widely used local area networking (LAN) standard still in use today.
1992 Invents Low-Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS)Now a worldwide standard, National develops Low-Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS), a high-speed (>155.5 Mbps), low-power, general-purpose interface standard that solves the physical layer bottleneck problems in transferring data quickly. Growth in high-end processors, multimedia, virtual reality and networking demanded more bandwidth than ever before. But point-to-point physical layer interfaces were not dealing with moving information at the data rates required and were too expensive. National helped standardize LVDS in 1994 and developed many industry firsts including FPD Link, Channel-Link, military-grade LVDS, and even the first stand-alone line driver/receiver standard products.
1994 Boomer® Audio amplifiers debut in PCsNational’s Boomer® audio amplifiers debuted in PC and Macintosh computers. This family of audio power amplifiers provided high-quality output power with a minimal number of external components. Four years later, National added a high-performance audio amplifier for multimedia laptop computers to its family of high-efficiency, quality-sound Boomer audio amplifiers. (generic laptop
1995 Launches industry’s first Fast Ethernet (10/100 Mbps) transceiverIn 1994 National’s N-Way protocol is adopted by the IEEE 802.3 working group as the standard for auto negotiation of speed and duplex. This standard subsequently fuels the migration to 100 Mb/s Ethernet. National launches the industry’s first Fast Ethernet (10/100 Mb/s) transceiver one year later. The DP8340 (PHY) + DP83223 (Twister) combination, incorporating N-Way, is first demonstrated at Networld Interop in March 1995. Two years later National launches the PHYTER transceiver, the industry’s first integrated 10/100 Mbps transceiver. This lowest-power single-chip CMOS physical layer and transceiver solution allows for easy implementation of 10/100 Mbps Ethernet local area networks (LANs).
1998 Integrates PC system on a single chipNational buys Cyrix for its integrated (audio and video) processor technology to help build information appliances using a "PC on a chip." Seven other companies are acquired to help build systems. This effort in 1998 replaces the dozen or more separate chips typically found in a PC, dramatically lowering the cost for PC manufacturers and their customers, as well as improving performance.
1998 Information appliances using the Geode processorNational’s system-on-a-chip for information appliances create a new class of consumer products with push-button simplicity, delivering the information…anywhere, anytime. Information appliances are the industry's first conceptual designs for low-cost, portable, wireless consumer device for Internet access. It allowed users to effortlessly surf the Web or read and send email from anywhere around the home or office, and is widely considered the predecessor to many of today’s multimedia devices.
2000 Releases WEBENCH® online design environment for power suppliesNational released the free WEBENCH online design environment for power supplies and wireless phase-locked loops to give time back to busy engineers by accelerating design cycles through automated design creation. Readers of Electronic Design magazine named the WEBENCH online design tool its 2001 Innovation of the Year competition in the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tool category.

Late 90s to 2000s: Wireless Phones and Portable Devices Era

The next growth phase for the semiconductor industry was the rapid adoption of cellular phones and other mobile devices. National led the industry with the development of ultra-small packages (SOT23-5, micro SMD and LLP®) used in mobile power, audio, amplifier and interface products. The first true-color mobile displays were enabled by National’s breakthrough white LED drivers. As users demanded rich audio, National developed Boomer® audio amplifiersMobile Pixel Link (MPL) providing high-quality sound at low power. National enabled breakthrough products with full-sized, touchscreen displays through its development of the interface and display driver technology. National’s power technology extended the battery life of mobile devices, and National continues to be the market leader in innovative mobile power solutions.
1981 Invents micropower low dropout regulator for mobile phones and notebooksMouse over: In 1981 National invents the industry’s first low dropout regulator (LDO), the LM2930, for the automotive market. Four years later, the company releases the industry’s first micropower LDO to address the growing notebook computer and nascent mobile phone markets. This expertise forms the basis for National’s leadership in power management in the handset market, leading to the industry’s first SOT LDO, the LP2980, in 1995.
1985 Launches industry’s first high-performance CMOS op ampNational launches the first high-performance CMOS operational amplifier, the LMC660, which had a rail-to-rail output stage and other unique specifications. CMOS was viewed as great for digital but not for analog, and this litmus test showed the industry that designers could do full mixed-signal chips in CMOS. This discovery creates a new product genre and becomes the basis for National’s current operational amplifier group.
1993 Develops industry’s first DECT ICsNational introduces the industry's first chipset meeting the Digital European Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard for cordless phone.
1998 Launches world’s smallest operational amplifier to extend battery lifeNational introduces the LMV321, the industry’s smallest ever operational amplifier and the first integrated circuit to be packaged in the miniature SC70-5 package, now taking only half the space in a portable device of previous products. The package is about the size of a flake of coarse-ground pepper.
2001 Industry’s 1st White LED DriverNational launches the world’s first drivers for white light-emitting diode (LED) display lighting, the LM2791 and LM2792, which bring true-color mobile displays to consumers by dynamically controlling the brightness for new effects. Up to that point, designers used discrete drivers or built from general-purpose components. The white LED driver has become a standard in mobile products, and National has continued to grow its portfolio to also include white LED flash drivers and RGB drivers.
2002 Focuses its business on high-performance analogStarting in 2002, National focuses on its high-performance analog business by divesting its digital technologies such as Super I/O and imaging. The company reorganized around standard analog, resulting in gross margin improvements and a tripling of its stock price over the next five years.
2005 Introduces first audio subsystem with digital and analog input pathsNational introduces the LM4934 Boomer® stereo audio subsystem, the industry’s first subsystem to incorporate both digital and analog input paths for multimedia, smart and voice-over-Internet procotol (VoIP) phones.

Energy Era

Today, non-mobile electronic systems faced similar issues with heat dissipation, space constraints and the rising cost of energy. For example, data centers housing thousands of servers grapple with the cost of powering and cooling these energy-hungry systems. While previous generations of systems focused on performance at all costs, the industry is now focused on balancing performance with power consumption. In 2003, National led the way with the development of PowerWise® Adaptive Voltage Scaling (AVS), a technology for intelligently reducing the power consumption of digital systems by up to two-thirds. National continues to lead the industry with the development of its PowerWise® products and subsystems. Turning to the creation of renewable energy and leveraging its strength in analog power management, National has developed SolarMagic™ power optimizers. This new category of product dramatically improves the energy output of solar arrays by intelligently distributing power electronics within solar installations.
Energy Consumption
2005 PowerWise Adaptive Voltage Scaling reduces device power consumption up to 70 percentNational introduces Adaptive Voltage Scaling (AVS) technology. This patented sub-system for reducing the power consumption of digital processors (ASICs and FPGAs) by up to 70% utilizes a closed-loop communication and power control system whereby each individual processor die is allowed to run at its specific lowest possible power while maintaining a fixed level of performance. National's licenses this IP to digital partners and sells complementary power ICs called Energy Management Units (EMUs) to end customers.
2007 PowerWise family of energy-efficient products and subsystems introducedWith a long-term focus on energy creation, storage, and consumption, National developed its PowerWise family of energy-efficiency products and subsystems. These products with outstanding performance-to-power ratios help design engineers identify optimal solutions for energy-efficient systems.
Energy Creation
2008 Launches SolarMagic technology to maximize solar panel energy production
Mouse over: National announces SolarMagic™ technology to maximize solar panel energy production. SolarMagic technology recoups up to 50 percent of energy lost due t.como real-world condition such as shade and debris. National acquires Act Solar, expanding its portfolio of power optimization technologies along with the acquisition of new diagnostics and panel monitoring capabilities for solar arrays.