History

Texas Instruments was founded by Cecil H. Green, J. Erik Jonsson, Eugene McDermott, and Patrick E. Haggerty. On December 6, 1941, they purchased Geophysical Service Incorporated (GSI), a pioneering provider of seismic exploration services to the petroleum industry. During World War II, GSI built electronics for the U.S. Army Signal Corps and the U.S. Navy. After the war, GSI continued to produce electronics, and in 1951 the company changed its name to Texas Instruments; GSI became 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 weapons testing from outcrop bedrock found in Oklahoma.

Geophysical Service Incorporated

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.

 

Defense electronics

TI was also active in the defense 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 Aperatus Division, the Equipment Group and the Defense Systems & Electronics Group (DSEG). The following are some of the major programs of the former TI defense group.

Radar systems

TI went on to produce side-looking radar systems, the first terrain following radar and surveillance radar systems for both the military and FAA. In 1967 TI demonstrated the first solid-state radar — 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 Raytheo.

Infrared systems

In 1956 TI began research on infrared technology that lead 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.

 

Missiles

In 1961 TI won the guidance and control system contract for the defense suppression AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile. This lead later to the prime on the high-speed anti-radiation missile (AGM-88 HARM) development contact in 1974 and production in 1981. In 1969 TI won the (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 AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (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 Program. In 1991 TI won the F-22 Radar and Computer development contract.

 

Laser-guided bombs

In 1964 TI began development of the first laser guidance system for bombs leading to the Paveway series of laser-guided bombs.

As the defense industry consolidated, TI sold its defense business to Raytheon in 1997. DSEG was known initially as Raytheon TI Systems (RTIS)[2]. It is now fully integrated into Raytheon.

Semiconductors

 

Early in 1952 Texas Instruments purchased a patent license to produce (germainum) transistors from Western 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, NJ but was from Dallas desired to return to his native Texas.

Teal started at TI on 1 January 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.

First silicon transistor

In April 1954 TI created the first commericial silicon transistor and tested it on 14 April, 1954. On 10 May, 1954 at the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) National Conference on Airborne Electronics, in Dayton, Ohio, Teal revealed this achievement to the world when he announced, "Contrary to what my colleagues have told you about the bleak prospects for silicon transistors. I happen to have a few of them here in my pocket." Teal also presented a paper, "Some Recent Developments in Silicon and Germanium Materials and Devices," at this conference.[3] At this point TI stood alone as the first volume manufacturer of silicon transistors.

In 1954, Texas Instruments designed and manufactured the first transistor radio. The Regency TR1 used germanium transistors, as silicon transistors were much more expensive at the time. This was a effort by Haggerty to increase market demand for transistors.

First integrated circuit

Employee Jack Kilby while working at TI's Central Research Labs invented the integrated circuit in 1958.

Standard TTL

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. Texas Instruments invented the hand-held calculator in 1967, the single-chip microcomputer in 1971 and was assigned the first patent on a single-chip microprocessor (invented by Gary Boone) in 1973.

TI had two interesting problems with engineering and product development after the introduction of the semiconductor and the microprocessor. Firstly, most of the chemicals, machinery and technologies needed to create semiconductors did not exist so TI had to "invent" them.[citation needed] Secondly, the market was small for TI electronic components in the early days so TI had to "invent" uses to create the markets. For example, TI created the first wall mounted, computer controlled, home set-back thermostat in the late '70s but nobody would buy it mostly because of its cost. TI started an Industrial Controls division which built automated process control computers used in the paint and soup industry and was very successful. This business was eventually sold to Siemens AG in 1991. TI turned to military and government uses and had many electro-mechanical devices used in the Apollo rocket and moon lander.

In 1969 several employees left TI to found Mostek. In 1988 Cyrix spunoff from Mostek.

Consumer electronics and computers

TI continued to be active in the consumer electronics market through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1978, Texas Instruments introduced the first single chip speech synthesizer and incorporated it in a product called the Speak & Spell, which was later immortalized in the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Several spinoffs, such as the Speak & Read and Speak & Math, were introduced soon thereafter.

In June 1981, 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 versus Commodore, Atari, and others. 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. It was a watershed system in one way - it introduced the VGA to mainstream computing.[dubious – discuss] (Ironically, the founders of Compaq 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.

Sensors and controls

Texas Instruments was a major OEM of sensor, control, protection, and RFID products for the automotive, appliance, aircraft, and other industries. The S&C division was headquartered in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

TI announced on Monday, January 9, 2006 that Bain Capital LLC, a private equity firm, would purchase the Sensors & Controls division for $3.0 billion in cash.[5] The RFID portion of the division remained part of TI, transferring to the Application Specific Products business unit of the Semiconductor division. The sale was completed in the first half of 2006, with the newly formed independent company taking on the name Sensata Technologies.